How do you feed an abandoned kitten without KRM?

[Ullumini]

I found a stray kitten (whom I've named Francis) on my porch about a week ago. At first, I gave him a box and a blanket and waited for the mother to come, but the mother never came, so I assumed that he was either abandoned or his mother was dead.
There aren't any nearby shelters (my country isn't big on animal welfare), and even if there were the current quarantine makes it difficult to go anywhere.

Based on information from the internet, I estimated Francis's age to be about three weeks old, but I may be wrong.
I read that at that age, he should be able to eat some solid food. Luckily I had some dry kitten food nearby (the reason why I had some is kind of complicated and unrelated) but the package said it was for kittens over 2 months old. It was better than nothing, so I gave Francis a bowl of it, some water and a heat bag. He barely eats (if he eats at all), but he's still alive and walking around as if it were nothing.

My parents don't want to keep him (our house isn't suitable for a kitten anyways), and I have no idea where to buy kitten replacement milk. I would buy them online, but I doubt my parents would let me, and the current situation makes it difficult anyways.

Recently I found him all wet and covered in dirt, so I tried to wash him with a wet cloth, but some dirt still remained. I have no idea how to take care of a kitten (or any kind of cat), so I'm scared I may have washed him too roughly, didn't dry him enough, or other things like that.

Unsurprisingly, I've gotten really attached to Francis, and I don't want him dying, but I don't know how to feed him. I don't have the ingredients necessary to make one of those DIY kitten milk recipes. So far I've tried soaking the food in water to make it easier for him to eat, but to no avail. My parents suggested giving him some boiled minced beef, but I'm unsure.

Can anyone suggest a way to feed him? If necessary, I can buy some wet kitten food for him. Any advice is appreciated. Sorry for the long read by the way.

-Cas

Edit: I'm sorry, I wasn't aware this was a forum for the UK. I'm not from the UK, but I'd love any advice I can get, thank you.

[Mollycat]

Hi Cas, welcome, it doesn't matter that you're not in the UK we are an international bunch and a cat is a cat is a cat.

There is a whole lot of information on the internet about caring for orphaned kittens and as I have never hand reared one I will leave that to the people here who do know and the info easily available online. It seems to be harder to find reliable information on what to feed a kitten if you have no formula milk. Again, others here will know more than I ever could.

Only thing is as far as I know kittens are weaned onto solid food from 4 to 6 weeks so it may be a little too early to start Francis on solid foods. That may be why he doesn't eat very much. I'm guessing you estimated his age from his teeth? At 3 weeks they would be just starting to appear so he could be struggling. In any case he could benefit from milk for a few more weeks yet. Here are some recipes to make this https://kittenrescue.org/2017/03/recipe ... n-formula/. Also he will not have learned to lap himself yet so you will need a dropper of some kind ... again others here will be more help than I can be.

Best of luck with your new baby and well done you for rescuing him.

Edit - and when weaning time comes, a little wet food on your fingers should help him get started.

[fjm]

I would certainly try him with a little mince beef, if you have some - simmer it in not too much water, no salt, and offer it to him while it is still tepid. Scrambled egg is another possibility, if he is old enough to eat solids. Years ago we used to wean pups and kittens onto baby cereal mixed with boiled cow's milk - somewhat frowned upon now but they throve on it, so you could try warm milk from a dropper or teaspoon if all else fails. If he is eating solids wet kitten food would be a good idea. Kittens' tummies are very tiny - think small walnut - so a teaspoonful or two is a good sized meal for them.

In a few weeks' time vaccinations will become important - until then he should be protected by maternal antibodies, but a very young, hand reared kitten is at high risk from a number of potentially fatal diseases. It would be heartbreaking to get him through this stage successfully only to lose him to infection, so I would start ringing round now to explore your options.

[Ullumini]

Thank you both so much for your answers!
My parents are firm about their stance against taking care of Francis, so I'm afraid vaccination isn't possible. I'm just hoping to keep him alive for as long as I can.
I'm very wary about feeding him cow's milk. Will it really be enough if I just boiled it? Then again, it's not like I have many other options, so I'll do that as a last resort.
He seems old enough to eat solids, I saw him try to eat some of the food I gave him, but with great difficulty of course. I didn't know kittens ate that little, so perhaps he's still alive because he managed to eat some of the food I gave him! Though it's definitely not going to sustain for long.
I think I may give him some scrambled eggs, but I'm unsure about how to cook them. You cook them with no oil right? But the eggs would stick to my pans. Nonetheless, I'll try.
There's one thing I forgot to mention too. He isn't urinating or defecating. I read that kittens had to be stimulated by the mother's tongue and that I could use a damp cloth to stroke him, but it didn't work. Am I supposed to be doing something else, or is this normal given how little he eats and drinks?

[fjm]

If he is eating by himself he should be capable of urinating and defecating, but try rubbing gently with a damp cloth down over his tummy towards the anus for a few minutes - think of the strokes of the mother cat's tongue.