kitten abandoned by mother and wont eat

Question
QUESTION: i have a 1 day old kitten on my hands. i just read your answer to someone
else about feeding and the umbilical. yesterday the cord was still fresh and
fleshy today its small shriveled and somewhat stiff. i dont see any infection
thankfully. my new dilemma is that the kitten wont nurse now and has only
eaten about 1/2 of a tablespoon since 4 pm. its now midnite. he pooped
earlier and it wasnt yellow it was dark brown and similar to gel in consistency.
are these bad signs? how do i get him to eat???? HELP!!!!!

ANSWER: Chance,

It is very difficult and time consuming (but rewarding) to raise a newborn by hand. My first suggestion would be to call a no-kill shelter or a cat rescue organization that has mother cats who have lost their kittens and are foster mothers that still have milk and will nurse motherless newborns. Or find a neighbor who has a nursing mother that you can add the newborn to the litter. Or take the kitten to the vet and they will take care of it and save it if possible.

If the above are not possiblities then here are some excellent sites with information on how to take care of abandoned newborns: (copy and paste or type the whole links into your address bar)

http://www.safehavenforcats.com/newborn.htm

http://www.2ndchance.info/orphankitten.htm

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Ridge/2969/baby.html

I hope this helps and the baby survives. But be prepared that it unfortunately  may not.

Carol

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: you didnt answer me about his poop. its getting softer but is still dark reddish
brown in color. is this normal?

Answer
Chance,

Sometimes a mother cat will leave a baby when she instinctively knows there is something wrong. You need to take a sample of his stool to the vet to find out if there is blood in it and if there is, what is causing it. I'm sorry but I can't answer that question over the internet, that is something that has to be done by a physical exam.