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You Can Save Orphaned Kittens and Puppies I recently attended an AC Paw seminar that gave valuable information on how to save orphaned puppies and kittens. Orphans are babies who are less than five weeks old and without their mother before they are weaned. AC Paw has taken care of more than 420 orphaned cats since their group was organized and many puppies as well. The information that was provided is something that needs to be passed along to as many animal lovers as possible. You might never be in the circumstances of trying to save the life of a puppy or kitten, but the knowledge to do so might help a family member, friend or even a stranger. There are five critical points to remember when you are involved in trying to save the lives of orphaned kittens and puppies. It spells out the word "Aspen" as you will see below. The information provided is from the AC Paw seminar and other online research. There are a lot of steps involved but it is worth it to read the information over a few times so that you are familiar with the process. A - ASSESS the situation very carefully before acting What conditions or indicators would warrant immediate removal of babies? Please do a thorough check to make sure there is no mother around because she is the best shot the babies have at living. Also be sure to make sure there aren't any more babies in the immediate area. Don't leave behind anyone that needs help and don't take any that don't need help (at least not right away). Poor judgement can cause a tragedy. What conditions or indicators would lead you to feel safe in leaving the babies? Even with a momma's visible or signs of her existence, do weather conditions and predators still warrant removal? If the babies are not orphaned, does the whole family still need assistance? If you do leave the babies, clearly mark the location so that you can return to check on them. S - SECURE the situation Secure the situation completely from your first contact right through until all babies are safe, stable and secure. Assume all children and pets in your household are a hazard for baby animals until they prove otherwise. An important part of stabilizing and securing is quarantine. • IMPORTANT - Begin the process of warming babies as soon as possible, even in mild temperatures. They need a warm, craft-free environment during the early weeks of life. These youngsters can't regulate their own body temperature like adults can. • Do not feed cold babies! • Room temperature should be maintained at a minimum of 72F. Remember that it's about 10 degrees colder on the floor than at eye level. Air temperature in the immediate vicinity of the pups and kittens should be 85-90F for the first week of life, 80F for the next 3-4 weeks and then 75F at six weeks. • Temperatures can be maintained with heating pads, light bulbs or heat lamps. Great care must be taken not to overheat or burn the babies when they are too young to move away from the heat source. They should never be in direct contact with the heating pad and the heating pad temperature level should always be set on low. The heating pad should be under only 1/2 to 1/3 of the nesting box, allowing babies to move away from the heat. Too much "warmth" they can not escape can also be fatal. Constant monitoring of temperatures in their environment is vital. • Clean newspaper is good bedding because it's easily disposed of. Make sure the litter is clean. Cloth material is suitable and offers good footing; however, it should be washed daily. A tall-sided cardboard box makes a safe nest and keeps the puppies/kittens inside until they are several weeks old. June at AC Paw keeps a water bottle in her car and after finding babies, she will stop at a fast food place and get warm water to put in a box with the orphaned babies. She will put this in a box with the babies, making sure they have room enough to get away from the heat source. There is also something available online called a Snuggle Safe Heat Pad that is great to use at home and on the road. The pad can be put at the bottom of the box, allowing babies room to get on and off the heat source. P - PROVIDE the proper sustenance Provide the proper sustenance only - unless there is an immediate threat of death. Providing the wrong food substance will usually add to emergency of the babies rather than helping. • Cow's milk is NOT the proper sustenance. It can often cause illness and death. For kittens, provide KMR (Kitten Milk Replacement). For puppies, use Esbilac. • Short term emergency feeding can utilize a bit of Karo Syrup mixed in warm water or a tiny pinch of sugar in water - but only for emergencies. You can also try to ask around to see if you can find an already-nursing mother who you could utilize for the babies. • Very young babies require small amounts of food often. The food listed above has directions on it as to how often they need to eat and how much to feed them; however, as a general rule, newborns should be fed 6 to 8 times daily (about 2-3 hours apart). The frequency can be gradually reduced to 3-4 times daily by 2-3 weeks of age. • Keep milk replacement fresh each day, discarding after 24 hours. Keep refrigerated and heat up as needed. Check temperature of formula on back of your hand to make sure it will not scald the puppies/kittens. • Test bottle for flow rate. Many times, the opening in the nipple will need to be enlarged because puppies and kittens cannot exert enough sucking pressure to obtain the milk. You can take a pair of scissors and make a larger opening for the babies if needed. There are all sorts of baby bottles that you can use for these little ones. For puppies, you can use regular baby bottles that have the angle in them so they don't get air in their lungs. • Frequent crying or failure to gain weight indicates a problem. In this case, you need to call a vet. In general, the puppy or kitten's weight should double in 8-10 days. Overfeeding can be worse than slight underfeeding. Any time that diarrhea develops, dilute the food 50% with water and call the vet. • Identify and keep track of who has eaten because they don't always signal when they are ready to eat. And remember from above, don't feed cold babies. Warm them up first. • It is VERY important that you feed the babies up right and not on their back. You must also aspirate your baby or not doing so can be fatal. Hold the baby, lightly rocking it, pat or massage it's back or belly. Please clean them up after meals by wiping their faces and anywhere else that might need it. Continue nurturing the baby with your touch and presence after each feeding. • In general, puppies and kittens can be introduced to food at 3-4 weeks of page. You can pan-feed by mixing high quality puppy or kitten food with warm water and milk replacer. Over the next few weeks, when the babies are eating well, you can gradually thicken the food, reaching normal consistency when the babies are about 6-8 weeks of age. At this time, they can be offered good quality food 3-4 times daily. Note: You must continue to supplement the babies with bottle feedings until they are eating the food mixture well. Watch for these danger signs: babies not gaining weight, inactive puppies/kittens that feel cooler than their litter-mates and babies with poor muscle tone compared to rest of litter. • Both puppies and kittens need to be brought to the hospital at 3 weeks of age for general deworming of intestinal parasites. Immunizations (vaccinations) start at 6-8 weeks of age. This is also when puppies are started on heartworm preventative. • Eyes usually open at 10-14 days of age. • Do not disturb babies except for feeding and cleaning. Twitching is normal during sleep. This exercises the muscles to aid growth. E - ELIMINATION requires your assistance or they will die Babies under a few weeks of age require momma to stimulate babies physically before they will perform the life saving process of elimination (going to the bathroom). Kittens and puppies can sicken and die quickly without additional gentle methods that can be used on "resistant" babies. • Run mildly warm water over the genitalia to aid elimination of waste. • The elimination process requires your assistance until around 3 weeks of age. • You can use moistened cotton balls to gently stimulate the anal area for elimination. Deadly diarrhea must be controlled. Consult with an experienced volunteer or make a vet appointment. • Clean up is not pretty but absolutely necessary. And keep track of who is eliminating and how often. • Consistency in all you do will help the babies be balanced including feeding schedules, styles, mixtures and environments. N - NURTURE your babies or they will be undesirable pets If you are too exhausted from all the work, enlist others to socialize (carefully) your babies or they will not connect with others. Remember, interaction with "outsiders" and other animals should be limited until babies are vaccinated and undergo a quarantine period. If possible, find one or two people within the family to interact with the orphans so that they don't become overly attached to one person. • Post-feeding and cleaning up is prime time for a little more active interaction (i.e. "catch my finger with your paw" and those types of games). • Safely expose your kittens or puppies to new experiences to build confidences. I hope you have a new understanding of what it takes to save an orphaned kitten or puppy and a new appreciation of those who do it regularly like the volunteers at AC Paw. If you have any questions about these techniques, please contact June at AC Paw at 231-587-0738 or email her here. Thanks to AC Paw the the following website for the great information provided. |
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