Newborn kitten care: Let’s know about Newborn kitten care. Unfortunately when spring arrives and especially in summer it is relatively easy to find orphaned newborn kittens . But what do you care that I feel so small? How to get it? Until he is two months old, his health and his life will depend entirely on the human who takes care of him. A human who must act as mother cat so that she is small and completes the desired eight weeks of age.
As this is not an easy task, we have prepared this orphaned newborn kitten care guide .
Newborn kitten care
How old is my kitten?
Before you start talking about care, you probably want to know how old she is, right? Well, 100% sure you can’t know, but this may serve as a guide:
- 0 to 1 week: During these first days of life, the kitten’s eyes and ears will be closed.
- 1 to 2 weeks: After 8 days, he will start to open his eyes, and will finish opening them after 14-17 days. At first they will be blue, but it will not be until 4 months that they acquire their final color. The ears will start to separate.
- 2 to 3 weeks: The kitten will begin to walk, avoid obstacles, and, yes, wobble a bit. At about 21 days, you will have learned to relieve yourself, and you will be able to control your body temperature.
- 3 to 4 weeks: At this age, her baby’s teeth start coming in, so she can start eating solid food.
- 4 to 8 weeks: During the second month of life the baby kitten learns to walk, run and jump. Its senses are at full capacity, but as the weeks pass, the animal must refine them. With two months it should stop giving milk.
How to care for newborn cats?
0 to 3 weeks
From birth to 3 weeks old, baby kittens are more dependent on a human than ever: they will need to receive heat 24 hours a day, eat every 2/3 hours, and excrete to relieve themselves. Will be So, it’s hard work, but it’s worth it, especially when the days go by and you see the baby kittens growing up.
Let us see in detail how to make them healthy:
heat them
If you just got a few newborn kittens, I recommend putting them in a tall cardboard box (about 40 cm) and wide, although they are small now, they will not take long to crawl. Inside it put a blanket, a thermal bottle that you may have filled with warm water, and a second blanket prepared to cover the kittens so that they are well protected from drafts.
feed them the best way
During this time the baby will need to feed the kittens milk for kittens sold at pet stores or veterinary clinics (never with cow’s milk, as it can make them sick) every 2 or in 3 hours. It is important that it is warm, at around 37ºC, and that their body is in a horizontal position and not vertical, because otherwise the milk will go into the lungs and not the stomach, which will cause pneumonia and death within a few hours. , Of course, if they’re fine and sleeping through the night, don’t wake them up. You can feed them with a syringe (new ones, so they can suckle without problems) or with a bottle for kittens, which you can find for sale in pet stores.
If we talk about the quantity, it will depend on the brand of cat’s milk. I’m giving Sasha, the little girl in the family, the dosage:
- 1st and 2nd week: 15 doses in 10 ml of water and a teaspoon (found inside the bottle).
- 3rd and 4th week: 45 doses in 8 ml of water and three tsp.
Anyway, the amounts are indicative. If the kitten is content, it will fall asleep as soon as you put it on its bed; Otherwise, you’ll have to stretch it out to give it more.
By the way, if you find them in autumn or winter, wrap them with a blanket so that they are not cold.
help relieve them
Kittens are born blind, deaf and unable to relieve themselves. They are completely dependent on the mother for absolutely everything. But not always the cat can fulfill her role as mother, either because something bad happens to her, or because she feels so stressed that she rejects the young. So, for the sake of cute babies, someone has to take care of them. This means that if you have just found some baby kittens, you will need to help them relieve themselves as well. How?
Well, little ones have to pee after each feeding, and poop at least 2 times a day (ideally, they should do it after each milk intake). Having done this, once they are satisfied, we will let 15 minutes pass, during which we will gently massage their abdomen, moving clockwise to activate their intestines. Usually, during very few minutes -2 or 3- we will see that they urinate, but defecation can cost them more. You will need to leave them very clean, with some wet wipes for animals, urine to remove feces and new ones to clean.
If we see that the time passes and we do not succeed, we will put them in such a way that their anal area is facing us, and by putting our index and middle finger on their forefinger, we will do a gentle massage only downwards , is towards the genital area. After a few minutes, with the thumb and forefinger we will massage the anus for 60 seconds. After that, or before the end of that time, the kitten is already likely to defecate, but if it hasn’t done anything, we try next time .
In any case, don’t let more than 2 days pass without a bowel movement. Well, this can be fatal. If they get constipated, something that is fed with kitten’s milk and not the cat’s mother’s milk, what we can do is take a swab from the ears, moisten cotton with warm water , and then put a few drops of olive oil and then pass it through the anus. And if they still don’t do anything, you need to get them to the vet immediately.
3 to 8 weeks
During this age, newborn kittens begin to eat solid food and relieve themselves. But they will need help, otherwise it will be very difficult for them to learn on their own.
tasting your first solid food
From the third week, solid foods can be gradually introduced into their diet. Keep in mind that they are still very young, and all this has to be done without haste. To do this, we will take the following as a guide:
- 3 to 4 weeks: You’ll need to give them about 8 shots of milk (in the bottle you specify), and you can take advantage of this by giving them 2 or 3 cans of wet kitten food.
- 4 to 5 weeks: At 30-37 days old, kittens need to be fed every 4 to 6 hours. Learn here what a one month old cat eats .
- 5 to 6 weeks: At this age, the furry ones can begin to eat solid food, such as wet kitten food. They can also be given dry fodder soaked with milk or water. The amount will be marked on the bag.
- 7 to 8 weeks: Baby cats no longer have to be babies to become puppies, that is, animals that have everything they should, in just 10 more months, gentle adult cats; They just need to improve it by feeding kittens or natural food.
game search
With four weeks you will notice that they move a lot, that they start to walk and want to explore. This will happen when they start playing with what surrounds them. In the meantime you’ll have to go get a scraper and your first toys : a ball, a stuffed animal, a cane… whatever you like.
Now they will start perfecting their hunting techniques when they discover game, and when they do, without realizing it. Make sure they are in a safe place so nothing happens to them.
learning to relieve oneself on the tray
Starting at 5 weeks, baby cats should be taught to relieve themselves in a litter box; Although it must be said that these animals are very neat and, in general, they will learn this practically on their own. But sometimes we can find kittens that need someone to teach them, in which case we will:
- We will buy a wide and low tray.
- We will fill it with natural material, such as chips.
- We’ll spray with a diuretic.
- 15-30 minutes after the kitten ate, we’d take her there, and wait.
If you leave without doing anything and then relieve yourself somewhere else, we’ll get some toilet paper and pass it through them. Then we run it again, this time through the chip.
-If you made them on the tray, we’ll give you a kitten or cuddly treat. - We’ll repeat these steps every time you eat.
socialization
Because of orphaned kittens and their constant exposure to humans, it is very likely that they will not have any socialization problems. Nevertheless, keep in mind that it is very important, always treat them with respect and affection , otherwise they will grow up in fear.
During the socialization phase, that is, for about two to three months, they must be with people, and with animals that will always be with them. This prevents unexpected surprises from arising.
My baby kitten has fleas, what do I do?
depends on. If it doesn’t have many and it’s healthy, you may or may not want to do anything until it’s at least three weeks old, which will be when it regulates its body temperature, or even slightly lowers it. Pass through vinegar and then dry it thoroughly. On the other hand, if you have several, there are veterinarians who recommend you to spray Frontline (from 3 days you can spray it), but if the kitten is less than a month old, you can opt for Bathe her with kitten shampoo (look for one that’s suitable for baby kittens), which is much less dangerous.
Yes, do it in a warm room , and when you’re finished, dry it thoroughly with a towel (never with a hair dryer, as you can burn it).
And what happens after two months?
You should take your kitten to the vet at eight weeks of age to be examined and, incidentally, to give him first aid for intestinal parasites and to give him his first vaccinations.
Now that you can enjoy having a mischievous puppy cat at home.
We hope this guide has helped you in taking care of your little one.