During spring and summer months, waiting a longer time to see if mom will come back is much safer than during frigid winter months. Remove the kittens only if they are in immediate, grave danger from the current environment. If mom returns and the area is relatively safe, leave the kittens alone with mom until they are weaned.
You can offer a shelter and regular food to mom, but keep the food and shelter at a distance from each other. Mom will find the food but will not accept your shelter if the food is nearby, because she will not want to attract other cats to food located near her nest. Learn how to socialize kittens and how to successfully trap a mom and her kittens. If you discover that mom has been hit by a car, or if for any reason it appears that she is not coming back, then you should remove the kittens.
But you must be prepared to see this project through to weaning if you decide to intervene! If you take the kittens in, it is unlikely that Fat Kitty City can help you. We operate without any permanent staff and, like many rescue organizations, we have very few available volunteers to take on bottle-feeding on short notice.
Some organizations do have experienced bottle-feeders, but prior logistical planning is necessary. Want to become a FKC Volunteer and help us in situations like this? Contact us now to volunteer! Animal shelters and veterinarians generally do not take in newborn kittens, since they do not have the staff to feed and stimulate them for elimination around-the-clo ck.
You can contact us at and we will attempt to find someone to bottle-feed the kittens, but this might take days or weeks, and we might not be successful in locating a feeder. If we do find someone to bottle-feed, you might still be responsible for taking the kittens back when they no longer require bottle-feeding. You also might be responsible for paying for veterinary visits, which might include emergency medical care, and will definitely include spay or neuter surgery, disease testing, and vaccinations.
And finally, you might be responsible for adopting the kittens into permanent homes. Check to see if the kittens are warm. Follow the instructions on the packaging for cleaning and preparing the bottles, nipples, and for the appropriate mixing ratio of the milk replacement. Do not heat the liquid directly, rather place the bottle in a pan of hot water to warm it, and test on your own wrist.
Wash your hands before and after handling the formula and feeding the kittens. Do not feed kittens on their backs. Place them on their stomachs and gently lift their chins. Rub the nipple back and forth across the lips and gums until the kitten begins to taste the formula and latches on. Remember to tilt the bottle up so that the kitten is not sucking in air. An eye dropper may be necessary for the first week or two.
Every third feeding, offer some water in the bottle to start. Kittens will usually stop suckling when they are full. Do not feed too fast or force the formula. Kittens eating formula need to be burped.
This is performed by keeping them on their stomach and either placing them on your lap or on your shoulder and then gently patting their backs. The label on the container of kitten formula you purchased should indicate the recommended amount to feed a kitten according to body weight. If a kitten cries, she is either cold or hungry. A contented kitten sleeps quietly. Newborns up to 1 week old — feed every 2 hours day and night YES, you need to wake up at night.
Until the kittens can urinate and defecate on their own about 3 weeks of age , they must be stimulated to relieve themselves. Wet a cotton ball with warm water, and gently rub the anal and genital area.
They will begin to go within minutes. The urine should be a pale yellow or clear. If it is darker, the kitten may need more formula. The stool should be a pale to dark brown and partially formed. Too firm of a stool indicates dehydration or not enough formula. If the kitten needs more formula, increase the number of feedings rather than the amount at each meal.
You also might be responsible for paying for veterinary visits, which might include emergency medical care, and will definitely include spay or neuter surgery, disease testing, and vaccinations. And finally, you might be responsible for adopting the kittens into permanent homes. The NYC Feral Cat Initiative can help you locate low-cost veterinary care, and might be able to help you find new homes for the kittens, but completing these tasks will be your responsibility.
Newborn kittens need to be fed and stimulated for elimination every three hours around-the-clock. Photo by Valerie Sicignano. Neonatal kittens under four weeks of age cannot eat solid food not canned, not dry and cannot urinate or defecate on their own, so you must bottle-feed them around-the-clock and stimulate their genitals after every feeding so they can eliminate. For example, if you have kittens less than one week old, they will need to be fed and stimulated every three hours.
That means you will be caring for them eight times a day — for example, at midnight, a. If the kittens are unusually small or sickly, they might need to be fed every two hours. Skipping feedings or overfeeding can cause diarrhea, which results in dehydration, a condition that can be fatal for small kittens not to mention a hassle for you to clean up after.
Diarrhea requires a visit to the veterinarian. As the kittens age, the number of feedings they need per day goes down. You can start weaning at four weeks of age. Powdered kitten milk replacement formula is better for kittens than the canned liquid formula. We recommend that you use only powdered kitten milk replacement formula from the start — or as soon as possible — to prevent diarrhea. Both brands are available in both canned and powdered formulas. We highly recommend the powdered type to prevent diarrhea.
Revival Animal Health offers the lowest prices we know of. Make sure that the powdered formula you are using is fresh by opening the pop-top and smelling it. It should smell slightly sweet, like powdered milk.
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