Newborn Kitten Care
During the first few weeks of life, a kitten's primary concerns are feeding, keeping warm, developing social skills and learning how to excrete on his own. In most cases, humans will simply watch the mother cat perform her duties. However, if the kitten in your care has been separated from his mother or if the mother cat has rejected her young or cannot produce enough milk, caring for him is up to you.
How Do I Feed a Newborn Kitten?
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. If you cannot find a foster mother, please consult with your veterinarian about the proper way to bottle-feed with a commercial milk replacer. Please do not offer regular cow's milk to cats of any age. It is not easily digestible and can cause diarrhea.
You will need to have a warm, snuggly nest box for the baby or babies. Since the infants will soil their container, I usually look around for a small cardboard box or a large plastic storage container without the lid. You will need a heating pad or perhaps a heat lamp. However, when using a heating pad or heat lamp make sure that the kittens will be able to crawl away from the heat source because it may become too warm for them (This is very important as many kittens die from overheating than from chill). Warmth is especially important for the first 14 days of a kitten’s life because they have not yet developed the ability to control their body temperature.
Before you place the kittens in their nesting box make sure to check for fleas, if the kittens do have fleas you can use luke warm water and dish soap to bathe the kittens and then use tweezers and/or a flea comb and drop those little buggers into a jar of rubbing alcohol or vodka. Do not ignore a flea problem because those little buggers can quickly suck kitten’s dry of blood. If there were many fleas and the kittens gums are pale, a drop of pediatric vitamins with iron per day should be helpful.
If the kitten is weak you may need to tube feed it. If so, pick up a 3-milliliter syringe and an 18 gauge butterfly infusion tube from a veterinary hospital or human medical supply center for tube feeding and ask an experienced kitten rehabber to show you how it is done. If you need a reference you can use YouTube, there are many instructional videos on how to tube feed.
What Do Kittens Eat Besides Milk?
When the orphaned kittens are three to four weeks old, begin to offer milk replacer (KMR milk replacer works great) sometimes I also add a little goats milk to the formula. You should try and keep a notebook of how often you are feeding the kitten or kittens. You may also want to keep track of their weight gain with a food scale. You can make gruel from warmed milk replacer and a high-quality dry or canned kitten food. Serve it in a shallow bowl and feed the kittens several times each day. By five weeks old, they should be getting used to their new diet. By six to seven weeks old, they should be able to chew dry food and you'll no longer need to moisten it.
Make sure that the nesting box is placed in a draft free location. Be sure the sides of the box are at least six inches high so that the kitten(s) are not able to crawl up and fall out. Make sure that the area is safe from other pets and children. Children are fascinated with kittens and will love them to death. Besides, many of these kittens are a source of ringworm that spread to children very easily. The nesting box should be no higher and no lower than 90 degrees and can be gradually lowered as the kitten gets older. When the kitten reaches the end of its first month of life he/she can tolerate room air at 70-75 F.
Kittens need large amounts of energy—about two to three times that of an adult cat. About 30 percent of their total energy should come from protein. Make sure the food you offer is specifically formulated for kittens.
How Often Should a Kitten Eat?
Always slightly underfeed than overfeed the kitten. It is always safer to give more frequent, smaller feedings than a few large ones. A good kitten nursing bottle holds 2-4 ounces of formula. They generally come with holes punched in the nipple. Personally, I use a pair of scissors to make a slight hole in the nipple because needles never work for me but you can try heating a needle over a flame and then inserting two small holes in the top of the nipple. The holes should be only big enough so that a few drops of milk drip out when the bottle is pointed down and vigorously shaken. If too many holes are punched in the cap, the kittens will inhale the formula rather than swallow it, causing the kitten to aspirate the formula which often causes pneumonia and may also cause bloat and diarrhea. Some find it easier to feed with newborn kittens with a syringe and then switch to a bottle when the kitten is two weeks old.
If the formula starts to bubble out of the kitten’s nose it is flowing too rapidly from the bottle, you are holding the kitten wrong, or it is too weak to suckle normally; most of the time it is due to large holes in the nipple or overfeeding.
If you decided to use can formula, dilute the first few feedings 50-50 with pedialyte. If you are using the powder, mix it half-strength with boiled water or pedialyte for the first few feedings and then gradually, over the next 24-36 hours, bring it to full strength. Make sure to mix it really well so there are no lumps. When I am preparing the formula, I use warm water, DO NOT use your microwave as it will heat unevenly and may cause burn in the kitten’s mouth.
Feed your kitten while they are resting on their tummies. Never feed them upright as you would a human infant. Wet the outside of the nipple with a little bit of the formula so the kitten will get a taste and this may help them to suckle. Then, gently insert the nipple into the kitten’s mouth using a prying motion while you apply pressure to the sides of the bottle to release a drop or two of formula. From then on your kitten should suck on its own.
During the first week, feed the kitten every two hours. During the next three weeks, feed them every three hours. When the kittens are four weeks old, they can be fed every six to twelve hours depending on how much solid food they are already eating.
Make sure to boil your nursing bottles or syringes between every use. If the kittens did not get their mother’s antibodies through colostrum, I often add antibiotic powder to their formula for a week or two.
How much should I feed?
Newborn kittens during their first week need to consume about 32 cc of formula per day. That is based on an average kitten weighing 120 grams. Because normal kittens range in weight at birth from 85 to 120 grams, the amount of formula they should drink is going to vary.
That amount should be spread out into about ten feedings, spaced about every 2 and-a-half hours round the clock. If the kitten is weak or stressed, it is even more important to give it more frequent feeding throughout the day and night.
During their second week, an average kitten consumes about 55 cc per day of formula. You can already cut back on the number of feedings if the kitten is steadily gaining weight.
By week three, the kitten should be consuming about 80 cc of formula per day; by four weeks 100 cc/day, and by 5 weeks about 125cc/day. By four weeks the amount of formula the kitten consumes per feeding should have risen so that you get by with 5-7 feedings per day.
Kittens that are hungry and need feeding will cry continuously, move their heads from side to side and suckle on each other or on objects in the nest box.
Burping the Kitten
After each feeding hold the kitten upright with its tummy against your shoulder and pat it gently until it burps, releasing trapped air. Nursing bottles that do not release enough milk lead to more air being trapped as the kitten nurses. If the kitten should bloat or become colicky add a few drops of infant anti colic drops (simethicone, Equate Infants’ Gas Relief, Walmart Stores Inc.) to the formula and experiment with a new nipple, another feeding technique or different brand of formula.
Helping the Kittens to Eliminate
Normal kitten stools are yellowish brown with a jam-like consistency. After every feeding, gently massage the anus and urinary orifice with a cotton ball or Kleenex moistened with warm water until they urinate and defecate. You may also like to use baby wipes; however, baby wipes are usually damp and can cause the kitten to become wet and they may get cold. Make sure to use a dry wash cloth or towel to dry off the kitten once you are done cleaning them.
Be very gentle when you do this and don’t worry if no urine or stool is produced after every feeding. By the time the kitten is three weeks old it should be able to get by without your help.
Can I Hold the Kitten?
Kittens that are with their mother should not be over-handled, especially not during their first week of life—this may upset the mother. If the kitten in your care is younger than one week old, please consult your veterinarian. In order to properly socialize a young feline to humans, start to handle him from the second week on through the seventh week—this is considered an important time for socialization.
Please note, kittens are prone to injury if handled roughly—anyone who handles the little ones in your care will need to be very gentle. Young children in particular should be supervised.
How Do I Teach a Kitten to Go the Bathroom?
After feeding, a mother cat will groom her babies, paying special attention to the anal area. This stimulates excretion, which kittens can't do on their own until their second or third week. If your kitten is no longer with her mother, dip a soft washcloth or a piece of gauze in warm water and gently massage the anal and urinary regions. The warmth, texture and movement mimic a mother cat's tongue.
When the kittens are four weeks old, you can teach them to use a litter box by placing them in the box after their meals. Cutting one side down will make it easier for the kittens to go in and out. Generally speaking kittens instinctively know how to use the litter box without their mother’s help.
Problems that may arise
Kittens that have been abandoned are often chilled, dehydrated and hypoglycemic (low blood sugar). If a kitten is cold and lethargic, giving it karo syrup is not a good idea. It needs an injection of glucose from your favorite veterinarian.
Normal rectal temperature for a newborn kitten is 92-99F. These little kittens cannot regulate their body temperature well. That's why they need the heating pad or hot water bottle you provide. By their second week rectal temperature should be 97-100F. By their fourth week normal rectal temperature should be 100-102F (the same as adult cats). The first thing to do is to warm them up very slowly and carefully to ninety degrees.
If the kittens are still too weak to nurse they may also need sterile subcutaneous solutions, like ringers or D5W. This is best done by a veterinarian or veterinary nurse. A newborn kitten can receive approximately three milliliters (cc) of fluid subcutaneous. It can be repeated as soon as the bubble of fluid under its skin has dissipated.
Watery yellowish or greenish stools are sometimes caused by feeding too much or too quickly. If they occur, try diluting the formula 50-50 with pedialyte until the stools return to normal consistency. You can also give the kitten 2-3 drops of kaopectate just prior to each feeding. (For a while, not indefinitely)
Overly hard stools that are clumped and cheese-like are sometimes due to feeding the formula too concentrated. When kittens strain to defecate and pass overly-hard stools, increase the frequency of feeding and dilute the formula. These impacted (bound up) kittens also have a bloated abdomen. You can give them a few drops of mineral oil or cat hairball paste to help them evacuate the stool and I like to gently massage their tummies. If they still remain bound up they may need a warm water enema. This is best done at a veterinary hospital. Never use phosphate enemas - such as Fleet, on a cat.
Dehydration is most common in newly acquired kittens that have not had access to milk for 24-48 hours. Dehydrated kittens are very weak and inactive. Their skin does not spring back when pinched but instead has a clay-like consistency. These kittens are best treated with sterile sugar-saline containing fluids injected under their skin.
The vaccine should immunize against feline pan leukopenia (cat distemper), feline rhinotracheitis (herpes 1) and feline calicivirus. At 12 weeks it should receive a rabies vaccination and at 12 and 18 weeks the kitten should also be vaccinated against feline leukemia. Do not use cheap vaccines. The best are made by Merial, Pfizer, and Intervet. After its first year-end boosters, it does not need additional vaccinations for many years - despite what is written on the box. How you deal with local rabies vaccination ordinances is something you must decide for yourself.
Weaning your kitten(s)
Begin to offer your kitten sold foods when it is three and a half weeks old. By four and a half weeks, the kitten should be weaned. Purchase some cans of gourmet cat food in chicken and beef flavors and smear a bit on the cat’s pallet. It will soon get the idea.
Do not feed it fish flavored foods or it will become a fussy eater. Besides, there seems to be a connection between fish flavors and later thyroid problems
This is the same time you should begin to offer the kitten formula in a bowl. The earlier a kitten eats on its own the better. If you use strained meat baby foods be sure they contain no onion powder. I do not suggest you get your kitten hooked on human baby foods because they are way too low in calcium and vitamins. Kittens love them, but they will develop bowed legs and soft teeth. If you give them, be sure there is another adequate source of calcium and vitamin D in their diet.
Although many kittens will eat as early as four weeks, some make take an additional two or three weeks before they express interest in solid food. Slowly substitute moistened kitten chow for baby foods or canned cat food. As soon as kitten chow is offered keep a dish of water available for the kitten. By the time the kitten is 10 weeks old it should be receiving some dry kitten chow. As a lifetime diet, there are pros and cons to dry and wet diets.
Best Wishes and Good Luck :)
How Do I Feed a Newborn Kitten?
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. If you cannot find a foster mother, please consult with your veterinarian about the proper way to bottle-feed with a commercial milk replacer. Please do not offer regular cow's milk to cats of any age. It is not easily digestible and can cause diarrhea.
You will need to have a warm, snuggly nest box for the baby or babies. Since the infants will soil their container, I usually look around for a small cardboard box or a large plastic storage container without the lid. You will need a heating pad or perhaps a heat lamp. However, when using a heating pad or heat lamp make sure that the kittens will be able to crawl away from the heat source because it may become too warm for them (This is very important as many kittens die from overheating than from chill). Warmth is especially important for the first 14 days of a kitten’s life because they have not yet developed the ability to control their body temperature.
Before you place the kittens in their nesting box make sure to check for fleas, if the kittens do have fleas you can use luke warm water and dish soap to bathe the kittens and then use tweezers and/or a flea comb and drop those little buggers into a jar of rubbing alcohol or vodka. Do not ignore a flea problem because those little buggers can quickly suck kitten’s dry of blood. If there were many fleas and the kittens gums are pale, a drop of pediatric vitamins with iron per day should be helpful.
If the kitten is weak you may need to tube feed it. If so, pick up a 3-milliliter syringe and an 18 gauge butterfly infusion tube from a veterinary hospital or human medical supply center for tube feeding and ask an experienced kitten rehabber to show you how it is done. If you need a reference you can use YouTube, there are many instructional videos on how to tube feed.
What Do Kittens Eat Besides Milk?
When the orphaned kittens are three to four weeks old, begin to offer milk replacer (KMR milk replacer works great) sometimes I also add a little goats milk to the formula. You should try and keep a notebook of how often you are feeding the kitten or kittens. You may also want to keep track of their weight gain with a food scale. You can make gruel from warmed milk replacer and a high-quality dry or canned kitten food. Serve it in a shallow bowl and feed the kittens several times each day. By five weeks old, they should be getting used to their new diet. By six to seven weeks old, they should be able to chew dry food and you'll no longer need to moisten it.
Make sure that the nesting box is placed in a draft free location. Be sure the sides of the box are at least six inches high so that the kitten(s) are not able to crawl up and fall out. Make sure that the area is safe from other pets and children. Children are fascinated with kittens and will love them to death. Besides, many of these kittens are a source of ringworm that spread to children very easily. The nesting box should be no higher and no lower than 90 degrees and can be gradually lowered as the kitten gets older. When the kitten reaches the end of its first month of life he/she can tolerate room air at 70-75 F.
Kittens need large amounts of energy—about two to three times that of an adult cat. About 30 percent of their total energy should come from protein. Make sure the food you offer is specifically formulated for kittens.
How Often Should a Kitten Eat?
Always slightly underfeed than overfeed the kitten. It is always safer to give more frequent, smaller feedings than a few large ones. A good kitten nursing bottle holds 2-4 ounces of formula. They generally come with holes punched in the nipple. Personally, I use a pair of scissors to make a slight hole in the nipple because needles never work for me but you can try heating a needle over a flame and then inserting two small holes in the top of the nipple. The holes should be only big enough so that a few drops of milk drip out when the bottle is pointed down and vigorously shaken. If too many holes are punched in the cap, the kittens will inhale the formula rather than swallow it, causing the kitten to aspirate the formula which often causes pneumonia and may also cause bloat and diarrhea. Some find it easier to feed with newborn kittens with a syringe and then switch to a bottle when the kitten is two weeks old.
If the formula starts to bubble out of the kitten’s nose it is flowing too rapidly from the bottle, you are holding the kitten wrong, or it is too weak to suckle normally; most of the time it is due to large holes in the nipple or overfeeding.
If you decided to use can formula, dilute the first few feedings 50-50 with pedialyte. If you are using the powder, mix it half-strength with boiled water or pedialyte for the first few feedings and then gradually, over the next 24-36 hours, bring it to full strength. Make sure to mix it really well so there are no lumps. When I am preparing the formula, I use warm water, DO NOT use your microwave as it will heat unevenly and may cause burn in the kitten’s mouth.
Feed your kitten while they are resting on their tummies. Never feed them upright as you would a human infant. Wet the outside of the nipple with a little bit of the formula so the kitten will get a taste and this may help them to suckle. Then, gently insert the nipple into the kitten’s mouth using a prying motion while you apply pressure to the sides of the bottle to release a drop or two of formula. From then on your kitten should suck on its own.
During the first week, feed the kitten every two hours. During the next three weeks, feed them every three hours. When the kittens are four weeks old, they can be fed every six to twelve hours depending on how much solid food they are already eating.
Make sure to boil your nursing bottles or syringes between every use. If the kittens did not get their mother’s antibodies through colostrum, I often add antibiotic powder to their formula for a week or two.
How much should I feed?
Newborn kittens during their first week need to consume about 32 cc of formula per day. That is based on an average kitten weighing 120 grams. Because normal kittens range in weight at birth from 85 to 120 grams, the amount of formula they should drink is going to vary.
That amount should be spread out into about ten feedings, spaced about every 2 and-a-half hours round the clock. If the kitten is weak or stressed, it is even more important to give it more frequent feeding throughout the day and night.
During their second week, an average kitten consumes about 55 cc per day of formula. You can already cut back on the number of feedings if the kitten is steadily gaining weight.
By week three, the kitten should be consuming about 80 cc of formula per day; by four weeks 100 cc/day, and by 5 weeks about 125cc/day. By four weeks the amount of formula the kitten consumes per feeding should have risen so that you get by with 5-7 feedings per day.
Kittens that are hungry and need feeding will cry continuously, move their heads from side to side and suckle on each other or on objects in the nest box.
Burping the Kitten
After each feeding hold the kitten upright with its tummy against your shoulder and pat it gently until it burps, releasing trapped air. Nursing bottles that do not release enough milk lead to more air being trapped as the kitten nurses. If the kitten should bloat or become colicky add a few drops of infant anti colic drops (simethicone, Equate Infants’ Gas Relief, Walmart Stores Inc.) to the formula and experiment with a new nipple, another feeding technique or different brand of formula.
Helping the Kittens to Eliminate
Normal kitten stools are yellowish brown with a jam-like consistency. After every feeding, gently massage the anus and urinary orifice with a cotton ball or Kleenex moistened with warm water until they urinate and defecate. You may also like to use baby wipes; however, baby wipes are usually damp and can cause the kitten to become wet and they may get cold. Make sure to use a dry wash cloth or towel to dry off the kitten once you are done cleaning them.
Be very gentle when you do this and don’t worry if no urine or stool is produced after every feeding. By the time the kitten is three weeks old it should be able to get by without your help.
Can I Hold the Kitten?
Kittens that are with their mother should not be over-handled, especially not during their first week of life—this may upset the mother. If the kitten in your care is younger than one week old, please consult your veterinarian. In order to properly socialize a young feline to humans, start to handle him from the second week on through the seventh week—this is considered an important time for socialization.
Please note, kittens are prone to injury if handled roughly—anyone who handles the little ones in your care will need to be very gentle. Young children in particular should be supervised.
How Do I Teach a Kitten to Go the Bathroom?
After feeding, a mother cat will groom her babies, paying special attention to the anal area. This stimulates excretion, which kittens can't do on their own until their second or third week. If your kitten is no longer with her mother, dip a soft washcloth or a piece of gauze in warm water and gently massage the anal and urinary regions. The warmth, texture and movement mimic a mother cat's tongue.
When the kittens are four weeks old, you can teach them to use a litter box by placing them in the box after their meals. Cutting one side down will make it easier for the kittens to go in and out. Generally speaking kittens instinctively know how to use the litter box without their mother’s help.
Problems that may arise
Kittens that have been abandoned are often chilled, dehydrated and hypoglycemic (low blood sugar). If a kitten is cold and lethargic, giving it karo syrup is not a good idea. It needs an injection of glucose from your favorite veterinarian.
Normal rectal temperature for a newborn kitten is 92-99F. These little kittens cannot regulate their body temperature well. That's why they need the heating pad or hot water bottle you provide. By their second week rectal temperature should be 97-100F. By their fourth week normal rectal temperature should be 100-102F (the same as adult cats). The first thing to do is to warm them up very slowly and carefully to ninety degrees.
If the kittens are still too weak to nurse they may also need sterile subcutaneous solutions, like ringers or D5W. This is best done by a veterinarian or veterinary nurse. A newborn kitten can receive approximately three milliliters (cc) of fluid subcutaneous. It can be repeated as soon as the bubble of fluid under its skin has dissipated.
Watery yellowish or greenish stools are sometimes caused by feeding too much or too quickly. If they occur, try diluting the formula 50-50 with pedialyte until the stools return to normal consistency. You can also give the kitten 2-3 drops of kaopectate just prior to each feeding. (For a while, not indefinitely)
Overly hard stools that are clumped and cheese-like are sometimes due to feeding the formula too concentrated. When kittens strain to defecate and pass overly-hard stools, increase the frequency of feeding and dilute the formula. These impacted (bound up) kittens also have a bloated abdomen. You can give them a few drops of mineral oil or cat hairball paste to help them evacuate the stool and I like to gently massage their tummies. If they still remain bound up they may need a warm water enema. This is best done at a veterinary hospital. Never use phosphate enemas - such as Fleet, on a cat.
Dehydration is most common in newly acquired kittens that have not had access to milk for 24-48 hours. Dehydrated kittens are very weak and inactive. Their skin does not spring back when pinched but instead has a clay-like consistency. These kittens are best treated with sterile sugar-saline containing fluids injected under their skin.
The vaccine should immunize against feline pan leukopenia (cat distemper), feline rhinotracheitis (herpes 1) and feline calicivirus. At 12 weeks it should receive a rabies vaccination and at 12 and 18 weeks the kitten should also be vaccinated against feline leukemia. Do not use cheap vaccines. The best are made by Merial, Pfizer, and Intervet. After its first year-end boosters, it does not need additional vaccinations for many years - despite what is written on the box. How you deal with local rabies vaccination ordinances is something you must decide for yourself.
Weaning your kitten(s)
Begin to offer your kitten sold foods when it is three and a half weeks old. By four and a half weeks, the kitten should be weaned. Purchase some cans of gourmet cat food in chicken and beef flavors and smear a bit on the cat’s pallet. It will soon get the idea.
Do not feed it fish flavored foods or it will become a fussy eater. Besides, there seems to be a connection between fish flavors and later thyroid problems
This is the same time you should begin to offer the kitten formula in a bowl. The earlier a kitten eats on its own the better. If you use strained meat baby foods be sure they contain no onion powder. I do not suggest you get your kitten hooked on human baby foods because they are way too low in calcium and vitamins. Kittens love them, but they will develop bowed legs and soft teeth. If you give them, be sure there is another adequate source of calcium and vitamin D in their diet.
Although many kittens will eat as early as four weeks, some make take an additional two or three weeks before they express interest in solid food. Slowly substitute moistened kitten chow for baby foods or canned cat food. As soon as kitten chow is offered keep a dish of water available for the kitten. By the time the kitten is 10 weeks old it should be receiving some dry kitten chow. As a lifetime diet, there are pros and cons to dry and wet diets.
Best Wishes and Good Luck :)