To the Rescue!

We rescued yet *another* kitten today.

Early this morning, when we were all downstairs preparing for breakfast, there was a very distressed mew coming from around the vicinity. A quick check showed our neighbour, who parks her car at the side of the road next to our house, was about to go to work when she discovered a little kitten somewhere under her car.

She tried coaxing it out but to no avail. After awhile, the mewing got louder and louder and she was still not very successful so I asked Daddy to offer some help getting the kitten out. He did, and I think she was quite grateful to be able to go to work!

The poor little thing was mewing away still and we just put him (I checked, it's another boy, ho hum) in the carrier while we figured out what to do. We thought that his mummy would hear his mews and come for him but no sign at all. And he was the only kitten around.

He's very young, looks to be around 3-4 weeks old, and quite healthy but just a little grubby from spending a night in the engine compartment of a Wira. We decided to take him to the animal hospital nearby as soon as it opened to find out if they can put him up for adoption. But first, Daddy wanted to give him a bath. (See post-bath picture above.)

"He's so cold, he's shivering. Quick, bring down your hair dryer."

I just said, "Ha? Hair dryer? Won't that scare the daylights out of him?" (I was imagining a Tom and Jerry episode when Tom was so scared until his skeletal frame jumped out of his skin.)

But, hey, I'm no cat expert so I duly went to get the hair dryer. (See hair drying picture below.)


At 10am sharp we were at the animal hospital. The vet explained that their boarding-to-put-up-for-adoption slots were rather full so we had to take him home. But only after a brief physical check up and a dose of deworming.

The most amusing part was when the vet explained how to feed the kitten. Would you believe we are supposed to dissolve the kitten milk powder in "boiled, lukewarm water" and feed it "every 3-4 hours, but if you see that he is ok to stretch the feeding times then go ahead".

What?! I thought I was waaaaay past that stage of 3-hourly feeds and mixing milk powder "with lukewarm water". Sigh.

Actually, I was in for more amusement. Daddy sent me this paragraph from http://www.kittenrescue.org/. It says:

'By nature, momcats lick the "back end" of their babies to stimulate the bowels and bladder on a regular basis. If you are the babies' new momcat, guess who gets this duty! After each feeding, gently rub the kitten on its low abdomen, as well as the genitals and rectum, with a cotton ball, cotton pad, or tissues moistened with warm water.'

There's that warm water thing again! Luckily it didn't say "you have to wash their butts with *boiled* lukewarm water" or I would definitely be going on strike. Oh ya, it also says we're supposed to burp the kitten "like you would a human baby, by holding it upright against your shoulder and patting it on the back".

I don't think so!!