How To Raise Orphaned Kittens

Weaning kittens is a process to be accomplished slowly over a period of about four to six weeks from week 4 to week 8 or 10.

How to raise orphaned kittens. Gently place the kitten on his stomach open the mouth with a finger and slip the nipple in. Kittens need mental and physical stimulation. For tiny orphaned kittens use a cotton ball to stimulate the genital area to encourage urination and defecation. To encourage suckling gently stroke the kitten s throat in a downward motion.

Be sure the opening in the nipple restricts the outflow of fluid to one drop at a time in order to avoid a flow rate that is too rapid for the kitten. They should be petted cuddled and played with by humans for 30 40 minutes a day over and above feeding and cleaning time. Make sure you keep a fresh supply and not too much at one time. If a rescued kitten feels cold warm it immediately but gently.

If they have littermates they will stimulate each other when moving. Hold the bottle at a 45 angle. Feeds should be every 2 3 hours around the clock. Fostering kittens is fun rewarding and lightning fast if you do it right.

Place it on a heating pad wrapped in towels and on the lowest setting or warm a hot water bottle to about 100 degrees wrapped in a towel and place it with the kitten. Place a box or cat carrier in a quiet isolated part of your house. So around the four week mark is a good time to begin the gradual introduction of food into her diet. Orphaned or hand fed kittens should be raised together to aid in social development.

Kittens need mental and physical stimulation. The room you put it in should be warm and draft free away from any other pets. Twice a week use a warm damp washcloth and give kitten a towel bath they love it and it keeps the kitten clean and comfortable while avoiding skin issues. Mix the wet food with water until it achieves a soupy consistency and consider warming the mixture before serving.

When the orphaned kittens reach about 3 weeks of age you can start providing watered down meat based kitten food for them to nibble on. Orphaned or hand fed kittens should be raised together to aid in social development. Many veterinarians have incubators to warm a chilled kitten. Orphaned neonatal kittens require around the clock care so you ll want to establish a routine of care every 2 4 hours the younger they are the more frequent the intervals between feedings it s normal for the kittens to sleep just make sure they are in a safe and confined space.

If they have littermates they will stimulate each other when moving. When bottle fed kittens will nurse until they are full and then reject the bottle. Most kittens will suckle on small pet nursing bottles also known as pet nursers. They should be petted cuddled and played with by humans for 30 40 minutes a day over and above feeding and cleaning time.