How To Take Care Of Newborn Kittens Without Mother
Correctly position the kittens and bottles for feeding.
How to take care of newborn kittens without mother. You should place the food and water near the mother and kittens. Instead keep the kitten s feet down and it s head straight as though she s nursing from her mother. Newborn kittens can t be eaten by itself so you must provide the bottle feeder for it. This gives the mother cat and her kittens extra calories and nutrients.
Then put towels over the hot water bottle in the bed. When your kitten is around 6 or 7 weeks of age you can switch her to a dry diet. 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. The mom is the best suited to care for them so leave them with her unless you re able to take the whole family in and care for them if the mom does not return within an hour or two it is time for you to step in and help.
During the first week feed the kitten 32 cc of formula per day broken up into small amounts bottle fed every two hours. 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. Use a wet washcloth or a piece of damp gauze to gently rub each kitten s genital region until it urinates and or defecates. Never hold a kitten and feed it like a human baby.
Don t take the kittens to a shelter. You can start to transition your kitten away from the bottle at 3 or 4 weeks of age. Wash or discard the cloth immediately and dry the kitten off before putting him back in with his litter mates. There should never be a gap of more than 4 hours between feedings.
Filling up the bottle with milk and shake it for a moment before start feeding makes sure the kitten s in well condition means not too cold or warm. Give supplements and feeding scheduling. Then start the shift to an adult diet by mixing canned or dry cat food with warmed formula. Newborn kittens may nurse about every 1 2 hours.
Don t ever microwave the water bottle as this poses the threat of a scald. As a general rule a newborn kitten will nurse for 5 to 10 minutes at a time never more than that. Here s how to safe. Putting a hot water bottle in will help keep the kittens warm and provide a sense of security like the heat they d get from their mother.
Begin by offering formula in a shallow bowl that s easy for her to drink from.