Week : Tiny Food Processing Factories
The newborn kitten weighs just ounces and easily fits into the palm of your hand. Its umbilical cord will fall off within two or three days, but its eyes and ear canals will not be open yet.
Kittens are very helpless at this age, but the mother cat instinctively knows their needs. She feeds them, keeps them close by for warmth, and bathes them with her rough tongue, which also stimulates their digestion and helps them urinate and defecate. Mother cats are very protective of their little ones and will move them to another location if humans intrude too much into the nest.
Provided the mother has been vaccinated or has natural immunity, the kittens will receive this same immunity for the first 24 to 48 hours through her colostrum, and it will last until they are old enough to get their kitten shots.
Newborns will weigh an average of 3.5 ounces at birth and may double their weight by the end of the first week. It’s a good idea to weigh them and monitor their weight to ascertain if they are getting adequate nutrition. They are simply little food processing factories at this point, and their only activities are nursing, sleeping, and passing waste. There is very little social interaction at this age, other than competing for their favorite nipple, where they will suckle while kneading with their tiny paws.
Supplies You Will Need For Newborns And Young Kittens:
- Kitten formula such as Just Born or KMR . The liquid formula is best to use if you are not sure what to do.
- Feeding bottles and several nipples .
- Eye dropper or syringe in case the kitten will not eat from the bottle.
- Several bath towels for bedding and cleaning kittens.
- Kitchen food scale for weighing kittens .
- Digital rectal thermometer
- Have Emergency Veterinarian or Veterinary Clinic number on-hand.
How To Care For A Kitten From 2 To 3
At 2 to 3 months of age, your kitten should get their initial vaccines. They should also be eating solid canned food or kibble about 4 times a day. 8-week-old kittens can be slowly introduced to other pets.
Gently play with your kitten at least once a day so theyll bond with you but dont take it personally if they are not interested in playing with you. After your kitten is about 12 weeks old, they will probably be more interested in playing with objects even more than other cats. Use food and treats to teach and reward good behavior.
Recommended Reading: Should I Put My Cat Down
Adopting Out The Kittens
The final step. Successful socialization is the most important part of the process, so make sure you teach them to trust and like humans as early as you are able! Please spay and neuter them before you adopt them out , they will not only be more attractive to adopters, but it will also help prevent this cycle from happening all over again. Once they are fixed, advertise liberally! Use social networking sites, tells friends, relatives, colleagues and acquaintances, and get them adopted out as early as you can! The older the kittens get, the harder it will be to find them homes.
When Should You Spay/neuter Your Kitten
By 4-5 months of age, kittens are reaching a point of mature adolescence, or kitty puberty if you will. Because of this, it becomes essential for you to have your kitten spayed or neutered. Reasons for spaying and neutering include:
- Avoiding unpleasant habits like territorial scent spraying, in heat females, and aggression
- Avoiding unplanned litters
- A decrease in the chance of mammary or testicular cancer later in life.
If your kitten is in contact with other kittens or cats of the opposite sex, it is essential that you have them spayed or neutered before or as they reach 4-5 months of age.
Read Also: Are Dragon Trees Toxic To Cats
Newborn Kitten Care Week By Week
Your new kittens have arrived, and even though the mother cat did most of the work, you still have things to do. Before long, those helpless kittens with closed eyes and ears will be enthusiastic bundles of energy. In the meantime, you’ll need to guide them through their first weeks of life.
If your kittens have a healthy and loving mother cat, they’ll rely on her to perform much of the important early work. You’ll help out and provide valuable care, but you’ll stay out of mom’s way as she cares for the litter. Or, you might find yourself with a litter of kittens whose mother cannot care for them for some reason. In that case, you’ll be responsible for additional care. Either way, here is a basic outline of newborn kitten care, week by week:
Schedule For Kitten Vaccinations
Vaccinations are very important to your new kittens health and wellbeing! Here at Cat Care Center, we follow the AAFP guidelines for vaccinations. This means that your kitten will receive the following booster vaccinations during 3 visits, each 3-4 weeks apart.
- 3 to 4 FVRCP vaccinations, which protect your cat from Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis, Calicivirus, and Panleukopenia , until at least 16-20 weeks of age
- 2 FeLV vaccinations, which protect your cat from Feline Leukemia Virus
- 1 Rabies vaccination
Also Check: Buy Fromm Cat Food Online
Week Old Kitten Everything You Must Know
Kittens are adorable little creatures that require special attention, but not everyone is capable of caring for 3 week old kitten. Perhaps you found a stray kitten during your morning jog and you did not have it in your heart to leave it out there to fend for itself, or something happened to your pet and the kitten is left motherless.
Both of this situation calls for your active participation, but there is that complication, it is a territory that you have no knowledge in.
It is common, however. Even the most dedicated cat owner can be as clueless as a good samaritan who rescued the kitten despite not having the experience of dealing with cats in the past. This is largely due to the nature of our passive participation during this initial stage of kittensâ lives.
While we give the mother cat everything it possibly needs, kittens younger than 6 weeks old are always with their mother and thus we only focus on providing a safe and comfortable container and supplying food and water.
How To Care For 1 Week Old Kitten: Step Two
Before each feeding, you are advised to sterilize the nipples and bottles by boiling them in water for a few minutes. Make sure the formula is slightly warmer than room temperature.
If you are not using surgical gloves made out of latex for feeding, you should wash your hands before and after each feeding to protect the kittens from each otherâs germs.
To feed them, place them on their stomach on a clean cloth or towel then gently open their mouth and slowly slip the nipple in.
They will quickly get into enthusiastic suckle mode which is exciting to see and experience. However, remember that you must always lightly pull the bottle.
This is important to ensure that the bottle is always at a 45 degree angle in order to avoid air from being sucked into their stomach. If after feeding they start choking, itâs common so donât panic. Simply hold them upside down until they stop.
Another thing that is worth noting is the fact that kittens always instinctively knead their paws when being fed, which brings us to another good alternative position for feeding.
If it is possible for you, sit on the floor with your legs crossed, and put a towel on your leg before you place the kitten on your leg. This way the newborns will be much more comfortable during feeding. Just remember to change the towel each day.
You May Like: Cute Cat Shirts
Don’t Miss: Kittens For Adoption At Petsmart
Do I Need To Help Care For Newborn Kittens
If the delivery was without incident, the queen, or mother cat, will spend most of her time with her kittens during the first few days after birth. For the first month of life, kittens require very little care from the owner because their mother will feed and care for them.
In fact, in the vast majority of cases, the pet owner should not interfere with the queen’s care. Within a few hours of birth, it is extremely important that kittens receive colostrum, or the first milk, which is rich in antibodies and helps protect the newborns from infection. The kittens need to be kept warm and to nurse frequently you should check them every few hours to make certain that they are warm and well fed. You should also check the mother to make certain that she is producing adequate and normal-appearing milk.
“In the vast majority of cases, the pet owner should not interfere with the queen’s care.”
If the mother does not stay in the box, you should make sure the kittens stay warm. Kittens are not able to control their own body temperature, and rely on the external environment to keep them warm. It may be necessary to provide supplemental heat. During the first four days of life, the newborns’ box should be maintained at 89° to 93°F . The temperature may gradually be decreased to 80°F by the seventh to tenth day and to 75°F by the end of the fourth week. If the litter is large, the temperature need not be as high because they huddle together and their body heat provides additional warmth.
Simple Tips And Tricks For Raising A Kitten
In addition to learning the basics about your kittens nutritional needs, behavior, and health, there are some other tips and tricks you might find helpful.
Here are our top tips for raising a kitten:
- Take the time to kitten-proof your home before you bring your kitten home this means putting away potentially harmful things like electrical cords, poisonous houseplants, medications, and small objects.
- Create a safe space for your kitten when you first bring it home youll want to keep it in a small room for a day or two until it gets used to things then slowly expand its range.
- Avoid leaving your kitten alone for too long not only will your kitten get lonely, but its also more likely to get into trouble if theres no one around.
- Make sure you use a kitten-safe litter and litter box look for something that is dust-free and made with natural materials that wont irritate your kittens sensitive paws.
- Provide plenty of toys and scratching surfaces if you provide your kitten with scratch pads and scratching posts, itll be more likely to scratch them and not your furniture.
- Start grooming your kitten early so it gets used to the treatment spend a few minutes brushing your kitten a few times a week and use different kinds of brushes to get it used to those brushes.
Also Check: How To Know If My Cat Is Sick
Shop For Quality Food
Feeding a kitten isnt as easy as grabbing a bag of cat chow at the nearest convenience store. Growing kittens need as much as three times more calories and nutrients than adult cats. Thats why its important to find a good quality food designed especially for kittens. A name brand food, formulated for kittens, is the simplest way to ensure that your kitty gets the proper nourishment without supplements. Also, check to make sure your kittens food includes a statement from the Association of Animal Feed Control Officials displayed on the packaging, ensuring the food is nutritionally complete.
To 10 Weeks: Ready For The Wild
By eight weeks they should be eating almost solid food, taking a lot of pressure off of mama.
Between six and eight weeks they should also receive their first vaccines and be de-wormed, if they have not already been.
They should be completely on solid food now, but they may still nurse a little it is comforting and familiar.
The kittens are old enough to go to adoptive homes, and if you havent yet they can be introduced to the other pets and children in the house.
Also Check: Blue Buffalo Dry Cat Food Ingredients
Stimulation And Litter Box Training
Kittens should and almost always will urinate during each stimulation. They should defecate at least once a day. One trick is to slowly count to 60 while youre stimulating a kitten. At that point, youll know if theyre done or if somethings on its way out!
When kittens get to be about four weeks old, they are usually ready to experience the wonderful world of litterboxes and youll be liberated from stimulation duty! Youll want to make sure you initially use good old-fashioned clay litter , as small kittens can end up ingesting the clumping kind of litter and it can cause problems internally. After each meal, put the kitten in the box and see what transpires. If they dont get it right away, try taking its paw and showing it how to scratch in the litter. Theyll catch on before you know it!
Week Old Kitten Care: I Can See And Pee & Poop
Their eyesight is finally fully developed!
The will look at each other, at you, at shiny things, at anything interesting and then, like all babies, they will go towards what interests them.
Let the kitten roundup begin!
They can start on small amounts of food at this point or soon after.
Mix some dry or canned cat food with some kitten formula until it turns into gruel and put it into a shallow dish for them.
They will eat it, and also walk through it and wear it, but it will help them figure out how that whole eating thing works.
Fortunately, they are self-cleaning and mama will help clean any spot they miss.
They will still be nursing from mama, this is just a little extra nutrition and showing them how food works.
Creative Commons Shimmers Kittens by Helena Jacoba is licensed Under CC BY 2.0
They will also start using the bathroom on their own, so a shallow low sided litter box is needed and frequent changes of bedding, because there will be accidents.
The best part, though, is that full play mode will be a constant thing now. They will stalk and pounce on each other and a kitten wrestle pile will happen.
There will be so much adorableness, and their personalities will start to show.
Don’t Miss: How To Wash Cat Pee Out Of Bedding
What Can A Kitten Do A 2 Weeks Old
First, lets talk about how to tell if a kitten is two weeks old. A two-week-old kitten will have their eyes open and their hearing is getting better each day.
They respond better to sounds, though their sight is still not the best. Their ears are starting to point outwards but still are mostly turned inwards.
One fun fact about kittens is that they will all start out with baby blue eyes!
As they get older, their eyes will change into their true colors. Kittens will also have no teeth at two weeks and their claws with not retract.
How Often Does A 5 Week Old Kitten Need To Eat
5weekold kitten needswill needwhenkitten
People Also Asked, How do you take care of a 5 week old kitten?
Care
Also know, how long can a 5 week old kitten be left alone?Kittens younger than four months of age should not be left alone for more than a couple of hours. Over four months, they can handle up to five hours. When they turn six months, they should be able to handle your 8-hour workday.
Contents
Also Check: How Many Human Years Do Cats Live
Week : Standing And Wobbling
Kittens will start to stand sometime between the third and fourth weeks and will try to walk, although their first movements will be very wobbly. Their bodies are out of proportion to their eventual adult state. Little tails are very short and “stick-like,” and their heads are disproportionately large for their bodies and legs. This will all change, though, as they get their “sea legs” and start moving around.
Don’t be surprised to see kittens escaping from their nesting area as they seek to expand their horizons. They will also interact more with their litter mates, even to the point of forming “alliances,” which may or may not be gender-based.
Kittens will continue to nurse regularly. It is important to continue feeding the mother good quality food, as long as she is nursing kittens.
Almost Time To Go Home
Well-socialized and completely weaned kittens may be ready for their new forever homes in just a couple of weeks from now. If you’ve been waiting for kittens to be old enough to adopt, you’ll probably be pretty excited by this time.
Patience, though. Remember, “all good things are worth waiting for,” and in ideal circumstances, kittens are not ready for adoption until they are between 7 and 9 weeks old.
Recommended Reading: What Is A Serval Cat
Caring For Young Kittens And Their Moms
We strongly encourage everyone to have their cat spayed or neutered. This is the single most effective way to reduce the over population of felines in our community. If, however, you find yourself with a litter of kittens or have made the decision to care for a stray, please refer to the following information to help you care for your kittens until they are 8 weeks old the minimum age they can be away from their mom and/or littermates.
Mom will do most of the initial care, but you will need to frequently check on the babies to ensure the mother is caring for them and the kittens appear healthy.
A clean, warm, and dry place should be provided for moms and babies. A nesting box is essential for better health and survival. The nesting box should be:
- located in a quiet, secluded, warm, and draft-free area
- just tall enough to prevent the kittens from wandering away but low enough that mom can come and go easily
- large enough for the mom to comfortably lie away from the litter if she chooses, but small enough for the newborns to easily reach her
The bottom portion of a plastic dog or cat kennel works well as a nesting box and easily can be cleaned and disinfected.
A temperature-controlled, draft-free area is extremely important because a kittens body temperature can quicklydrop to dangerous levels. A few more tips for creating a quality nesting box:
- congenital defects
Immediately contact your veterinarian If you notice any of these signs.