Foster

TIPS ON FOSTERING A BABY ANIMAL
If you have picked up a baby animal and cannot find any fosterers, this is what you can do:
1. Warmth
Keep the animal warm by using towels, hot water gloves or hot water bottles. 
2. Nutrition
Feed the kitten/puppy every 2 hours with kitten/puppy milk (bought from the vet’s or petfood store). You can use a syringe or a feeding bottle. DO NOT OVERFEED. DIARRHOEA KILLS.
Highly recommended brand: Pets Own (it is lactose-free) and TopLife. 
DO NOT USE COW’S MILK because it may cause diarrhoea which may lead to dehydration and death.  
If you really have no choice, goat’s milk may be an alternative, but dilute it. 
Wipe the kitten/puppy’s mouth area with wet cotton pad to prevent a milk rash after each feed.  
If you do not have kitten/puppy milk, give glucose water. Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar level) can also kill. However, glucose water is only a temporary measure. Revert to kitten/puppy milk as soon as you can. 
If the kitten/puppy already has teeth, you can give canned wetfood, crushed dry food for kittens/puppies or steamed chicken breastmeat. 
In nursing infant animals, it is important to check for dehydration by doing the pinch-test. Pinch the skin on the scruff and let go. If it takes a long time for the skin to bounce back, this may indicate dehydration. If the animal is severely dehydrated, a vet’s immediately attention is needed. 
3. Urination & Defecation
If the kitten/puppy cannot urinate or defecate by itself, massage the kitten/puppy’s tummy and private parts with a wet, warm cotton pad to stimulate urination/defecation. Baby animals sometimes may not defecate every day if the milk is adequately absorbed, but they must urinate every day. If they do not, please take them to the vet immediately. 

4. Medical attention
Bring the baby animal to the vet’s AS SOON AS POSSIBLE for proper medical advice. The vet will advise if deworming can be done. Certain worms like hookworms are very deadly and can cause death. Contact us if you need a subsidy: http://myanimalcare.org/contact/
Holding the baby animal close to your heart is very comforting. 

Tips on fostering a baby bird
Buy chicken feed from the wet market, mix it with water into small blobs and feed the baby bird with it, using a chopstick. You could also use oats and do the same, as a temporary measure. 
Baby birds must be kept warm at all times. Use soft tissue paper to make a nest. 

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