Newborn Kitten Care
There are several different reasons that may make it necessary for us to have to take care of a newborn kitten. First, the mother cat may be sick or even has died. She could have even had more kittens then she could take care of. If the kitten is sick, sometimes the mother cat will not take care of it. And the worst is that the owner of the mother dumped the kittens out, while this is sad, it does happen quite often .
One of the most important things is to make sure the kitten is dry and warm. A kitten will die very quickly in a short amount of time if his temperature is dropped and he goes into metabolic shock. Fixing a dry, warm bed is important. Using old towels and a cardboard box will work. Just holding the kitten to your body will help to warm him also. Be careful if you need to us a heating pad or heat lamp. Be sure the kitten can crawl away from the heat if he gets too warm, which is also dangerous. After he seems warmed, give him a quick look over. Check the eyes, ears and general overall condition. Are the eyes alert or matted up and closed? Is the ears waxed or full of fleas? Is the kitten vocal and moving around or quite and still?
Making the decision of whether to keep the kitten or to call the animal shelter is up to you, but please do not just walk away. The kitten will die without help. If he seems to check out okay and you decide to keep him, you may want to give him some children's pedialyte will be good to rehydrate the kitten. A mother's milk substitute or what is called a milk re-placer can be purchased at a local pet store along with supplies like the eye dropper, bottle or a syringe that will help to feed the kitten. Follow the manufactures instructions and the results will be fine.
One thing to know is a newborn kitten will not be able to voluntarily eliminate his feces or urine until around the age of three weeks. You will have to stimulate the perineal area as the mother cat would stimulate the urogenital reflex by licking after every feeding.. A good way is to use a warm cloth or cotton ball and gently rub. Also the kitten will need to be bathed with the warm cloth to help keep him clean. After about three weeks you will be able to start weaning off the bottle. A good way is to start by mixing the milk re-placers with can food to the texture of a milkshake to help the kitten learn to eat out of a dish and gradually increase to solid foods.
Keep in mind for the first three weeks a newborn kitten is almost like have a new born baby in the house. They also will need to be feed around the clock. But at the end of this time you will have a new addition to your family that will have his own very unique personality.
