raising an abandoned puppy, need help -_-

[Nuttzy]

well I was having a ****ty day, depressed, crying vomiting and all that fun stuff, and my Aunt called, said she was going to some garage sales, and asked if i wanted to go. Me and my mother used to go to garage sales when she was able to drive, so i figured it'd be nice to do it again, to "garage sale shop in her honor", and though i bought nothing but a Nintendo Duck Hunt cap, we stumbled upon some people selling some full blooded chihuahua puppies for 80 bucks.

I considered buying one at first, but changed my mind and moved on to the next sale, then remembered my mother saying she wanted a chihuahua a few years back, fighting back the tears i walked back and bought the only girl one they had and named it after her.

what they didn't tell me however, is that this puppy was still on the tit milk,i have to bottle feed it warm milk, and spoon feed it baby food every 3 hours. This was what was suggested to me by my aunt who rescues animals and so far thats what I've been doing and its not dead yet, so I'm guessing its working


it will sounds stupid i know, but having to force feed it like this reminded me of my mother when i had to help her eat sometimes, it made me a nervous wreck, my eyes were bloodshot, my nose started bleeding (stress related), and i couldn't (still cant) quit shaking. Ive come to the conclusion that there is no way in hell that i can bring myself to take care of another living thing. I don't trust myself, I failed to be there for my mother in her final hours, and if something happened to this puppy and someone(thing) else died because i wasn't there, I would probably go insane, and i don't mean that in a joking manner.

I've started considering letting its cage door stay open so my cat can kill it, so i can blame it on the cat to get rid of it, so i am clearly not in the right mindset after 3 very stressful nights without sleep,

My game plan for now, is to take care of it until it can eat on its own (however long that is)and then try to sell it to get my money back, (full blooded chihuahuas usually sell for 150-200 bucks) as i don't think i could stomach giving away a puppy to someone who was unprepared for it.

Does anyone, and I mean ANYONE have any advice on taking care of a 3-4 week old puppy? or any secret way to get them to stay asleep longer? so I can get some sleep myself?

Like i said ive been bottle feeding it, but it still cries and cries. I cant hold it outside of its cage or the cat tries to kill it, I know all it wants to be held but the cat wants blood, He has never acted this way, it would only take a single mistake to kill it, and it would be my fault for exposing the dog to the cat.

I know its just a puppy, and i probably look like a giant pussy to all you guys wigging out like this over a dog, but the little bastard reminds me of my mother, so it stresses and worries the **** out of me that something might happen to it, and that it would be my fault again if it did.


long ass post/rant ftw (and i truly am sorry for the depressing emo parts)


EDIT** I just noticed the thread title >_>, i interpreted abandoned as in taken away from its mother prematurely, wrong definition i know but it seemed to fit at the time

 

[Zeonix]

You have a few options, and most of them require you to lock your cat in the bathroom. I haven't raised a puppy, but I've had my cat since she was about a week old, so I had to treat her like an infant. The problem with chihuahuas is they're chihuahuas. I mean, they're annoying and it's going to cry and shake a lot. That's what they do. Well, that and snap at things. Really, the only thing you can do is either let it sleep on your bed with you, preferably on your pillow so you don't accidentally roll over on it (I almost smothered my cat this way), or make it a little puppy house. I made my kitten a house made of two cardboard boxes, and put a bunch of blankets in it. Put the puppy in the box (make sure you make an entrance/exit....) when you want to sleep. It won't die of starvation if you don't feed it for 8 hours. Once you're up, you have to treat it like a baby and devote all of your time and attention to it. At some point it'll fall asleep, and you can try to get some "me time" in before it wakes up.

Back to my initial point, lock your cat somewhere. You obviously haven't introduced your cat to too many other animals or else it wouldn't be trying to kill the puppy. If you let it loose, your cat is going to investigate, and take a swipe at the dog. If your cat is anything like my cat, you'll wake up one morning to find the puppy with a broken neck on your pillow, and a grinning cat near it. You know, because the cat killed the puppy for you, and is letting you feed on its kill.

It's really just common sense. Feed it when you need to, put it away when it wants to sleep, keep it away from predators. Keep it warm, keep it away from loud noises for now, and hope it doesn't turn into an ******* like every other chihuahua alive, or else selling it will prove to be difficult. Personally, I think you're going to have a hard time selling it just because no one wants an adult pet. Sell it when it's 5 or 6 months old if you need to, but waiting any longer decreases the chance of it getting adopted or sold.

 

[Hibiki]

The most important thing you need to do is separate your cat from the dog completely. Cat needs to go in one room and dog in another. Make sure all the litterbox, cat dishes, toys, ect are not in the same room as the dog.

Animals need to be introduced to each other slowly and you need to be with them at all times during this so they get the idea that the other animal is off limits.

 

[Zeonix]

If your cat is already fully grown, it's going to take quite some time to get it used to the puppy. Sometimes time isn't even a factor. The cat just won't want to put up with another animal. If it were just curious and showed no malice, you could just hold the cat and let it sniff around the puppy, but it sounds like you have a wildcat on the prowl. Since you don't intend on keeping the dog, I don't think you should even bother letting them get adjusted to each other.

 

[Deverz]

One way I've heard of intrducing cats to other animals is get a blanket with the Puppy's scent so it can become used to it's smell. But make sure where ever the puppy is it's a Cat-free-zone

 

[Hibiki]

Since you don't intend on keeping the dog, I don't think you should even bother letting them get adjusted to each other.

Yeah thats probably the best thing to do. Its just going to be more stress on both animals otherwise.

 

[Nuttzy]

well the vet gave it a clean bill of health, dropped about 100 bucks on new bottles and actual pet milk, and the actual "inspection" of the pup.

so all in all ive already spent over 200 bucks on this little brat =(.

 

[Zeonix]

You're not going to profit off of him now, so you might as well keep it. Or drown it. Whatever. It's not like it's a cat.

 

[Nuttzy]

aye, my brother wants to keep it he just doesnt want to take care of it =/.

i imagine once it starts eating on its own its going to be stuck in his room all day, seeing as the vet visit alone cost more than the dog itself.

 

[Zeonix]

Just know that even when it's fully grown, your cat can and probably will kill it, so you'll need to get them to sign a peace accord or something asap.

 

[Nuttzy]

we were gonna keep them somewhat seperate at night anyways when we cant watch them, even when it gets older.

other dog isnt fixed =/, dont want any mutant gremlin chihuahua dachshund puppies running around, i imagine theyd be butt ugly

 

[Damaera]

I'm a sucker for dogs, but it seems what you're saying is, it reminds you of your mother and you want to kill it? Wow.

Just keep it, and keep the dog and cat seperated.

 

[Nuttzy]

no, listening to it cry after 3 nights without sleep made me want to kill it.

being responsible for the life of another living thing made me think of my mother, stressed the **** out of me that i wouldnt be able to do it. but Ive calmed down a bit since then, i think (i hope) i have it under control now.

 

[-Origin]

The following might be total horsecrap but it worked with my dogs.

When they're that young and fresh out of the nest, they miss their mother. Try putting a clock underneath their pillow or whatever they sleep on to simulate a heartbeat. It helped calm my dogs down. :O

Then again, it might be luck. But give it a shot, who knows?

 

[Nuttzy]

the vet mentioned something similar too, but just to put it outside the cage. the ticking sound keeps em sleepy =)

 

[Zeonix]

Dude...don't put the puppy in a cage...

 

[sub]

Dude...don't put the puppy in a cage...

I agree.

 

[Nuttzy]

as opposed to the stomach of a cat in tiny pieces? =/

it cant even walk right yet, the cage is plenty of room for it.

 

[Spunky]

I never put my pup in a cage. I bought it a bed and a very thin blanket, that was it. Never heard a fuss from that puppy, she always slept peacefully.

 

[Zeonix]

I think the reason my cat is so close to me is because when she was a kitten, she either slept under my shirt on top of my chest where she could get a good whiff of my man scent, or next to my head on my pillow, where'd she'd cuddle next to my neck. Don't throw away that opportunity. It's worth it in the long run.