How To Care For Newborn Kittens And Mother Cat

Newborn kittens should get all of their nutrition from their mother.

How to care for newborn kittens and mother cat. Mother cats encourage their young to defecate and urinate by licking the anus and genital areas. You should place the food and water near the mother and kittens. Chilling is one of the most critical dangers to newborn kittens. These antibodies last for six weeks or more.

As a general rule you should give a newborn kitten thirteen milliliters of milk per hundred grams body weight. It is also essential to provide motherly care to newborn kittens. Stack clean towels to line it. The following is a general eating schedule for newborns and young cats.

Using damp cotton wool wipe the area around her anus. Once she relieves herself wipe the area then clean up her bottom with a clean fresh of cotton wool. Keep them warm and help them urinate and defecate. The most commonly available type of kitten formula is called kmr which stands for kitten milk replacer kmr comes in cans or cartons and is available to buy in most pet supply stores and on websites that sell pet supplies.

With the mother cat out you ll also have to do this job. However the kitten will stop drinking milk when it is full. If the mother cat is not around you will need to help the kittens to urinate and defecate during their first few weeks of life. The first milk produced called colostrum is rich in antibodies and will help protect kittens against diseases.

This will continue until they gradually transition to solid foods when they are around four weeks old weaning. Housing a clean warm and dry place should be provided for moms and babies. Hold her by the scruff of her neck and place the nipple into the side then center of her mouth. Mom will do most of the initial care but you will need to frequently check on the babies to ensure the mother is caring for them and the kittens appear healthy.

Instead keep the kitten s feet down and it s head straight as though she s nursing from her mother. At about three to four weeks old they can be offered milk replacer from a. 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.

This gives the mother cat and her kittens extra calories and nutrients. Correctly position the kittens and bottles for feeding. Newborn kittens may nurse about every 1 2 hours. Never hold a kitten and feed it like a human baby.