How To Take Care Of Newborn Kittens Without Mother Cat
In hot weather kittens can survive at room temperature but in cold weather they must need proper care.
How to take care of newborn kittens without mother cat. Use a large enough box to comfortably hold the mother cat and her kittens. 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. As a general rule a newborn kitten will nurse for 5 to 10 minutes at a time never more than that. During the first week feed the kitten 32 cc of formula per day broken up into small amounts bottle fed every two hours.
Do not feed cow s milk since the sugar or lactose will likely upset the kittens stomachs. There should never be a gap of more than 4 hours between feedings. Chilling is one of the most critical dangers to newborn kittens. This gives the mother cat and her kittens extra calories and nutrients.
When the kittens are 6 12 weeks old decrease the amount of formula that you offer them and begin to give them dry kitten food. This is the cat equivalent of infant formula with the same composition milk from the kittens 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. With mother cat they get required warmth quickly but taking care of a newborn without a mother isn t easy.
When your kitten is around 6 or 7 weeks of age you can switch her to a dry diet. Buy powdered cat milk replacer. Newborn kittens may nurse about every 1 2 hours. Provide blankets a heat lamp or a heating pad to ensure the kittens stay warm.
Then start the shift to an adult diet by mixing canned or dry cat food with warmed formula. 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. As a general rule you should give a newborn kitten thirteen milliliters of milk per hundred grams body weight. Stack clean towels to line it.
Offer these foods 4 6 times per day. You can start to transition your kitten away from the bottle at 3 or 4 weeks of age. 4 to give the baby cat milk you can use a baby bottle a syringe or a dropper. Offer these foods 4 times per day.
Begin by offering formula in a shallow bowl that s easy for her to drink from. Buy powdered cat milk replacer like cimicat from the vet clinic major pet stores or the internet. However the kitten will stop drinking milk when it is full.