Newborn Kittens Care

Provide blankets a heat lamp or a heating pad to ensure the kittens stay warm.

Newborn kittens care. As a rule of thumb for every ounce of kitten body weight he or she needs 8 ccs of formula. Brushing her coat and trimming her claws are two important elements of newborn kitten care and the sooner you start routine cat maintenance the easier it is for both of you. Abandoned orphaned and newborn kittens need special careand handling. Make sure you keep kittens warm.

Use a large enough box to comfortably hold the mother cat and her kittens. If you are using a brand new bottle cut a small hole in the nipple using small and sharp scissors. The first milk produced called colostrum is rich in antibodies and will help protect kittens against diseases. Caring for newborn kittens is hard work.

A two week old kitten can be fed every four to six hours. Newborn kittens should get all of their nutrition from their mother. 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. These antibodies last for six weeks or more.

This will continue until they gradually transition to solid foods when they are around four weeks old weaning. Look at the kittens soon after birth look at the kittens. Newborn kittens may nurse about every 1 2 hours. Line the box with layers of newspapers and place the box in a warm dimly lit quiet place such as a closet or a corner where there isn t much activity.

As a general rule you should give a newborn kitten thirteen milliliters of milk per hundred grams body weight. Learn also how to help sick kittensand understand their digestion and stools constipationand possible fleas. They require attention and care around the clock. Regular brushing or combing removes excess hair thus reducing hairballs and keeps her coat clean and shiny while nail clipping lessens her chances of a claw snag.

So a kitten weighing 3 ounces will need about 24 ounces of milk replacement every 24 hours. Chilling is one of the most critical dangers to newborn kittens. If you have recently taken in some newborn kittens you will have your work cut out for you. On the first week of the newborn kittens life they should be fed every two to three hours.

However the kitten will stop drinking milk when it is full. The mother cat can keep the babies warm but if she leaves to eat or use a litter box the kittens can get cold. If the mother cat is still in the picture she can provide most of the kittens needs herself.