Caring for Newborn Kittens
What to Do if Mother Cat Abandons Kittens
If you have a new litter of kittens, the likelihood is that their mother is doing a great job of caring for them. There are times, however, when a mother will simply ignore a newborn kitten for some reason. You may just need to help out for a couple of days in the case of a cesarean, or if your cat has passed away, you may be raising the litter completely on your own.
How to Know if Kittens are Getting Enough to Eat
In either situation, it is helpful to understand a kitten's needs and what you can do to give them the best possible start in their life. Your kitten will probably weigh around 3 ounces when they are first born. If you weigh them each day, you can keep a record of their growth to make sure they are gaining some each day. This lets you know they are getting enough to eat. If all your kittens look alike, you can mark their toe with a permanent marker so you can identify them at each weigh-in. A kitten may mew a bit when they are eating, but they should not cry or be generally fussy. If they are, you should give your vet a call.
Feeding Orphaned Kittens
DO NOT feed the kittens cow milk or other milk for humans or dogs. This can lead to dehydration and death. If you are feeding the kittens yourself due to them being orphaned or because your mother cat didn't make enough milk, or you have a large litter and are helping your cat by supplemental feeding, you can either bottle feed kittens or tube feed them. Kittens can be feed a milk replacement formula specifically made for kittens. Kittens need a precise amount of food per weight, and tube feeding can be tricky. It is best to talk to your vet about how much to feed and get a quick lesson on tube feeding.
How to Clean and Care for Newborn Kittens
For the majority of the day, a newborn kitten will sleep. When they are not sleeping, they are eating. A newborn kitten cannot urinate or defecate on his own until he is about 2 ½ weeks old. You should keep an eye on mom and make sure she is licking and cleaning her kittens' bottoms. If she is not (or not available to do so), you will have to do this yourself. You will take a piece of moistened cloth and gently rub the kitten's genital area to stimulate him to "go potty." This has to be done every two hours around the clock. If you're raising the litter on your own, you're up feeding every two hours anyway.
When it comes to raising kittens, cleanliness is certainly next to godliness. You'll need to change blankets out twice a day. When kittens scoot around, and boy do they scoot around a lot, their genitals will be stimulated and they pee and poo on their blankets. If you are raising an orphaned litter, you will also want to wipe the kittens off with a lightly damp cloth when you change their blankets. Don't soak them wet because you don't want them to get chilled.
Teaching Kittens to Eat and Use the Litter Box
At 3-4 weeks old, your kittens will start to leave the nest and wander around their area. At this time, you can introduce them to real food. You can soften some dry kitten food with mixed kitten milk replacement (KMR), and feed them on a flat plate at first. You can give them this three to four times each day. Most kittens catch on pretty quickly! When they start eating real food, you'll also want to place a litter box near them. They will crawl in and out of it and learn what it is for. Most kittens will be using the litter box by the time they are 5 weeks old. Use only plain clay litter for kittens.
Begin Socializing Kittens Early!
Don't be afraid to love and cuddle your newborns. The earlier they are socialized to human contact, the better! |
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