Newborn Kittens Care With Mom
This is the single most effective way to reduce the over population of felines in our community.
Newborn kittens care with mom. Like a human baby a newborn kitten will need to be fed frequently approximately every two to three hours. As a rule of thumb for every ounce of kitten body weight he or she needs 8 ccs of formula. So a kitten weighing 3 ounces will need about 24 ounces of milk replacement every 24 hours. Provide food for the mother cat.
This gives the mother cat and her kittens extra calories and nutrients. If your kitten has been abandoned you ll need to keep her warm. Help the kittens eliminate feces and urine. Most of the time this is because the mother cat is either unable to care for her kittens properly or she doesn t want to.
Normally the mother licks the kittens genitals after each feed which causes them to pass feces and urine. During the time a mother cat is pregnant until a month after she s done nursing feed her a high quality kitten food. Do not feel like you need to provide care for these kittens. While that is a sad fact it doesn t mean that you can do nothing but let your cat s newborns be a part of the statistics.
Part 1of 3 feeding 1. Don t take the kittens to a shelter. The care that you give some newborn kittens will depend on a few things. Newborn kittens cuddle up with their mother and siblings to stay warm.
Get help from your veterinarian or local animal shelter. If you haven t already done so after one week take the mother cat and kittens to your veterinarian. Studies have shown that one in four kittens die within the first week of life. The first two to three weeks are the most crucial for a mother cat and her newborn.
Before and after each feed you ll need to wipe the kitten s bottom with a cotton pad soaked in warm water. New kitten and mother cat care. 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. Postnatal care of a mother cat and her newborn kittens veterinarian check.
Wrap a heating pad or hot water bottle in a blanket to create a warm bed but position it so that your kitten can move away from it if she gets too warm. Newborn kittens may nurse about every 1 2 hours.