Newborn Kittens What To Do

Feed mother cat high quality food during the time a mother cat is pregnant until a month after she s done nursing feed her a high quality kitten food.

Newborn kittens what to do. When the kittens are 1 2 weeks old bottle feed the kittens every 1 2 hours with a commercial milk replacer formula. Stimulate the kittens to go to the bathroom. You can do this once the kitten reaches four weeks of age when your kitten is no longer a newborn. This gives the mother cat and her kittens extra calories and nutrients.

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. Leave them be learn what to do when you find kittens outdoors. Weaning means to get the kitten off milk and introduce solids slowly. When the kittens are 3 4 weeks old provide formula in a shallow dish as well as some kitten food that has been softened with water.

Provide blankets a heat lamp or a heating pad to ensure the kittens stay warm. This will continue until they gradually transition to solid foods when they are around four weeks old weaning. Feeding newborn kittens newborn kittens should get all of their nutrition from their mother. The mother cat can keep the babies warm but if she leaves to eat or use a litter box the kittens can get cold.

Before you do anything remember never separate kittens from their mother cat. You should place the food and water near the mother and kittens. Use a large enough box to comfortably hold the mother cat and her kittens. Cat breeders don t usually give their kittens to new homes until they are 12 weeks old.

By the end of the first month your kitten should be eating drinking and using the litter box normally. Do not give cow s milk to the kittens because it is too hard for them to digest. Chilling is one of the most critical dangers to newborn kittens. Your cat should be adjusted to its new home by now so the scratching of surfaces wrestling climbing etc.

The first milk produced called colostrum is rich in antibodies and will help protect kittens against diseases. They really need as much time as possible to learn from mama cat and develop good social skills with other pets and humans. Newborn kittens may nurse about every 1 2 hours. It comes as a surprise to some people that newborn kittens actually do not go to the bathroom on their own their mother licks them to stimulate elimination and urination and to keep them nice and clean.

You can tell when your kitten is no longer a newborn and is ready to be weaned and be fed solids when she starts biting at the nipple of the bottle.