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Kittens - Help!!

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  • 14-07-2009 11:38pm
    #1
    Dandoline
    Closed Accounts Posts: 62 ✭✭


    Im hoping someone could help me please...

    Ive recently moved house and when i went back yesterday to get the last bit of stuff I found one of the kittens dead (back ground of kittens - the mammy cat has had id say 6 litters or more in the last 2 and half years so these are about 12 weeks old she had 3 this time but theres always one or two that has cat flu) and the other two huddle in a corner shaking and looking frail.

    The landlord was there yesterday and he said he would take care of them and the dead kitten. When i went back today the kittens looked worse and
    the dead kitten still in the middle of the garden i was sooo upset so i captured the kitten and took them to the vet as one looked like it had cat flu and the other had died and the vet nurse looked at me after i explained the story and said "and what do you want me to do??"

    Now i know nothing about kittens or cat i know theres probally hundreads going around stray and the likes of the dspca and animal rescue centres are in undated but when people dont actually know what to do some advice would be nice and not some snotty reply.... (sorry for the rant) but my question is...

    What do i do with them???? I rang the dspca and they are ringing me tomorrow but ive grown a soft spot for them but i dont know if i would be able to look after them? i bought cat litter and kitten food and gave them half the little tin each and it was gone in seconds but how often do i feed them and whats the story with vaccinations and getting them spade??

    Sorry for the long post just dont know what to do for the best.. any advice would be great thanks a million.

    Dandoline xx
    Tagged:


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    #2
    Blueprint
    Closed Accounts Posts: 476 ✭✭Blueprint


    Good on you for helping them!

    http://www.kittencare.com - looks like a useful site that would answer all your questions!

    Do you know how old they are? If they're feeding on their own they should be OK, just make sure they have somewhere warn to sleep and give them small regular meals.

    The vet should be able to advice you about vaccinations and worming and defleaing, probably should be done as soon as possible.

    Kittens are quite easy to look after as a rule and really worth the trouble for the joy they bring, so have fun!


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    #3
    Dandoline
    Closed Accounts Posts: 62 ✭✭Dandoline


    Thanks blueprint

    I was so annoyed at the girl in the clinic today i explained i knew nothing about cats but i didnt want to see anything bad happen to them. Il ring the dspca and ask them about all the bits rather than having to speak to that girl again!!! :mad::mad::mad: :rolleyes::rolleyes:;)


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    #4
    The Sweeper
    Registered Users Posts: 10,658 ✭✭✭✭The Sweeper


    Dandoline, first, good on you for helping. If you can, allow yourself to become attached to them. They need you. :)

    The vet nurse, while blunt, isn't really being a bitch. She's an employee at a business, and you can be damn sure the vet hasn't authorised her to start treating animals at the expense of the practice when you rock up and say 'I don't own these, but they're sick'. Doubly so with cats, because there's a huge stray cat problem and each one will cost a couple of hundred euro to treat, then spay, vaccinate, worm and de-flea. If you said 'I don't own these, but I'm going to pay for their treatment' it'd be a different story.

    Decide what you want to do. The kindest thing for the kittens, if you're not going to take them on and someone in your immediate area isn't going to take them off you, is to have the vet put them to sleep. The shelters are inundated and, seeing as the kittens are ill, every day untreated they'll get more sick until they die. (The pound may also put them down - if you take them straight to the vet, you're sparing them a few scary, sick days in a cage.)

    Their mother needs to be caught and either put to sleep, or neutered and rehomed, or she'll continue exactly as she has been. Cats breed like rabbits, and then stray kittens drop like flies.

    Cats are fantastic pets. They're not difficult to look after, and if you keep them as inside-only pets (or restricted outdoor access like a cat run, or at least inside from dusk until dawn) they can have long and happy lives with you.

    Figure out what you want to do, what you can afford to do, and even whether or not you can take them on short-term and look at rehoming them, and we can guide you.

    Also let us know exactly where you are, and posters may be able to direct you towards cat shelters in your area.


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