Newborn Kittens How To Care For Them

Care for Newborn Kittens by thevetscare.com. A mother cat’s milk provides everything a kitten needs during the first four weeks of life. If you have newborn kittens who’ve been separated from their mother, consult with a veterinarian, shelter or experienced foster care giver who can help you find a new mother cat with a small litter-she may be able to nurse the orphaned babies.

Newborn kittens how to care for them. To care for newborn kittens when the mother cat is still present, feed the mother to keep her strength up, but leave the kittens alone for the first week to ensure the mother doesn't reject them. If the mother cat is not around, you'll need to prepare and feed them yourself. New Kitten and Mother Cat Care . The first two to three weeks are the most crucial for a mother cat and her newborn kittens. The kittens should be developing rapidly, and if the mother is going to have any postpartum problems, it will happen during that period. Bottom line: If they are in your care, start handling newborn kittens as soon as it is safe to do so, and without agitating the mother cat. When you start handling the kittens, be gentle, handle them for short periods of time, and keep a close eye on the mother's behavior to be sure they are not being disturbed by your actions. Kittens like Darling, and his siblings, are completely dependent on their mother (or you!) for protection, warmth, and nutrition. Even so, these kittens can purr and make distress calls. They spend 90 percent of their time sleeping and the other 10 percent eating. Want to learn more about kittens and how to care about them in the first week?

Newborn kitties generally can take care of by themselves with the help of mother feline once they are cozy and also tidy after being birthed. Warming up a kitty ought to be done normally if perhaps or under a monitored watch if a hot pad is utilized. After that, it's best to start socializing them by handling them a few times a day, picking them up and touching them all over -- usually between weeks two and seven -- as this is considered a fundamental time in their social development. For more on kitten care, read Kitten Care Stages: Newborn to 72 Weeks. Newborn kittens may nurse about every 1-2 hours. At about three to four weeks old, they can be offered milk replacer from a bowl and then small amounts of moistened kitten food four to six times a day. Newborn kittens need food. Kittens will usually be ready to start weaning onto solid kitten food after they are 4 or so weeks old. Until then, they will need extra special care and attention for their food intake. How to feed newborn kittens. Feeding very young kittens is a lot different than feeding older kittens.

Perhaps you have met a litter or two of allegedly abandoned kittens. Naturally, you feel the urge to rescue these poor babies. However, taking care of newborn kittens without the mother is challenging. I have been fostering kittens and puppies for a number of years. Taking care of helpless kittens requires dedication and a lot of patience. Kittens can only absorb colostrum during their first 16 to 24 hours of life and they should feed within two hours of birth. It is essential that kittens receive colostrum to protect them against disease. If any kittens do not receive the first milk, contact your vet. Newborn kittens need to feed every two to three hours. Fostering kittens is fun, rewarding, and lightning-fast if you do it right! Plan on caring for them until they are old enough to be neutered – right around eight weeks old. In the meantime, search for the perfect forever home, get them all their standard veterinary care, and enjoy watching them grow. It’ll be over before you know it! 10. If the kittens are orphaned, you are now the mother and you need to care for them and feed them. As to how to handle the kittens, hold them gently for only a 10-15 minutes at a time, and do so in the company of the mother since her presence reassures the kittens and the mother cat too (see Mother's Behavior for more).

In the meantime, you must find a way to feed the kittens since they need to eat every few hours with the exact frequency depending on their age. This is usually done by bottle-feeding kitten formula. It is also essential to provide motherly care to newborn kittens. Keep them warm and help them urinate and defecate. Caring for them is actually not too hard once you know how to take care of mother cat and newborn kittens. As long as you have patience and remember the basics about feeding, handling, socialization, preventive care, and toilet training, you will be raising strong, healthy kittens in no time. Taking care of newborn kittens that have been orphaned can be very rewarding, but very challenging. Humans are poor substitutes for a mother cat, and care and feeding of very young kittens is a full-time job. Unfortunately, sometimes a mother cat is unwell and unable to nurse, or else she rejects. Newborn Kitten Care can be both one of the most exciting experiences you've ever had and one of the most devastating. Throughout my life and my career as a feline veterinarian, I've been involved in raising kittens many times. When things go well, it is very rewarding. However, when a kitten doesn't survive, it is so very sad.

I knew very little about newborn kitten care (but a lot about cat care), so a visit to my local veterinarian was the first thing on my list. Don't be afraid to ask plenty of questions or for recommendations. Your primary concern in caring for your newborn kitten is temperature regulation. Newborn kittens get cold very easily. Continue reading to learn how to care for newborn kittens. We have categorized this article based on how old the newborns are. It’s important to know the stages of development of newborn kittens so that you will have an idea of what exactly it is that they need and how to properly be of assistance to them.