How To Care For 1 Week Old Kitten
In the high kitten season such as spring and summer, it is not unusual for us to find a nest of unattended newborn kittens or 1 week old kitten seemingly the runt of the litter that has been abandoned by its mother somewhere.
Upon finding them, we instinctively decide to take them back with us and take care of them. Rescuing these poor kittens is a noble decision, there is no doubt about it. But not all of us know how to properly care for newborn kitten and this may lead to a serious issue.
The fact that we do not know anything about how to take care of newborn kittens often makes us question our decision.
But when we look back on it, our decision to rescue them is much better than leaving them on their own when we are aware they are still unable to fend for themselves. Now all we have to do is educate ourselves, and luckily for us this article is specifically made for this reason.
How To Bottle Feed A Kitten
Once the kitten and formula are ready, set the kitten on his stomach never try to feed a kitten on its back. Hold his head gently with one hand to encourage the kitten to latch onto the nipple. According to Alley Cat Allies, try your best to imitate the position a newborn kitten would use when nursing from its mother. Use your other hand to guide the kittens mouth to the nipple. Never force a kitten onto a nipple. The kittens tongue should form a v-shape to facilitate sucking. By holding the head of the kitten, youll be able to feel if hes swallowing the milk.
If your kitten refuses to suckle, you may want to try gently rubbing his face and head with a terry washcloth or an old toothbrush to simulate the roughness of the mother cats tongue. If the kitten still refuses to latch onto the nipple you can use a syringe to provide nourishment. Offer small drops of formula this way. Never force formula down the kittens throat or you could asphyxiate the animal by filling its lungs with liquid.
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.
Also Check: How To Make A Cat House
Feeding A Kitten Over 8 Weeks Of Age
Once a kitten has surpassed eight weeks of age, they should be fed twice a day with normal kitten food. Solid food should not be an issue for kittens of this age but they may still try to nurse on occasion. Between eight and ten weeks of age, a kitten should be fully weaned and preparing to leave its mother if you plan to find the kitten a new home. The first vaccinations are typically administered at about eight weeks of age, so when the kittens have a vet visit, you can be sure they have been growing appropriately.
How To Select A High
It may take some initial time and energy in determining which food is right for your kitten, but your efforts will be rewarded in a healthy, happy, beautiful kitten.
The best way to find the healthiest kitten food is to compare foods, choose a few possible options, and then talk with your veterinarian about which of those is best for your kitten. Consider the protein source in the food and pick a diet that does not contain a lot of filler ingredients.
Recommended Reading: Best Milk Thistle For Cats
At What Age Do Kittens Teeth
Teeth take their time s Incisors usually show up at three or four weeks. The lower molars begin to come in at four to five weeks while upper molars show up at about eight weeks. Kittens can eat solid food as early as five weeks. If hes looking for the food bowl vs. the human putting soft food near his face, its a clue that hes a bit older.
Kitten Feeding Schedule: How Much Food Kittens Need
Just like human babies, kittens do a lot of growing in the first year of their lives. The kind of food and how much a kitten consumes directly affects their growth rate and development. By making sure a kitten is on a proper feeding schedule, you’ll be able to monitor your kitten’s growth and ensure they are receiving appropriate nutrition.
Recommended Reading: What To Do About Cat Dandruff
Tips For Newborn Kitten Care
tags
Taking care of a brand new fur baby is a great joy and a great responsibility, and one that requires special knowledge of newborn kitten care.
A kitten is considered a newborn from birth until the age of four months, which provides her enough time to be weaned from her mother and learn a few life skills, such as eating and using a litter box. Whether you’re the primary caretaker of newborn kittens or working in harmony with a cat mom, equip yourself with the essentials to keep your new snuggle bundles in tip-top shape.
Behavior Changes Of Newborn Kittens
You probably won’t notice much of a difference between a newborn kitten and a one-week-old kitten but it will start to be more active as the week goes on. Kittens won’t be playing with littermates just yet and the only social interaction between each other will be battling for a nipple to nurse from.
Also Check: Catit Creamy Cat Treats Review
How To Care For 1 Week Old Kitten: Step Three
While kittens know how to suck the nipple by instinct, you may come across a newborn that somehow refuses to take the nipple. When your newborn kitten refuse to suckle, you may coax them by delicately stroking its back or rubbing the nipple gently but firmly on the newborns forehead.
These are incredibly stimulating because they replicate the cleaning activity that mother-cats always do to their newborns.
If this does not work out, chances are the newborn kitten is simply being fussy. In the event that this happens, you may change to another type of nipple.
The nursing kit typically consists of extra nipples with different length. If you are using the shorter nipple, immediately change it to the longer one and use it to feed the picky newborn.
To 8 Week Old Kitten Care: Ch Ch Cha Changes
Somewhere between six and eight weeks, their eyes will start to change to the adult color.
Their final teeth will come in, and they will be incredibly active.
Mom will feel comfortable leaving them for longer periods, and they will leap and wrestle and tackle and play constantly until they fall over asleep and change from a kitten wrestle pile to a kitten sleep pile.
Sometimes there will be an activity that could only be described as sleep playing, where they will paw and wrestle with each other in slow motion because they are mostly asleep.
Creative Commons Commons Shimmer And Her Two Tabby Kittens by Helena Jacoba is licensed Under CC BY 2.0
This is a good time to make sure you handle and interact with all of the kittens as much as you can.
Play with them, cuddle with them, pick them up, and touch their eyes, ears, mouths and tails get them familiar with this kind of touch so trips to the vet and giving medication are easier and less stressful.
While they still will be nursing, they will happily eat 4 to 6 times a day . Slowly transition the kitten gruel to less kitten milk replacer and more solid food.
You May Like: Why Do Cats Lick Themselves After A Bath
Weeks 5 & : Kittens Advance To Adult Cat Play
In the fifth and sixth weeks, your kitten will begin to behave more like an adult cat in terms of play. This is when you can really get social with your growing kitten, teaching her how to play safely and discouraging biting.
This is a great time to introduce your kitten to things like brushes and nail clippers in a fun way by making a game out of any interaction she has with these, Dr. McGowan says.
As you hold your kitten, be sure to touch her ears and each foot. This will prepare her for later ear cleanings and nail trims.
Weeks 7 To 1: Kittens Continue To Mature
Your kitten will continue to grow bigger and heavier as she reaches maturation, and different breeds finish maturing at different ages. Your kittens desire to play is really ramping up at this point but will continue through adulthood, Dr. McGowan adds.
As you continue to play with and socialize your kitten, now is the time to establish a comfortable grooming routine. Begin clipping your kittens newly long nails and combing or brushing her coat.
Recommended Reading: Why Is My Cat Drinking Out Of The Toilet
Week : Growing And Developing
Your kitten is continuing its growth at an astonishing rate, by at least 10 grams per day. The mother cat should be fed a quality canned kitten food to help replenish the nutrients she loses through nursing. Later on, the kittens will be introduced to the same food.
Its eyes will start to open and will be completely open at nine to 14 days old. All kittens’ eyes are blue and will remain so for several weeks. Their vision will be blurred at first, and their pupils don’t dilate and contract readily, so they should be kept from bright lights.
Weeks: Walking And Using The Litter Box
Around three weeks of age is usually when kittens start to take their first shaky steps. While they start out wobbly and unsure, as balance begins to improve during the fourth week they become more confident and eager to explore their surroundings. This is a good time to start kitten-proofing your home if you haven’t already done so.
During the fourth and fifth week of the kitten timeline, kittens are able to balance enough to go to the bathroom without any help from their mother. This is a good time to introduce them to the litter box, says Petful. Kittens typically learn what to do from watching mom, so all you really need to do is show them the box. Just keep in mind that they’re still learning and accidents might happen from time to time.
Also Check: What Should You Feed A Kitten
Weeks 10 To 1: To Infinity And Beyond
The kittens are now small cats!
There should remain no trace of the previous wobbliness they are sleek and graceful little tigers now, playing with and stalking anything they can.
Once they reach two pounds, they are old enough for juvenile spay/neuter and once they reach sixteen weeks old they have reached sexual maturity and may be able to reproduce, so spaying or neutering should be done soon.
From tiny three-ounce newborns that fit in your hand to small fully matured cats, the first twelve weeks on your kittens lives will be jam packed with change.
You will see their personalities emerge and develop and you will be amazed at the changes they go through during this period.
When Should Vaccinations Begin
Kittens from a healthy mother will have passive immunity to some feline diseases before and shortly after birth. Before birth, the mother’s antibodies cross the placenta and enter the kittens’ circulation. Immediately after birth, the mother produces colostrum, or first milk, which is also rich in maternal antibodies. These maternal antibodies protect the kittens against the diseases to which the mother is immune. This explains why it is often recommended to booster the mother’s vaccinations a few months prior to breeding.
“Although very protective, maternal antibodies last for only a few weeks after this time, the kitten becomes susceptible to disease.”
Although very protective, maternal antibodies last for only a few weeks after this time, the kitten becomes susceptible to disease. The kitten should receive its first vaccines at about six to eight weeks of age. In order to provide strong immunity, one to three booster vaccines will be required to complete the kitten vaccine series. Kittens should be vaccinated against feline panleukopenia, feline viral rhinotracheitis, calicivirus, feline leukemia , rabies, and possibly against Chlamydophila felis. Your veterinarian will discuss your individual cat’s needs at the time of the first visit for vaccinations. The specific vaccines and frequency of vaccination will be based on your cat’s lifestyle and its potential risk of contracting infection.
Recommended Reading: Best Fabric For Cat Owners
Week : Starting The Weaning Process
Kittens will be walking around freely at this time and starting to play with their siblings. They will be developing a new sense of independence, although they may not stray far from their mother or their littermates. This will be a very good time for them to socialize with humans.
Kittens may be introduced to canned food at this time. Select a quality brand of kitten food with a named meat source as the first ingredient . Ideally, they should be given the same kitten food given the mother cat, as the kittens will quickly accommodate and eat mom’s food. Use a shallow plate and expect their first experiences to be messy.
Although the mother cat will try to wean the kittens, they still need the nursing experience to satisfy their suckling needsat least until they are eight or 10 weeks old, by which time the mother cat will have gradually weaned them.
Kittens can also learn litter box basics now. They need a smaller, separate box, one that will be easy to access and exit, with only an inch or two of litter. A shallow plastic storage box or lid to a shoebox might work for starters. As human babies experiment by tasting everything, so will kittens. Avoid their ingestion of harmful substances by using a natural litter such as one made from corn cobs, paper, or wood chipsnever use clumping clay.
Weeks Four And Five Feeding Schedules
During weeks 4 and 5, a kitten will slowly increase how much food it consumes in a meal. Feedings will occur less frequently and a bowl of formula or other liquid kitten food should be made available for a kitten to start drinking from. By the end of week 5, a kitten should only be nursing three times a day but at each meal it should be consuming about 3 tablespoons of milk or formula.
A kitten should weigh about 14 to 16 oz. by the time it is 4 to 5 weeks of age if it is eating enough food. Towards the end of week five, you should be offering the kitten more food from a saucer than it is consuming from nursing. The food should graduate from being a liquid to eventually more of a gruel by using less and less water with canned kitten food over the course of a couple of weeks. This will be a messy stage of a kitten’s life since it usually ends up walking in the food, but it is a necessary step to begin weaning it off of its mother’s milk.
Don’t Miss: Purina Dry Cat Food Gentle
Weeks Seven And Eight Feeding Schedules
Limited nursing sessions should still be allowed until the kittens are two months old, assuming they are all eating the kitten food that is offered to them three times a day. The mother cat may need to be separated from kittens that are relentlessly trying to nurse more than they should, but by the end of week eight, a kitten should weigh about two pounds from the combination of limited nursing and eating regular kitten food.
The Spruce / Emilie Dunphy
Four Weeks Old Kitten
Its been one whole month! Its amazing how quickly these helpless kittens have grown up over a four-week period. Darling, Denby, Corduroy, Tweed, and Wembley are thriving babies, starting to explore the world around them and play frequently with friends and toys.
At four weeks old, Corduroy is ready to explore!
You May Like: Can You Mix Wet And Dry Cat Food
Can I Hold The Kitten
Vets recommend not touching kittens unless you have to while their eyes are still closed. You can check on them to make sure theyâre healthy and gaining weight, but try to limit direct physical contact.
The kittenâs mother will also let you know how comfortable she is with you handling her babies. Itâs important to take it slow, especially at first. If the mother cat seems anxious or stressed, give her and her babies some space.
Be Careful With Kittens
Kittens are born with their eyes closed. They will open eventually, but not for a week or two . Never try to open a kitten’s eyes, they will open on their own. If you do try this, it can cause damage to their eyes and even blindness. If, however, the eyes seem swollen, you may try to take a damp washcloth and very gently wipe their eyes so it may be easier for them to open. Don’t try this until after the 14 days are up. If that doesn’t help, they need to be taken to a vet so the vet can open their eyes and check for infection.
You May Like: What To Do When Your Lost Cat Returns Home