Worried about rabies, bottle feeding a kitten.

[Walking Circles]

Last Wednesday we took in a newborn kitten from a friends house. The mother had wandered off and his litter mates had all died. The little guy couldn't have been more than two days old as his eyes were closed and didn't open until we had had him 7 days.

The problem is my friends lives in a semi rural area, there are quite a few houses on his street but it's wooded all around. The mother cat is an outside cat of his that is semi-feral and I know him well enough to know she hasn't had her shots. Last I heard she had been seen again after we had the kitten a day or two.

So far we've had the little guy 10 days. On day two we took him to the vet to get him wormed and to have some stomach issues seen about, they didn't look for anything like rabies.

He seems ok for the most part, he's starting to walk, his eyes are now open, he takes bottles like crazy. However he spaces out sometimes and just doesn't seem to react to much and his little head will sort of roll about. He always reacts to be picked up, petted, etc. Just now he's purring loudly after a bottle and is sleeping on my wife.

Should I be worried about this? What are the odds the little fellow has rabies? Everyone in my family has handled him including my kids so I'm worried.

 

[Cuchculan]

I think you would know if an animal had rabies. There are some pretty obvious signs. New born. Getting used to life. Learning as it goes. Only normally they learn off their mother. He would react a little bit bit more crazy if he had rabies. Probably wouldn't want you to go near him at all. Fact that he reponds well to been picked up is a good thing. That he lets you feed him. These are plus signs.

 

[Adel]

Hello I have had kittend many times and they like to space out on anything. Sometimes they won’t see me till I pet them or pick them up. I know because they shake a little when I touch them. He has just opened its eyes so it’s normal. If he had rabies he would be aggressive or extremely apathetic. I think stomach issues could be only a bad reaction to the milk you gave him. If he purrs that means that he is happy and that means he is ok.