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My first port of call was to look on the Feline Advisory
Bureau website (www.fabcats.org)
for information on hand rearing. Despite my 13 years in
practice, it was something I had never done. The website
(an excellent resource for cat owners, breeders and vets
alike) said that hand rearing was extremely demanding and
time consuming, but ultimately rewarding. How true that
has turned out to be!
Initially, the kittens needed bottle feeding every 2-3
hours. They also need assistance going to the toilet as,
usually, their mother's grooming stimulates this. Hand reared
kittens have to be wiped with wet wipes/damp cotton wool
to stimulate toileting. This is done after each feed.
For the first 2 weeks, my routine completely revolved around
the kittens. In the day, I had to bring them to work so
they could be fed, or - on my non-working days - co-ordinate
where I went and when around their feed times. By the time
I had sterilised bottles, made up milk, fed and toileted
3 kittens, 45 minutes would have gone by. I just about had
time to care for my baby and other family before the next
feed was due. In the night, I would get up to feed the baby,
then stumble sleepily downstairs to do the kittens. On some
nights, I had barely got back into bed before the baby woke
again for his next feed.
I have never been so exhausted in my life! The hardest
time was the first morning feed - with an 8 month baby yelling
for his milk and breakfast, an eight year old to get ready
for school, and 3 kittens to deal with, it was all I could
do to stay sane! My elder son Jamie was a huge help though
- either occupying the baby or doing the bottle feeding
for me. My husband was also fantastic, helping with feeds
whenever he could and doing a whole weekend with baby and
kittens when I had to work away. It was a mammoth family
effort!
However, as the kittens grew, things got easier. The frequency
of feeding reduced, and by 6 weeks they were taking some
solid food too. Despite warning from the FAB website that
many hand reared kittens don't survive, and despite bouts
of both constipation and diarrhoea for all 3, they are now
the picture of health. They have increased from 80 to 800grams,
and are now at the wonderful stage of playful, kitten-like
behaviour. The three of them are like a whirlwind around
the house!
Having had such close interaction with people, they are
all extremely confident and sociable. We are truly reaping
the rewards for all our hard work. Who needs a TV, with
kittens to entertain you?! Whoever abandoned them so selfishly
has missed out on 3 beautiful little creatures!
The one thing that the FAB website failed to warn me was
how hard it would be to let them go to new homes - all the
family are very attached to them, and we would keep all
3 were it not for the fact that we have other cats. So we
now have the difficult dilemma of deciding on one to keep.
At least I am safe in the knowledge that I have found an
excellent home for the other 2, and I will get to see them
at the vet's on a regular basis.
However hard I imagined hand rearing would be, it was more
time consuming than I could ever have realised. Would I
do it again? Definitely......but not with an eight month
old baby in tow!!!
Geraldine
Young BVSc CertSAM MRCVS
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