Adorable stray kitten: heatwave edition

Post date: 2020-07-13 11:54:53

Help me figure out what to do with or for the adorable stray kitten who I found suffering in the heat in my garden yesterday. Difficulty level: existing 10 yr old indoor cat w/o all her shots, smallish house, kitten likely separated at ~4 weeks from a colony of alley cats and doesn't seem to be weaned.

Background:
Until about a year ago I lived in a third floor apartment with my current cat, T., who is a roughly ten year old Siamese mix.

I got T. as a kitten when she didn't get along with my then-GF's incumbent cats. Because of the apartment situation, I never finished all of her vaccinations and also didn't get her fixed. I moved out of the apartment to a small house about a year ago. T. remains a purely indoor cat. (I've been meaning to get her shots taken care of forever, but have been unsure whether getting her spayed at this age would have negative effects on her or traumatize her or change her personality.)

The house I now rent backs up on an alley, and there is a loosely affiliated colony of stray cats that hangs around there and roams the neighborhood. Coincidentally, they are of a similar Siamese and tabby mix. I've never seen or heard them group up like a big feral colony, but one of the walls bordering my yard is a favorite highway for these cats to get back and forth so I see them often enough to recognize some individuals, and they all look related in terms of their markings and etc.

Earlier this year, one of the cats I spot regularly had a litter that they were sheltering with behind my garden shed, which backs up on the alley wall. The mom cat was was looking very thin and tired, so I put out some food and water for them while she was recovering and nursing . After a few days she was doing better, and then disappeared with the kittens soon thereafter, some of which I think I've spotted on their own since, as mature cats.

Now, Yesterday:

I'm out watering my vegetable plants, which I'm trying to nurse through the ridiculous heat-wave temperature of 102 degrees.

All of a sudden there's a little motion in my peripheral vision and a little meep of mewl. I look over and see a tiny little chocolate tabby kitten with bright blue eyes wedged into the shade created by the vines at the base of the wall — the wall I regularly see these neighborhood cats using to get around, including the mom cat and the litter I had previously hosted.

It was clearly tired and overheated and scared and tried to slink away from me when I approached, wedging itself to hide between a planter and the wall. But it was also curious (or distressed) enough to make eye contact with me when I pulled the planter away a bit and made concerned brrrrrp? cat noises and crinkly eyes at it. It didn't try to flee, and it didn't seem aggressive in that feral way.

So I went and got my oven mitts, lined a storage tote with old bath towels, and sure enough the little blep it let me scoop it up without too much fuss and didn't fight being deposited in the box, in the shade, except for a bit of mewling. It promptly knocked over the water dish I put in there, which soaked a corner of the towels, and then it immediately curled up in the wet towels and went to sleep — so clearly it was hot and exhausted.

I had the top covered with an oven rack at first, but turned it after a couple hours so the kitten could exit either side if it wanted to. I moved the box to be near my bedroom sliding door so I could keep an eye on it. The kitten was still fast asleep when I went to bed. My current cat, T. hadn't taken notice of it yet.

I got up this morning, and the kitten was still there. Splayed out asleep, I could see the kitten was female. I put some Orijen dry cat food in the box, which is all I have on hand, but the kitten didn't seem interested. She was interested in me though, and in a timidly friendly way. So I gave her some fingertip some head and neck scritches and she liked that. After a few minutes I left her to her own devices. She explored the box and played with the towels some and then went back to sleep.

About midday when the kitten had made no effort to leave the box, I rigged up a side entry type shelter from a wooden crate with the slats removed from one side, lined with towels and with and a cookie sheet wrapped in a towel laid across the top.

I transferred the kitten to the open-sided crate, and turned the tote on its side too, so all the shelters were open at ground level. The kitten wandered around the patio a bit, sniffing at me some, then went back into the wood crate and went back to sleep.

I went back out about an hour ago, and the kitten, now rested, was incredibly affectionate and playful. Rubbing my ankles, climbing into my lap when I sat down, following me around mewling if I stood up, etc. This is as sweet and as human-oriented a kitten as I've ever encountered, stray or not.

At this point T. took notice of what was going on through the bedroom slider and started meowing. I was not expecting to react positively, but I opened the glass to leave just the screen between them and they both reacted very positively. T.'s meows were inquisitive and her ears fully forward. The kitten was THRILLED and was clinging to the screen trying to get to T.

they are now sitting on opposite sides of the screen door and I'm the asshole because I won't let them groom each other.

Thoughts and Questions:

-No, I don't want another cat. Or, at least, I didn't and I'd prefer to keep it that way for practical purposes.

For instance, I already only have room for one litter box, and it's not the best arrangement. And while I suppose two cats isn't that much more of a financial responsibility than one, I'm in a position that I should be reducing my expenses not increasing them. I'm also month to month here, and it would be more challenging to move with two cats than one, should I have to.

(I didn't think T. would take kindly to another cat either, but apparently that's wrong, at least so far as a kitten is concerned.)

-But while I try and convince myself that I am not keeping this kitten, and before I figure out how to get her adopted, I want to make sure I'm doing the right things. So:

--kitten has some front teeth but tips of back teeth are just showing. Internet says that's around 4-6 weeks and suggests she is probably not weaned. Since I haven't seen the kitten take any water from dish, or any evidence she has eliminated, I tried giving her some water with an eyedropper. That worked, so I'm guessing I'll need to do the same to feed.

--Internet Recommends "kitten milk replacer." I see petco also has "second stage weaning food." Should I get the milk replacer or the weaning food? Both?

--given that T. did not complete all of her shots, and isn't on any flea or worm prevention regimen, what precautions do I need to take with having this kitten around? I'm already washing thoroughly after handling the kitten.

--For the time being the kitten is on the patio, but I feel like if I'm actually trying to look after her I should probably not just leave her out there to wander off? Or to deal with the other wildlife (or strays). Not to mention that's its 100 degrees today again, and will be in the upper 90s all week.

-- But I don't want to bring the kitten inside if that's unsafe for T. As much as I want to help this kitten, I need to keep my existing pet safe first. Hopefully I'm not already doing anything really dumb by letting them be on opposite sides of a screen door.

--The kitten does not have any obvious flea issues, but I'm considering getting some sentry or frontline to put on T., at least -- because the product labeling suggests there isn't anything made for kittens this young.

--Or, can I use this kind of anti-flea product intended for "small animals" like rabbits and gerbils on the kitten until older?

--Is it right that preventative anti-worm stuff is Rx only? Internet says worms are mostly transmitted through grooming or contact with waste, so I'm hoping I don't need to worry T. picking up whatever the kitten might have before she can be checked out (by me or whoever might take her first) so long as I don't let them have direct contact and keep them away from each other's food and waste.

--As life goes, I'm actually in the middle of an unexpected working weekend and have very non-negotiable deliverables that must be done by tomorrow night. So, no vet visits are happening before Tuesday at the earliest. I've already spent more time on this than I can afford rn (and of course it's super hard not just to play with the adorable little kitten).

--I can't afford much in the way of unplanned veterinary care rn either, but I'll do what I have to (whether to keep the kitten, or encourage its adoption). cost saving advice on that is appreciated, i.e. what I need to do, what I can skip, and what it should reasonably cost.

Any other thoughts appreciated, happy to follow up with any additional info needed, and apologies for the length and disorganization of the Ask.

(Yes, I will post pics shortly but want to get this post up to make sure what I'm doing is reasonably safe and sane.)

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