Love is in the Air: Baby Season
The Pet Connection's Pet Talk: Where People & Pets Connect
By now, you have noticed all of the baby animals, baby puppies/kittens, birds, opossums, baby bunnies, raccoons, baby deer and maybe you have even noticed all the baby prairie dogs out at the airpark. Yes, it is baby season and already I have gotten calls about what to do with the orphaned young.
Now, if you are talking about young domestic babies I would suggest looking for their mommies if you have found a litter around your property. More times than not, the mom has been spooked either by you or by another animal and has gone off to wait for it to quiet down again. If you have other dogs/ cats in your household, please put them up and this will allow the stray to come get her babies. I have been reading in an area where dogs have been killing cats and kittens and that is another story altogether. It breaks my heart to hear of someone's pet being mauled and killed by someone else's pet. There is no excuse for that. We must remember, we need to hold the owners responsible for what their pets do, the animals, and in this case dogs are doing what some dogs will do, especially when not trained. Keeping your garage doors open just enough for the cat to get to her kittens is a great way of keeping them safe. As a pet owner, you need to always be watching out and keeping them safe from predators that would do them harm.
Sadly if you know that the mother cat is not coming back, then it is time to step in and do what you can. Finding another nursing mother cat, that will accept another's kittens would be a win-win scenario. Usually, those are far and few between, but it does happen so put the word out that you are looking. Contacting your local shelter or Facebook is a great way of putting the word out that you need a nursing mother or a foster parent. If you are not able to find another nursing cat/dog, then it is up to you to start the bottle feeding of these tiny babies. First, be sure that you are not feeding cow's milk from your fridge. You can get puppy and kitten formula from your local vet, where I would start, and if they are not available then Tractor Supply or Wal-mart carries some. You can also purchase baby bottles at any of these places and I would grab two or three just so you will have them handy.
Keeping these babies temperatures regulated is a vital part of keeping them alive. Newborn kittens and puppies are from 95-99 degrees and as they get older between two-three weeks, their temperatures will go up to around 97-100 degrees. At four weeks, puppies and kittens should have temperatures of 99-101 degrees. Remember to check periodically with a rectal thermometer to make sure you are keeping their body temperatures up. I caution about using a heating pad for these babies. You can burn them with too hot of settings because they are not made for animals. I recommend using an oldtime douche bag, the red one as a hot water bottle. Keep it hot by wrapping a heavy towel around the hot water bottle as not to burn the babies. I have microwaves discs made for pets that I use for my wildlife. Microwave it, then place the fleece covering over it and it lasts for several hours. I also keep available pet heating pads for baby wildlife and those are made specifically for animals. If you do not have any of these items, using a rubber glove, which I am sure everyone has several of, will work. Fill the glove up with warm water, again wrap a towel around it and that will keep the babies warm.
Once you have gotten their body temperatures where they should be, then you can start with the bottle feeding. Remember not to use cow's milk from your refrigerator because that will only complicate things and cause diarrhea. If feeding a kitten, use kitten formula and when feeding a puppy, use puppy formula. On the containers, it will give you a guideline and feeding schedule for the approximate age of pet you have.
Now that you have successfully fed your orphaned baby, it is time to help them eliminate their bowels and urine. I will do this prior to feeding my wildlife babies and then right after, I will feed them. This is why, if you have a mother available, it is best to let them do the job of feeding and raising their young. They do it much better than we do. I use a warm cotton ball when available, or a warm wash cloth, and I make circular motions to stimulate them to go to the bathroom. This is a must and many people forget this very important step in raising orphaned animals.
Keeping your new babies isolated and quiet, away from young children and other household pets will add to your success of raising them. Using a plastic swimming pool as a whelping box or a plastic dog crate will allow for easy cleanup as these babies grow and develop. Remember to watch the type of bedding you are using because you do not want them to get hung in any loose strings or caught in holes and strangle themselves.
Now, if you have found any wildlife, it is time to call in the professionals. A wildlife rehabilitation specialist like myself or contact the local game warden. Contacting a wildlife rehabilitation specialist or game warden before picking up any wildlife is strongly recommended. In most cases, unless you see an adult dead, these babies may be learning to fly or bedded down while their mother eats. Picking up these animals is not necessary. Holding, keeping and possessing wildlife in most counties is illegal and in some cases, jail time can occur.
Wildlife are called wild for a reason. These animals carry diseases such as rabies and several different types of parasites that can be harmful to humans. These are not pets and many times when people try to make them into pets, it does not fair well for the animal. Sure, they are cute as babies, but what animal is not? As these wild animals grow up, so does the wild in them. As they mature, they can become aggressive and out of control and then what do you do? For those that have been there, done that, and then turned these animals back into the wild, they have sent them to their death. They have imprinted on humans, do not know how to hunt and find food and now are left out on their own. What happens now, they are looking for a human to feed them and they will travel up to find food and the person they come up to now thinks they have a rabid animal. This happens too many times when the animal is not sick or even showing any signs of being sick. It is just hungry and all it has known is that a human feeds them, it comes up daytime or night and it loses its life because someone wanted to keep it as a pet.
Please do not attempt to bottle feed young wildlife. Many different types of wildlife take a special formula and feeding something that is not made for that species can do more harm than good. Again, contact your local wildlife rehabilitation specialist or Texas game warden and let us determine what the next step should be. Look for a mammal rehabilitation specialist or a bird rehabilitation specialist in your area. As a trained wildlife rehabber, we take certain precautions in handling wild animals so that they can be introduced back into their natural habitat, giving them a better chance at life.
Remember, keep Texas wildlife wild! Go to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, they oversee and protect our state's wildlife and habitats. Tpwd.texas.gov or contact your local law enforcement non-emergency number, leave your name, number and reason for the call and a rehabilitation specialist or game warden will contact you back.
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