Proper Care For Orphaned or Abandoned Kittens
Your chances for successfully raising a litter of kittens that have been orphaned or abandoned depends on the age of the kittens. Although, it’s not impossible to play surrogate Mother and rear a whole litter of healthy babies it is quite demanding!
Kittens bodies are unable to maintain the correct body temperature during the first few weeks. They keep warm by laying up against the mother or each other. Chills can cause a serious illness and may even cause death, so warmth is critical.
Keep the box or basket holding the litter in an area that is from 85 - 90°F during the first five days after they’re born. Light bulbs can be hung at a distance and heating pads can also be used.
Between the ages of five and ten days, slowly start lowering the temperature down to about 80°F. Keep lowering the temperature until they are four weeks old and you’ve gotten the temperature down to around 75°F.
Keeping the kittens and their bedding clean will help prevent diseases and weak, sick kittens. It should be cleaned at least once a day and if it’s a large litter it may need to be cleaned twice a day.
Kitten Milk Replacement “KMR”, can be found at most pet stores or veterinarian offices. This formula is as close to the mother cats own milk as you can get. Regular cows milk doesn’t contain enough protein for healthy kittens.
Small bottles made especially for feeding small animals can be purchased. But, you can easily use an eye dropper or a small fillable bottle that’s made for dolls. The amount you feed the kitten’s isn’t going to be of a major concern. Most kittens will just simply refuse to eat anymore once they’re gotten full, so overfeeding isn’t too much of a problem.
If you’d like to be more precise, feed each kitten 20% of their body weight daily for the first week. Kittens should be feed six times in a 24 hour period, so you would need to divide the amount of formula into six separate feedings.
For each preceding week of age, add another 5% to the formula amount. Once the kittens are a month old, the feedings can be reduced to four times each day. And, you should start the weaning process by feeding them small amounts of soft foods.
The kittens should always be awake when you feed them and you will need to burp them just like a baby! Gently rubbing their stomachs will stimulate urination.
Their rectums also need massaging to promote bowel movements. You can use a cotton swab soaked in mineral oil to gently rub the opening of the rectum.
After the kittens eyes have opened, you need to wash them with warm water on a daily basis. Kittens are babies and just like babies they need a lot of sleep during the first few weeks of life.
If you want to keep a close check on the kittens progress, weigh each one every day and keep a record. The kittens growth won’t be very quick, but they should continue to gain a few ounces at a steady pace.
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