Addition to the family

We found a kitten in the garden this morning.  He (I think it's a he) cannot be much more than a week or two old.  His eyes are open, and he weighs 7 ounces.  He meowed like nobody's business, shaking all over his little body.  He has a puncture mark on his shoulder and when I picked him up, the nasty ants we have here spilled from that wound.  It was disgusting.  I cleared the ants as best as possible and the wound doesn't look too bad from what I can tell.

But he's so little and I have no idea what to do.  I don't know any vets around here, don't even know if they have vets in this country.  I tried to feed him but I only have baby nipples and he doesn't like them. I did whip up a fortified baby formula as per Internet instructions which he sort of lapped up a bit.  We will try to make him take some milk every half hour.  I do hope his mother comes to get him but I'm afraid that she might not do that.  And I really have no clue about cats.  I'm not a cat person. I don't know anything about them.

I put him into a basket with a soft blanket.  He's not meowing anymore, and sort of snuggling into the blanket. Hm, now I actually think he's napping.  I hope that's a good sign.

Any recommendations, beyond the usual advice from the all-knowing Internet? I have a snot sucker for infants, with a soft spout that is very little as it is meant for newborn's noses.  Maybe I'll give that a try for the feeding.  Assume we have to work with what we have - what can we do?  Besides my compassion for the creature, there is also the fervent wish not having to explain to the kids why the kitten died...

UPDATE:

There is a vet and he agreed to come and look at the kitten.  Only, he never turned up.  The kitten seems to be fine, slept all afternoon but took only minute amounts of formula.  He starting cleaning himself - that's a good sign, no? 

He's awfully cute.  Or she is.  Here's a picture:  We put him into a laundry basket with some teddy fabric I wanted to make a blanket out of for Jacob (it's still hot, so no need just yet).  We also put a sheep-shaped object inside that has a cherry stone pillow as a belly (instead of hot water bottles for the kids).  She (or he) loves that thing.

Sigh.  I hope she makes it.  The kids would be devastated.

UPDATE II:

The neigbor boy had another little kitten on a shovel, walking down the street with clearly sinister intentions.  What could we do?

Comments

[Carrie]

I hope they make it too, but I would consider preparing the kids. You have to feed them that formula every few hours, round the clock. You can use an eyedropper. You have to use a warm, damp washcloth to clean them after they eat, because they need it to help stimulate their bowels. Do it with short strokes, like a mama cat is washing them. It will probably help that there is now two, but you may have to help keep them warm on your body or with a warm water bottle. The vet will know if they are big enough to be dewormed (I can't remember if there is a problem that young), and they may have ear mites or various fungal infections that need treatment.
It's been a long time since I had to do this. I wish I knew what to tell you, other than they are very cute and I hope you can help them stay alive.

[claudia]

Thanks, Carrie. So far, so good. They survived the night, and the day. They are drinking, although not very much - so we've taken to offering them formula more often. The second one (Doug refuses to give them names until week 2 or so) keeps climbing out of the laundry basket. They are licking each other, and snuggling up. We'll see.

[larry]

Well, I know a thing or two about kittens. Several years ago, 8 were born in a box of my WHITE military uniforms, while I was still on ACTIVE DUTY!

Anyway, their mother had abandoned them shortly after birth and I became their new "mommy". Since I was living on a farm, it was decided that we would keep all eight.

I fed them goat's milk through a latex glove which had pin holes poked into the end of each finger.

KEEP THEM WARM. I "donated" those summer uniforms and added a wool sweater to their bedding. I later added a hot water bottle which I placed under the bedding and re-heated daily.

Grooming:

I washed them with with warm water and used the fine-end of an old comb to ever so gently keep their fur in good order. It also helped me detect parasites and other unwanted interlopers.

Bedding:

I cleaned and disinfected their bedding every few days but never outright changed it. They sort of liked the smell and seemed comforted by it.

After about 6-weeks or so, they were up and moving around the house. I started them on wet, high-protein mushy food at around 12-weeks.

I had no manual or internet to help me, but I can tell you that they all survived and lived to a ripe old age.

What foods should we send?

Do you want them in you September supplies? or sent sooner?

Larry