How to tell how old a found kitten is and what care it needs
Kitten age determines whether they need bottle feeding, warmth, or bathroom stimulation. Without knowing their age, caretakers cannot provide the correct feeding schedule or medical support while waiting for a vet.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1checking the kitten's teeth to estimate age
- 2monitoring how often the kitten goes to the bathroom and how well it eats
- 3adding extra water to wet food to address potential dehydration
- 4waiting until the weekend is over to visit the vet
- 5Waiting to see if the kitten gets better on her own without antibiotics
- 6Waiting for a scheduled follow-up appointment next week
- 7taking the kitten to the vet almost every day
- 8bottle feeding the kitten
- 9withholding solid foods due to water retention concerns
- 10monitoring weight gain using a scale
- 11keeping her on a heating pad
- 12doing research
- 13passing along some second hand knowledge
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I know nothing about cats or what type this is. Very new to this but I’m keepin her.”source ↗
“the cat, after she left our house, has now returned with her remaining kittens, i have noticed that they are bigger in size than he is, the vet doesn't seem to think its an issue, but iam still concerned.”source ↗
“we have been taking him to the vet almost every day for the last two weeks, because his wound was infected, then closed up, then got infected again.”source ↗
“Does anyone know about hoe old this kitten is, and if I should be stimulating bowel movements for it. My dad found it while out of town for work and brought it home this morning.”source ↗
“We originally thought it was a cough and the vet said she wanted to see if she would get better on her own because she didn’t want to give such a young cat antibiotics.”source ↗
“She does this when she’s stimulated or when we pet her. It happens occasionally without those factors but she’s generally fine when just hanging out alone”source ↗
“i might need to ask them specifically about it.”source ↗
“all i had in mind, was that it has to be his injury. but i genuinely dont know”source ↗
“That’s the plan but the vet is closed on weekends”source ↗
“abandoned kitten doesn't seem to grow”source ↗