Newborn Kittens Care With Mom

Allow them to eat the gruel for about 15 20 minutes and then return them to mom.

Newborn kittens care with mom. When a kitten is born find a soft toy or teddy bear to comfort the newborn cat as a surrogate mother and to share warmth. The mother cat can keep the babies warm but if she leaves to eat or use a litter box the kittens can get cold. If the mother cat is not around you ll need to prepare and feed them yourself. Lactating cats should be fed free choice with appropriate food that is designed for lactation.

Weigh each baby regularly to ensure they are all gaining weight. Wrap a heating pad or hot water bottle in a blanket to create a warm bed but position it so that your kitten can move away from it if she gets too warm. This generally occurs by the time the kitten is about 8 weeks of age. A mother cat s milk provides everything a kitten needs during the first four weeks of life.

Watch the litter at feeding time to be sure everyone gets enough food. As a rule of thumb for every ounce of kitten body weight he or she needs 8 ccs of formula. Caring for newborn kittens can be very exciting especially if you know what to do. So a kitten weighing 3 ounces will need about 24 ounces of milk replacement every 24 hours.

You can encourage the same elimination pattern by holding each kitty put a towel over your lap first and gently stroking its body with a warm washcloth. Keep an eye on the heating pad to ensure that it s working properly and that it doesn t get too hot or malfunction. Check tummies after feeding to see if they are full. By the sixth week kittens can become self sufficient.

Make sure the room is warm enough as kittens are unable to regulate their body temperature when they are only a few days old. Like a human baby a newborn kitten will need to be fed frequently approximately every two to three hours. If the kittens are 1 2 weeks old bottle feed them with milk replacer formula every 1 2 hours. At 6 12 weeks old start giving them dry.

At 3 4 weeks old provide formula and water softened kitten kibble 4 6 times daily. 7 to make sure the kitten defecates and urinates you need to take on the role of mother. The first three weeks are the most critical because of the delicate nature of the young felines. Newborn kittens cuddle up with their mother and siblings to stay warm.

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. Provide blankets a heat lamp or a heating pad to ensure the kittens stay warm. It is up to you as the owner to. Chilling is one of the most critical dangers to newborn kittens.

A separate room is ideal. Keep the mother cat and her babies in a quiet part of the house. Where possible allow the kittens to wean naturally from their mother. You must accomplish this task.

While mother cats are as attentive and loving as human mothers there are instances when they could not attend to the needs of their newborns. Mom will likely appreciate this break by this time anyway. As you can see newborn kittens can quickly grow in a span of two months. Mother cats encourage newborns to move their bowels by washing their bums with her tongue.

If your kitten has been abandoned you ll need to keep her warm. Do the same thing with its abdomen and butt.