Cats are wonderful, caring mothers. They give birth easily, and the litter averages 4-8 babies. If the kittens are not weaned, they continue to feed on their mother's milk until they are 3-4 months old. The owner may not worry at all about complementary feeding and litter box training: the clever cat herself will lead the grown-up babies to the bowl and teach them how to use the toilet. Unfortunately, the picture is not always so rosy.
What can go wrong:
- The cat died (during childbirth, during an emergency caesarean section, was hit by a car, or simply disappeared when kept for free);
- Postpartum endometritis requires surgery and antibiotic treatment, and the cat is very weak;
- The cat refuses to feed the kittens, is aggressive, tries to kill them;
- Maternal mastitis (inflammation of the mammary glands);
- The kittens were picked up or rescued (sometimes newborns are simply thrown into the trash), the mother is missing;
- The cat and cubs have a blood type conflict (this is possible, for example, in the British or Scottish breed).
If the kittens are left without a mother, first of all you need to try to find a wet-nurse cat. However, it is a matter of luck. The search may take several days, or it may not be possible to find a nursing cat at all. In such a situation, the owner must know how to take out newborn kittens without a cat.
It's difficult, but it's real. No matter how small the babies are, with proper care they will survive, grow up and live a long life.
Author of the article: Olga Shiltsova, practicing veterinarian, author of the books “Dachshund of Fate” and “Tails of Fortune”
Temperature regime for newborn kittens
It is necessary to feed orphaned kittens as early as possible, so that no more than a day passes after birth. But even more important is to keep them warm. Newborns cannot regulate their body temperature and are at risk of hypothermia outside their cozy den.
A heating pad will replace your mother's warm side. If you don’t have a special rubber heating pad, you can take a regular plastic bottle. The container is filled with boiling water and wrapped in a terry towel in several layers. This way the kitten will not get burned, and the water will cool more slowly. Depending on the temperature in the room, the hot water will have to be changed. In an apartment where it is about 20o, the heating pad keeps warm for about 6 hours. If the kittens are restless and huddle together, check the temperature of the heating pad.
For the first week, you should always have a heating pad on, change the water even at night. It becomes unnecessary when kittens reach one month of age. But knowing the love of cats for warmth, you can continue to apply the heating pad longer.
If there are a lot of kittens, then the box should be large. But then the blind kitten may get lost, bumping into the wall, and freeze. To prevent this from happening, you need to place bottles of hot water against each wall, and leave a free space in the center where the kittens can crawl. The cubs can simply snuggle up to the heating pad, or they can climb onto it and sleep on top.
Setting up a den for newborn kittens
Even the tiniest, still blind kittens can scatter in search of their mother, food or a source of warmth. To avoid trouble, it is necessary to exclude the possibility of escaping from the “nest”. The traditional, time-tested option is a cardboard box. Newborn kittens will not soon be able to get out of it on their own. The box should not be a shoe box, but with high walls.
Cardboard is a warm and safe material, and if the box becomes unusable, you can simply throw it away and replace it with a new one. An alternative is a deep plastic box or container, but in this case the ventilation is worse, and the container itself will have to be washed and disinfected periodically.
Place bedding on the bottom. A convenient option is disposable absorbent diapers, but the downside is that it can bunch up and clump if you do not attach it with tape or an adhesive edge. Fleece has proven itself to be excellent - it dries quickly, is warm and soft. Woolen products are absolutely not suitable, although they are often placed on kittens for “entourage”. The claws may get tangled in the fur, causing injury to the kitten. In addition, babies acquire the bad habit of sucking wool and may swallow thread.
Is it possible to keep newborn kittens together?
If there are several kittens, they are usually kept together. This makes it easier for babies to stay warm by snuggling together. Living warmth and the presence of relatives calms and creates a feeling of security.
But there are exceptions to every rule. During the first week, kittens should not be left with each other unattended, as their umbilical cord has not yet healed. Up to the age of one month, observe how babies interact with each other. Without round-the-clock access to the mother's breast, hungry kittens can cling to each other. This can be very dangerous - babies leave each other serious bruises, most often in the genital area and abdomen. They can suck ears and tails. If nothing is done, inflammation begins, especially in weak kittens.
To prevent kittens from sucking each other, they need to be fed and picked up as often as possible. But most often we have to separate the kids. Be careful.
The sucking reflex persists in orphan kittens for a very long time. Sometimes a cat raised without a mother sucks the owners fingers, earlobes, clings to the skin of the hands or chews hair until death.
Nutritional needs of newborn kittens
Kittens are born without a fat layer and without a reserve of carbohydrates (in adult animals, this role is played by glycogen in the liver and muscles). They need regular, nutritious food and eat very often.
Babies do not yet have free hydrochloric acid in their stomach (it begins to be produced by the age of 3-4 weeks). Therefore, it is unacceptable to start complementary feeding before 3 weeks of age. Newborn kittens can only eat milk. But not just any milk!
When preparing a diet for a small kitten, you need to focus on the composition of cat's milk. Its main feature is its high protein and fat content. Neither cow's nor goat's milk can replace a kitten's mother's milk, which contains about 10% fat and 11% protein. By comparison, cow's milk contains only 3.5% protein. The content of milk sugar, lactose, also differs. There is much less of it in cat milk.
In addition to proteins, fats and carbohydrates, a kitten needs vitamins and minerals for normal development. This includes a special fatty acid – docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, or DHA). It belongs to Omega-3 fatty acids, a good source of which is fish oil.
Contrary to popular belief, infant formula is also not suitable for feeding kittens. The nutritional needs of human and feline babies are very different.
You can buy formula for kittens at a pet store or veterinary pharmacy (cat's milk substitute), or prepare it yourself at home.
What products are allowed up to 1 month
The choice of food for such small pets is limited. Blind babies and animals up to 2 weeks of age are given exclusively a milk replacer, but after 4 weeks, complementary foods are gradually introduced.
Food for one-month-old kittens should have a liquid consistency. At the initial stage, decide what the animal will eat in the future - natural food or ready-made canned food. In the first case, the diet of a one-month-old kitten should be varied:
Homemade food containing large pieces is crushed using a blender. New products are introduced gradually, leaving time for habituation and adaptation to new tastes. They are accustomed to industrially produced food slowly, offering pates intended for kittens from 1 month of age (there is a special inscription on the bag). In addition, the animal should always have access to clean water.
Feeding kittens with adult food is strictly prohibited! Babies and individuals over 1 year old have completely different needs for nutrients, vitamins and microelements. Such food will not only be of no benefit, but may even be harmful.
Milk replacers for newborn kittens
Feeding newborn kittens has now become much easier - you can buy ready-made milk formula for kittens at a pet store. I recommend this particular option - an industrial substitute for cat milk, without being tied to a specific company. All of them have proven themselves well.
- Royal Canin Babycat Milk (includes measuring spoon, bottle and several nipples with holes of different diameters)
Royal Canin cat milk replacer
- Beaphar Kitty-Milk (there is a measuring spoon, but the feeding kit will have to be purchased separately)
Beafar cat milk replacer
- Gimpet Cat-Milk (no measuring cup, you can use a regular spoon, diluting the mixture 1:3 with hot water)
The dosage indicated per 100 g of kitten weight is not one-time, but daily. This amount should be evenly divided into several feedings.
Weigh your kitten to get an idea of how much food he needs.
How to prepare kitten formula at home
Often, orphan kittens end up in people's care quite suddenly. What if the industrial cat milk substitute is not sold anywhere (delivery is only possible from another city), or the store is simply closed for the night, or there is simply no money?
The first thought is to give the kittens regular milk, some recommend goat milk. Although this is not suitable food for them, it is acceptable as “first aid”. But 10% cream is much better. At first glance, they are very fatty; cream seems like heavy food to us. But cat milk contains 9-11% fat, and 10-11% cream is what you need. They will be absorbed better than “watery” milk.
Cream is absorbed better than milk
In the future, you need to prepare a mixture for kittens that is balanced in nutrients. Its main difference from regular cream will be the high percentage of protein. For feeding kittens from birth to 3 weeks, mix:
- 380 ml cow's milk 1.5%
- 25 g raw egg yolks (the amount depends on the type of egg)
- 15 g vegetable oil
- 75 g low-fat lactose-free cottage cheese
- 1.5 g evening primrose oil (source of vitamin E)
- 200 mg taurine
- 5 g vitamin and mineral supplement (20% calcium)
Mix with a blender and heat to 35°C.
Recipes for making your own mixture
If the kitten tolerates pasteurized cow's milk well, then you can make him dishes based on it. To prepare the classic recipe you will need:
- a glass of warm milk;
- 2 chicken egg yolks;
- vegetable oil - 1 teaspoon;
- 1 drop of multivitamin solution (for example, Trivita or Tetravita).
If the kitten is very weak and thin, you can prepare a sweet mixture based on condensed milk - it contains enough fats and carbohydrates so that the baby quickly gains weight and gets stronger. It is made according to the following recipe:
- Condensed milk is mixed with water in a ratio of 1:5.
- Add bone meal at the rate of 1 teaspoon per liter of liquid.
This dish is only allowed to be given to kittens over 1 week old. Suitable only for emergency feeding (after 5–7 days you should switch to a regular formula with milk or a powder substitute).
Video: how to make a mixture for kittens
Regime and rules for feeding newborn kittens
Newborn kittens need to be fed as often as possible - this is an axiom. It is natural for them to eat often, but little by little. Unfortunately, one person simply cannot provide orphans with round-the-clock access to a bottle.
How often should kittens be fed depending on age:
A newborn kitten sucks until it is satisfied, and then falls asleep again. Feeding itself does not take much time, usually no more than 5 minutes.
Kittens eat often, but little by little
1 week – every 2 hours, including at night. More often if the kittens wake up and squeak (sometimes you have to feed them every hour).
Week 2 – every 3 hours, at night every 4 hours.
Week 3 – feeding every 3-5 hours, at night the interval can be 6 hours if the kittens do not wake up.
4th week – kittens are fed on average 4-6 times a day (every 4-6 hours), by the end of the week they begin to introduce complementary foods.
Month-old kittens begin to eat special canned food
How to prepare the mixture
If you are using a commercial milk replacer, detailed instructions will be provided on the packaging. The general principle is this: boil water and let it cool to about 50°C. Pour the mixture powder into the water, stirring constantly so that there are no lumps. The prepared solution is poured into bottles. When the milk has cooled to 35-36oC, it is given to kittens.
Common mistakes: pour the powder with water, and not vice versa; use boiling water instead of hot water
It is not recommended to store the finished mixture. But this is perfectly acceptable if you keep it in the refrigerator. A pre-prepared solution at night is especially helpful. Then you only need to heat the milk to the desired temperature - in the microwave or in a water bath.
Be sure to check the temperature of the milk by placing a drop on your wrist before giving the bottle to your kitten.
How to feed a newborn kitten
Ideally, the kitten is fed from a special bottle with a nipple, and the diameter of the nipple hole varies depending on the age of the baby. In real life, buying such a bottle can be a problem. An alternative would be a plastic syringe without a needle.
The kitten is fed by holding it upright if it is very small, or lying on its stomach. It is strictly forbidden to place the kitten on its back. Kittens must suck the bottle or syringe nozzle themselves; pouring the mixture into them is unacceptable - it can get into the respiratory tract.
Kitten drinks from a bottle
Many newborn kittens die from aspiration pneumonia caused by improper feeding, and not at all from a draft or viral infection. No force feeding.
The bottle is held at an angle of 45°C, it should be comfortable for the kitten to suck. The muzzle will be raised up.
The correct position of the bottle is at an angle of 45 degrees
How much milk to give a kitten at one time
The amount of formula fed to a kitten depends on the age and weight of the baby. Kittens are usually fed ad libitum so that the sleepy baby falls off the nipple on its own. But sometimes overfeeding leads to digestive problems, and you need to at least approximately adhere to the standards indicated on the packaging of the cat's milk replacer.
In the first week the kitten will drink about 2-5 ml at a time, in the second week 5-10 ml, then 10-15 ml.
Cow's milk or baby formula is too watery for kittens. Their kitten will drink more, stretching its stomach and suffering from colic. Cat milk replacer is high in protein and fat. It is more concentrated, more nutritious. And you only need a little bit of it in terms of volume.
Kittens are not given water until they begin to lap from the bowl on their own.
Tummy massage
After each feeding, the kitten is helped to relieve itself. To do this, carefully massage the tummy clockwise. In addition, you need to massage the anus with a damp cotton pad or napkin, imitating the movements of a cat's tongue.
Urination should occur after each meal, and bowel movements on average 4 times a day. The stool should be light brown and soft. Kittens will only have formed stools when they start complementary feeding. The butt is wiped first with a damp and then with a dry cloth.
Kittens must poop from the first day of birth. If there are no stools, a veterinarian's examination is necessary. The kitten may have congenital underdevelopment or occlusion of the anus and other problems.
The kitten needs not only to be fed, but also to be helped to defecate.
Weighing
To make sure that kittens are digesting food and growing, they need to be weighed. In the first week it is better to do this daily. The weight gain should be about 15 grams. You can weigh babies using electronic baby scales or kitchen scales. If the scales are not equipped with a bowl, the kitten is placed in a container.
This kitten's eyes haven't opened yet. Weighing on a kitchen scale
This kitten weighs almost 700g and can eat dry kitten food
Frequency of feeding
During the first week, babies are fed every 2-3 hours during the day to avoid various diseases and to strengthen the body. Then gradually reduce feeding at night, bringing the feeding interval to 5 hours in the second week. At week 3, when the kittens begin to see, feeding at night is stopped (from 24:00 to 6:00 am). After 4 weeks, they proceed to the feeding process according to the usual schedule.
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The kitten may refuse further food intake due to the fact that he generally eats little. Sometimes this is associated with some kind of disease. If you have any doubts, consult your veterinarian.
If the baby's tummy is large and dense, you should stop feeding after feeding the required portion. The animal may not feel full and therefore continue to eat.
Raising kittens without a cat is a completely accessible process for any compassionate person. Very little time will pass and the result will be a playful mood and a healthy appearance for your grown-up pet.
What to do if your kitten is constipated
Irregular bowel movements are the most common problem in newborn bottle-fed kittens. Owners complain that it is not as difficult for them to feed the brood day and night as it is for them to force the babies to poop.
For good digestion, you need to use a professional cat's milk replacer and regularly massage the kittens' belly. But what if kittens are still constipated?
Veterinarians prescribe petrolatum oil orally 2 times a day. And safe laxatives are given in a course every day, for example - Lactusan. If there has been no stool for a long time, it becomes dense and the kitten will not be able to poop on its own. Then you need a small enema (1.5-2 ml). Cool water is mixed with Vaseline oil and injected into the anus using a syringe without a needle.
If constipation alternates with diarrhea, and the tummy is unnaturally round and swollen like a drum, the cause may be a huge number of worms in the intestines.
Stray kittens are always infected with parasites
How to care for a kitten and ensure its normal functioning without a cat
In addition to feeding, it is important for the kitten to equip the warmest place possible, where there are no drafts or dampness.
It is also necessary to wash kittens. Usually the mother cat does this, licking them regularly. To do this, the owner will need to moisten the cloth with warm water and gently wipe their face, tummy and fur. Such actions stimulate blood circulation and ensure proper psychological development of babies.
If any health problems arise, kittens should be taken to the veterinarian.
Video: how to care for a kitten on your own - advice from a veterinarian
Helping your kitten empty his bowels and bladder
Most of the systems and organs in kittens are imperfect, so they often experience constipation and problems with urination. Under natural conditions, a cat helps its offspring by carefully licking the kittens’ bellies, thereby stimulating the above-mentioned processes. The owner should massage these places with light movements, which is a simulation of the cat’s actions.
To do this, you can use a piece of clean, ironed soft cloth or a cotton pad. During the massage, it will be noticeable how the kitten performs the processes of defecation and urination. Perform a massage after every meal. If problems persist and massage is ineffective, you should immediately contact a veterinarian.
Is it true that artificial kittens get sick more often?
There is a persistent myth according to which kittens deprived of their mother's milk will suffer from some illness throughout their lives. Allegedly, they have extremely weak immunity and a digestive system that has been torn since childhood.
As usual, there is some truth here. Breast milk is really difficult to replace with artificial formula, and the consequences of such feeding can appear years later. But think about this - millions of human babies are raised on formula and are no different from those people who were breastfed as children.
Kittens receive protection from infections from mother's milk only in one case - if antibodies to viruses are in the blood of the cat itself. This is called colostral immunity. If a nursing cat has not been vaccinated, then her kittens are just as defenseless against viruses as bottle-fed kittens. Babies receive preventive vaccinations as early as possible (the first at 2 months with revaccination at 3 months). And complementary foods are introduced as quickly as possible, nevertheless continuing to give a cat's milk substitute for up to 1.5-2 months.
Rumors about the illness of orphaned kittens have a different background. For example, a pregnant cat was starving, which prevented the correct formation of the fetuses.
If the cat lived in good conditions, and the kittens received good genes from both parents, then artificial feeding will not prevent the babies from growing into beautiful and healthy animals.
When a kitten is unwell
Sometimes the baby refuses the contents of the bottle. It would be useful to analyze the quality of food. Consider whether the treat is stored correctly. The finished balanced product can be kept in the refrigerator for no more than twenty-six hours. Having chosen one brand of food, do not rush to give it up. A less expensive or more popular pack of goodies may disappoint.
When deciding what to feed your kittens, be aware of the insidious scourge called “allergies”. Bright pink areas appeared on the body, and the appetite completely disappeared? Surely the body reacted too violently to the food components. This happens often with babies.
Is your pet one and a half to two months old? This means that his time has come to benefit from different types of food: minced meat, soups, vegetables. You should be careful when exposing your animal to sea fish and cottage cheese. Sausages, lard, and bread are rather harmful and will probably cause digestive upset. Chocolate, goose and duck meat, salt are strictly prohibited. Giving milk is not advisable.
Even if it is not easy to feed a newborn kitten yourself, but as it grows up, the pet becomes attached to a person, as no cat can become attached. We wish you good luck and patience.
