Secure the top of the box so that the kitten cannot crawl out. Put air holes in the sides of the box so that the kitten has abundant fresh air. To help the kitten feel safer and to absorb any vomit or urine, place an old towel or t-shirt in the box with the kitten.
You can also wrap the kitten up in a towel or old shirt to give it extra warmth. Just as you need to keep the air holes free and clear, if you wrap the kitten up, ensure that you’ve left the kitten’s head and airways unobstructed.
Use a search engine and type “emergency veterinarian near me. ” Or, simply type in veterinarian and your zip code in the search bar. Or call your local Humane Society and ask for a referral.
Some kittens do better when they can see out the car’s windows, and others do better they can’t. You can try both positions and see which your kitten handles better.
Clear the kitten’s airway of any obstructions. If the kitten has a foreign object lodged in their throat, use your finger to dislodge the object. If their mouth, throat, and lungs are full of fluid, hold the kitten with their head facing toward the ground so that gravity will help you clear their airway. Put your mouth around the kitten’s nose and mouth and give three small puffs of air. You only need to give little puffs because the kitten’s lungs are too small to take in much air. Use discretion and remember that there are diseases that are transmitted between cats and humans. Administer a breath every 20 seconds. If your kitten is not breathing but has a heartbeat, only offer rescue breaths and skip chest compressions. Feel the kitten’s chest for a heartbeat. If no heartbeat is located, take the cat’s chest between your forefinger and thumb and administer chest compressions by squeezing the chest behind the kitten’s bent elbow. Check for a heartbeat every minute. Don’t perform CPR for more than five minutes, as survival is unlikely at that point.
Clean around the edges of the wound with water or antiseptic solution. Once the edges of the wound are clean, use clean gauze or cloth to apply firm, direct pressure. Apply pressure for 5-10 minutes, and don’t lift the gauze or cloth to check the wound. That will only promote the wound to bleed again. Once the bleeding is controlled, tape the gauze or cloth down and get the kitten to a vet. Try to limit the kitten’s movement so that they don’t restart the bleeding or tear off their bandage.
Newborn kittens aren’t able to regulate their own temperatures and rely on their mother to do it for them. Don’t use a blow dryer or other mechanized heat source that blows heat directly on the kitten. This could actually cause them to overheat.
If you suspect that you have a fading kitten, get them to a veterinarian right away, which is their best chance at survival. Some causes of fading kittens are congenital defects, traumatic birth, environmental toxins, blood type incompatibility between mother and kitten, prematurity or low birth weight, parasitic, bacterial, or viral infections, environmental temperature too hot or too cold, and even dehydration. [6] X Research source
Some websites advocate giving animals over-the-counter, anti-vomiting medicine made for humans. Under no circumstances should you give this to a kitten. Take the animal to a veterinarian so that they can administer medicine that won’t be fatal to your kitten.
