How to Care for Orphaned KittensWhen to bottle feed
- Kittens must be bottle fed if removed from queen
before they are weaned.
- Examples:
- Queen is deceased, or abandoned the litter. Do not assume every litter is abandoned if
the queen is not present. She may be out
hunting. Check back later in the day if
you’re not sure. The kittens are usually
safer with her than with you.
- Queen hurting the kittens
- Queen not producing enough milk (kittens not
gaining weight)
- Kittens in danger or otherwise need to be
removed from location
- Please make sure kittens are too young to
eat. Kittens begin eating at 3 to 4
weeks sometimes. If they are able to eat
it is safer for them to go straight to food instead of the bottle.
Newborns - Kittens
are usually born at 3 to 4 oz.
- In
the first 24 to 48 hours, they receive colostrum from the queen, containing
potentially life-saving antibodies to diseases.
If possible, they should be left with the queen for this period.
- A
kitten is able to live even if he doesn’t receive colostrum.
Husbandry - Kittens
should be provided with a heat source covered with a towel or blanket to
dissipate the heat. The heat source
could be a Snuggle-Safe, a hot water bottle, or a bag of fluids heated in the
microwave. Any of these should be
covered with a towel or blanket.
- Kittens
should be kept in a small area, so they cannot move too far from each other or
from their heat source. A cat carrier
works well.
- Kittens
should be provided a heat source until they are at least two weeks of age, if
healthy. I usually provide one until 4
to 6 weeks.
- If
you get an abandoned kitten that is already cold, it is important to warm him
up prior to feeding. The formula will
not be absorbed while the kitten is cold.
- If
the kitten does not warm up and start moving quickly, it would be best to see a
veterinarian. He may need fluids,
dextrose or other supportive care.
Bottle Feeding - Kittens
should be bottle fed using a balanced kitten formula, i.e. KMR or JustBorn.
- These
are available through veterinarians or pet stores.
- Bottles
designed for kittens are available where you buy the formula.
Preparing the Bottle - Kitten
bottles need to have the nipple punctured.
The hole should be very small initially, so as to prevent the formula
flowing too quickly.
- You
can use a small scissors to cut a very small hole in the tip of the nipple.
(embroidery scissors or cuticle scissors work well for this).
Formula - The
formula should be warmed to body temperature, and shaken so that the
temperature is even throughout the bottle.
- The
amount your kitten should be taking in depends on her age and weight. During the first week of life he should take
in 60 ml/lb/day, during the second week about 70 ml/lb/day, during the third
week about 90 ml/lb/day and at four weeks about 100 ml/lb/day.
Positioning - When
bottle feeding, the kitten should be positioned on his stomach, simulating the
position he would take when nursing from his queen. If kittens are held on their back, the risk
of aspiration increases.
Latching - When
the kitten “latches on” correctly, the nipple will be coming directly from the
front of her mouth, between the canine teeth, and her ears will move when she
sucks properly.
- Do
not force the kitten to drink. You could
cause aspiration if you squeeze the bottle or push down on the syringe too
hard. Allow the kitten to latch on and
suck as hard as she wants. If milk comes
through the nose, she is drinking too fast.
Detach the bottle, wipe the milk from her nose and try again later. The hole in the nipple may be too large.
- If
she coughs or has difficulty breathing after aspirating, see a
veterinarian. She may need antibiotics
to prevent aspiration pneumonia.
- You
can check if your kitten is swallowing by placing a finger gently on her throat
as she nurses. You should feel her
swallow every few times she sucks.
- In
a very young kitten, the nipple can be placed on a syringe in order to more
accurately measure how much formula is being taken in.
Frequency of Feedings - Kittens
should be bottle fed every two to four hours throughout the day.
- I
usually feed once overnight at 2 am until they are two weeks old, or longer if
they are not doing well.
- Your
kitten should be gaining weight at approximately 4 oz per week. By a month of age, she should be about a
pound.
- You
may want to buy a small scale to monitor your kitten’s weight, especially if
you foster a lot of bottle babies.
Elimination - The
queen will stimulate the kitten to urinate and defecate by licking his
urogenital area.
- We
simulate this by gently patting the urogenital area with a cotton ball.
- The
urine should be clear or very lightly colored yellow. A deep yellow urine in a kitten indicates
dehydration.
- I
hold the kitten in my hand in a normal standing position, and use the cotton
ball. I usually do this over a sink.
- Stimulating
the urogenital area too roughly can result in irritation. Gently clean the area with warm water and
apply Vaseline if the area becomes inflamed.
- Kittens
may need their rear ends bathed periodically if they are urinating or
defecating on themselves to avoid urine scald.
- Your
kitten should be defecating daily. Most
kittens have soft stool to pudding-like stool when on formula.
- Constipation
is not unusual and can be helped by adding a small amount of canned pumpkin to
the formula. I add about ¼ to ½ tsp per
bottle.
- Diarrhea
is also common and can be addressed by diluting the formula with water to about
half its normal strength. Deworming with
pyrantal pamoate can be done as early as two weeks of age if roundworms or
hookworms are suspected. Probiotics can
be helpful for diarrhea.
Weaning - Kittens
can eat solid food starting at 3 to 4 weeks of age.
- A
good food to start them on is a canned kitten diet or Hill’s a/d diet mixed
with formula to a gruel consistency. KMR
also makes “2nd Step” kitten food but I have no experience with it.
- Once
they begin eating well, you can offer food more frequently and start to
decrease the frequency of offering the bottle.
- Until
I am sure they’re eating well, I offer the bottle after they eat solid food.
Litter Box - Now
is a good time to introduce them to a litter box. Make sure the sides are short enough that
they can get in it!
Tube Feeding - If
your kitten refuses to latch on or take in enough milk that he is gaining
weight appropriately, it is quick, easy and safe to tube feed.
- You
should discuss with your veterinarian how to tube feed but I will offer a brief
discussion here.
- I
use a 3.5 to 5 french red rubber catheter.
- The
main concern when tube feeding is to ensure the tube enters the esophagus, not
the trachea. Putting formula into the
trachea will be fatal.
- To
ensure I’m in the esophagus I do three things:
- Measure the tube from the mouth to the last rib and use a permanent marker to mark how
far this is on the tube.
- Listen for vocalization. If the kitten is able
to vocalize, the tube must be in the esophagus.
If the tube were in the trachea, it would pass through the larynx making
vocalization impossible.
- Place
a small amount of water down the tube before instilling the formula. If the tube is in the trachea, the kitten
will cough up the water. A small amount
of water being coughed up won’t be fatal.
Formula in the trachea will be.
- If
I’m not sure the tube is placed correctly, I pull it out and re-tube until I’m
comfortable that it is in the esophagus.
- The
amount I feed is the daily amount divided by 5 or 6 feedings, however many I’m
planning to do over the course of the day.
- Make
sure the formula is warmed just like a bottle would be.
- Any
oral medications can be placed down the tube, too.
Common Kitten
Problems - Upper respiratory tract infection can cause
sneezing, coughing, nasal or ocular discharge, tongue ulcers or fever. This is contagious to other cats or kittens.
- These kittens need to see a veterinarian to have antibiotics prescribed, and supportive care started
if needed. Try smelly food to encourage
eating if they’re on solid food.
- Neonatal ophthalmia is a conjunctivitis that
occurs before the kitten opens her eyes.
You will notice the closed eyes bulging and the skin becoming
inflamed. It is important to treat this
as soon as possible because the kitten’s eyes will not develop normally if this
is untreated.
- These eyes need to be soaked and forced open
several times a day. Antibiotics should
be given orally and into the eyes.
- Fleas can cause a life threatening anemia in a
young kitten. Unfortunately, many flea
products are toxic to young kittens.
Dawn dish detergent as a shampoo has some action against fleas, and will
slow them down so you can pick them out with a flea comb.
- Capstar is a pill that can be given to young
kittens. It is approved for four weeks
and older, but some veterinarians will give ¼ or ½ pill to younger kittens.
- In the first week of life, we can see an
infected umbilicus. The umbilicus, where
the cord is attached, will become red, swollen and may ooze pus. These kittens can become septic and need to
be placed on antibiotics.
- Hypoglycemia will present as a suddenly cold,
collapsed, weak kitten. Syringe some
karo or maple syrup into the mouth and feed more frequently for the next few
days. Keep them warm!!
- Failure to thrive (fading kitten syndrome) is a
catchall term describing a kitten born apparently healthy but stops nursing,
loses weight, becomes weak and sometimes dies.
- Veterinarians and their technicians can help you
if any of these problems occur. He or
she may prescribe antibiotics orally, or in the eye, and may rehydrate your
kitten with subcutaneous, intravenous or intraosseous fluids.
Developmental
Milestones: - Kittens
are born with their eyes closed. The
eyes will open about 7 to 14 days. They
are all born with blue eyes. The true
iris color will be complete by 8 weeks of age.
- Kittens
will begin to erupt their deciduous (baby) teeth at 3 weeks of age. They will begin to lose their deciduous teeth
at 14 weeks old, beginning with their central incisors. They will have all their adult teeth by about
6 months of age.
- Kittens
are born with their ear canals closed, so they cannot hear. The ear canals open between 10 and 14 days
old.
- Kittens
are born at about ¼ lb. They should
weigh 1 lb at 4 weeks of age. Until the
age of 6 months, they should gain about a pound a month.
- The
umbilical cord will usually drop off by about day 3 or more.
- A
kitten should be able to stand by 10 days of age, and walk by 21 days.
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