How To Take Care Of Newborn Kittens And Their Mother

You should never feed a kitten on its back because this can cause them to aspirate or inhale fluid into their lungs.

How to take care of newborn kittens and their mother. Orphaned neonatal kittens require around the clock care so you ll want to establish a routine of care every 2 4 hours the younger they are the more frequent the intervals between feedings it s normal for the kittens to sleep just make sure they are in a safe and confined space. So a kitten weighing 3 ounces will need about 24 ounces of milk replacement every 24 hours. However the kitten will stop drinking milk when it is full. Then start the shift to an adult diet by mixing canned or dry cat food with warmed formula.

Think of how a kitten would eat from its mother. But you can still help by providing food and shelter for the mother cat. If the mother cat is still present and caring for her kittens then the kittens will be better off if you let their mother take care of them. Once she relieves herself wipe the area then clean up her bottom with a clean fresh of cotton wool.

During the time a mother cat is pregnant until a month after she s done nursing feed her a high quality kitten food. 4 to give the baby cat milk you can use a baby bottle a syringe or a dropper. With the mother cat out you ll also have to do this job. As a rule of thumb for every ounce of kitten body weight he or she needs 8 ccs of formula.

Use a large enough box to comfortably hold the mother cat and her kittens. Hold the kitten correctly while feeding. 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. This gives the mother cat and her kittens extra calories and nutrients.

Begin by offering formula in a shallow bowl that s easy for her to drink from. Stack clean towels to line it. As a general rule you should give a newborn kitten thirteen milliliters of milk per hundred grams body weight. When you feed the kitten hold it horizontally with the belly facing downwards and the head tilted slightly upwards.

Mother cats encourage their young to defecate and urinate by licking the anus and genital areas. Provide blankets a heat lamp or a heating pad to ensure the kittens stay warm. Using damp cotton wool wipe the area around her anus. You should place the food and water near the mother and kittens.

When your kitten is around 6 or 7 weeks of age you can switch her to a dry diet. Like a human baby a newborn kitten will need to be fed frequently approximately every two to three hours. You can start to transition your kitten away from the bottle at 3 or 4 weeks of age.