When To Take Newborn Kittens To Vet

How To Hold A Newborn Kitten

When lifting up a newborn kitten, use both your hands. Hold them from the chest and under their back legs to make sure they are fully supported. Be gentle. If they squirm, do not put them down this teaches them that squirming means they will be released. Instead, soothe them with your voice until they calm down.

In this article, we have explored the essentials of caring for a newborn kitten. With this advice and professional help from your vet, your kitten should grow up to be strong, loving and well-socialised cat.

Next, find out more about kitten vaccinations and how they work to keep your pet protected from a wide range of diseases.

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What Are Some Products I Might Need For My Kitten

Youll definitely need a good litter box, litter, and then obviously some food. You should get the same food that the kitten was eating at the breeder or adoption place so that you don’t have to shock their intestinal system. So try to ask the breeder or the adoption place just to see what kind of food they were eating. For cats, I do encourage feeding them wet food. At least half of the food should be wet food. I commonly recommend getting dry and wet food and a lot of toys. Kittens love to play so you want to make sure you have a lot of toys. Oh, and youll want a scratching post, of course. It’s always good to get horizontal and vertical scratching posts because you never know which one your kitten likes, so just try to get two of them.

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 kitten’s body temperature can quicklydrop to dangerous levels. A few more tips for creating a quality nesting box:

• frequent crying
• altered respiration

Immediately contact your veterinarian If you notice any of these signs.

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Nutrition Tips For Kittens

As we briefly discussed above, proper kitten nutrition includes modifying the diet to ensure you are feeding kittens what they need during each stage of growth.

• The mother cat should be feeding kittens during the first 4 weeks of life, or you should use a special commercial milk-replacer formula every 2-4 hours if the kitten has been separated from its mother.
• From 3-5 weeks of age, feeding kittens involves offering the milk-replacer formula in a shallow dish to encourage weaning from a bottle. You can also add a moist, easily chewable diet consisting of a mixture of warm milk-replacer and high quality canned or dried kitten food 4-6 times a day.
• After 6 months of age, kittens should be fed 2-3 times per day.

Feeding kittens the right food in the right amounts, and at the right times throughout the day is essential for happy, healthy and growing cats. Our veterinary staff would be happy to discuss the proper feeding schedule for your kitten at your next veterinary appointment.

Mixing In The Kitten Food

After shes readily drinking the milk replacement from the bowl, you will be mixing the milk replacement with some high-quality kitten food. Innova kitten food is excellent, palatable kitten food. After its properly mixed, it should have the consistency of oatmeal. Over the next few weeks, you will gradually reduce the amount of liquid to the mixture. You will be adding more and more cat food. Around the 5 to 6-week mark, the kitten will be eating food only very slightly moistened and you will be able to leave it out for her to free feed. By week 8 to 10, the kitten will be completely done with the addition of milk replacement.

Word to the Wise

Kittens love to play in their food bowls! All three of my kittens would walk, rub, and roll in it. Its just part of the process for them. Youll be cleaning them up quite a lot.

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Caring For A Mother Cat And Her Newborn Kittens

If youre expecting a litter of kittens, congratulations! Newborn kittens are quite possibly the sweetest, cutest little bundles of joy around, but that doesnt mean you can sit idly by oohing and ahhing. Your queen, or pregnant mother cat, deserves your full attention during this special, yet nerve-wracking time. Shell be tuning into instincts we can only guess at, but with your support and calm assistance, shell be mama cat of the year.

Tips For Newborn Kitten Care

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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.

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Health Issues In Newborn Kittens

Intestinal parasites are most common in kittens. Other health problems in young kittens are infectious diseases, such as respiratory infections, and congenital diseases.

Fading kitten syndrome occurs when a kitten fails to thrive. If you notice one of the kittens is generally more lethargic and sleeping a lot more than its siblings, it can be a sign of the syndrome. That kitten requires immediate attention from a veterinarian who specializes in kitten care.

Keep Them Clean And Dry

In addition to keeping kittens warm, the mother also spends a significant amount of time keeping them clean. You will need to take on this role by cleaning the kittens after each meal. This is important not only for their health, but also for socialization and for the kittens to learn how to groom themselves as they get older. To clean the kittens, use a slightly damp, warm washcloth and gently rub them all over. Use short strokes similar to a mother cat grooming with her tongue. Make sure each kitten is clean and fully dry before returning it to the enclosure with its litter mates.

Kittens under 3 weeks of age will also need to be stimulated to urinate and defecate. To do this, simply use a cotton ball dipped in warm water and gently rub the kittens lower abdomen, rectum, and genitals. This should stimulate the kitten to urinate every time. Kittens should also defecate at least once a day with stimulation. Kittens under three weeks of age should be stimulated to urinate and defecate before and after every meal. At three weeks of age, kittens will begin to urinate and defecate on their own and will no longer need stimulation. At this point, you can place a small litter box with non-clumping litter in the kitten enclosure for the kittens to explore.

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Keep Them Fed With Proper Nutrition

Never feed a kitten cows milk or goats milk these do not have the right balance of nutrients for a growing kitten and may cause serious digestive upset. Instead, feed your kittens 1 part KMR powder to 2 parts water. The formula should be around 100 degrees Fahrenheit, which will feel warm to the touch but not hot. Formula that is too hot can burn the kittens and cause injury, while formula that is too cold can be unappetizing and can slow digestion. Always check the temperature of the formula prior to feeding your kittens.

Kittens need frequent feedings throughout the day in order to digest the formula properly. For kittens under two weeks of age, formula should be fed at least every 2 hours. Kittens 2-4 weeks of age can be fed every 3-4 hours. Any kitten that is weak, ill, or not eating as much as the others should be fed more frequently to ensure adequate intake.

To bottle feed a kitten, place the kitten on its belly on a blanket or towel. Hold the bottle at a 45 degree angle and gently place the nipple in the kittens mouth. It may take a few tries at first, but once the kitten understands that this is a source of milk, it should latch on and start suckling right away. Never place a kitten on its back to bottle feed, as this can cause the kitten to aspirate. This can potentially cause aspiration pneumonia, which can be fatal. Always keep the kittens upright and leaning forward, as they would be when nursing from their mother.

How To Take Care Of A Newborn Kitten Without A Mother

If you have found a newborn kitten without its mother, then youre probably wondering how to care for it. Well walk you through the steps to ensure it gets the proper nutrition and care during its first few weeks of life.

First, make sure the kitten is warm. If its cold out, place it in a box or carrier with a heating pad set on low in the back corner. Make sure that theres plenty of room for the kitten to move around comfortably, but not so much room that it falls off of something and gets hurt. You can also use a heating pad under half an inch of straw or hay in a cardboard box as well as place another cardboard box over top of this one.

Next, feed your newborn kitten every few hours with milk replacement formula made specifically for kittens . You should also offer small amounts of soft food every day because this will help them learn how to eat solid foods when theyre older. After each feeding session, gently rub their little bellies from front to back with a warm cloth until they fall asleep, this will help them digest their food and prevent gas buildup.

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Stimulation For Urination And Defecation

Mother cats groom their kittens to stimulate urination and defecation on a regular basis. If you are acting as their foster parent, you get this important duty. Very young orphan kittens will not be able to urinate and defecate without your help, so this is a crucial part of neonatal kitten care. Before and after each feeding, gently rub the kitten on its lower abdomen, as well as the genitals and rectum with a cotton ball/pad dipped in warm water or a fragrance free baby wipe. Make sure to rub only enough to get the kitten to eliminate because overstimulation will irritate the area. Keep an eye out for chafing and lingering dirt and do not let the kitten get chilled. Kittens should urinate during each stimulation. They should defecate at least once daily.

General guidelines are:

• Kittens need to be stimulated until about 3 weeks of age.
• Kittens should be stimulated before and after each feeding.
• Kitten should urinate every time and defecate at least once daily.

When kittens get to be 3 4 weeks old, they no longer need help eliminating body wastes. Place a litter box in the crate or cage and fill with litter or shredded newspaper.

for a video from Maddie’s Institute on how to stimulate a kitten to urinate and defecate.

What Are The Right And Wrong Ways To Pick Up My Kitten

Oh, interesting question. I generally recommend picking up your kitten from the underneath side and maybe putting your hand up here to control the head a little bit. And scoop them underneath your arms. You can hold their little paws in the front, also. A football hold is probably the best way to do it.

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What To Expect With Your Kittens First Vet Visit

When bringing home a newly adopted kitten, it is imperative that you get it checked out by a veterinarian as soon as possible. This is not only for your kittens own health, but to also ensure that it doesnt share any serious communicable diseases. Ideally, your kitten would be examined prior to even bringing it home with you, but you should try to get it seen by a vet within 48 hours if the kitten appears to be healthy. If the kitten is showing any symptoms of an illness, such as watery eyes, sneezing, difficulty breathing, or failure to eat, it should be seen immediately. Regardless of whether or not you think your kitten is healthy though, you should keep your kitten away from other cats until a veterinarian gives your kitten the go-ahead for socializing.

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How Soon Should I Bring My New Kitten To See A Veterinarian

I would do it just as soon as you get him. We want to make sure that they’re off to a great start. The veterinarian will do a complete physical examination and will also look for intestinal parasites, de-worm your little kitten, and give you any advice and information that you need. So do it right away.

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I Have Heard Of Milk Fever What Exactly Is It

Eclampsia or milk fever is caused by depletion of calcium circulating in the bloodstream of the queen and is due to heavy milk production. It generally occurs when the kittens are three to five weeks old and most often to mothers of large litters. Early signs include restlessness, panting, and loss of attention towards their kittens. It can progress to tremors, muscle spasms, and collapse. This condition can be fatal in thirty to sixty minutes, so your cat needs to see your veterinarian immediately. Prompt treatment with intravenous calcium will reverse the condition. If the queen develops milk fever, her kittens should be weaned as soon as possible.

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How Do I Feed A Newborn Kitten

Kittens under 4 weeks of age cannot eat solid food, whether itâs dry or canned. They can drink their motherâs milk to get the nutrients they need. The kitten will rely on you to survive if their mother isnât around.

You can feed your newborn kitten a nutritional substitute thatâs called kitten milk replacer. Itâs essential that you avoid feeding a kitten the same milk that humans consume. Typical cowâs milk can make cats very sick. If youâre unsure of which kitten milk replacer to choose, talk to a veterinarian. They can help you select the right one.

For many dry milk replacers, refrigeration is not always required. But if extra milk is prepared, it should be stored in the fridge. To feed your kitten, follow these steps:

Prepare the formula. Warm the kitten formula to slightly above room temperature. Test the temperature of the formula right before you feed your kitten. Do this by placing a few drops of the formula on your wrist to ensure itâs not too hot.

Keep things clean. Before and after each feeding, you should wash your hands and the bottle that you used to feed your kitten. Itâs also recommended that you use a âkitten gown.â This could be a robe or a shirt that you only wear when youâre handling or feeding your kitten. Using a kitten gown helps reduce the possibility of spreading germs.

If for any reason you canât get your kitten to eat, contact your veterinarian immediately.

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Do All Kittens Have Worms

Intestinal parasites or worms are very common in kittens. Symptoms of intestinal parasites include generally poor condition, chronic soft or bloody stools, poor appetite, a pot-bellied appearance, loss of luster to the coat, and weight loss. Some parasites are transmitted from the mother to her offspring either in utero or through her milk, while others are carried by fleas or other insects. The eggs and larval forms of some parasites are transmitted through the stool of an infected cat.

“Intestinal parasites or worms are very common in kittens.”

How Can I Tell If My Kitten Is Happy And Healthy

Happy and healthy kittens have fun and energetic behaviors. Theyre curious and constantly playing. You dont need a television anymore when you get a kitten, as they are so fun. Its mostly about setting them up for correct boundaries in the household so that we can make sure that their behaviors are consistent with a happy life for everybody.

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