This is baby “Kai”…one of our little orphaned foster raccoons. Kai has just been fed, and is now having a nap, surrounded by stuffed teddies. Kai is only around 2 weeks old, and the eyes don’t open until raccoons are around 3 weeks old.
Kai was born in a barn, and the farmers dog killed Kai’s mom, as she fought to protect her three babies. The babies were newborn, with their long umbilical cords still attached. Two babies didn’t make it…they were just so tiny and fragile.
But Kai is a survivor, and doing extremely well. Kai loves the special raccoon formula. When baby raccoons are so tiny, they can easily aspirate when being fed via a baby bottle, and aspiration leads to aspiration pneumonia, which can be deadly. So Kai is fed by inserting a feeding tube into the tummy and injecting the formula with a syringe attached to the feeding tube. Once Kai gets a little older, we will switch to using a baby bottle.
Did you know that raccoons purr? Kai loves to purr loudly after a feeding, and then it’s nappy time, surrounded by teddy bears. Kai’s “nest crate” is also on a heating pad, so Kai remains warm and cozy.