Raising Orphaned Bottle Baby Kittens
I have spent many years raising orphaned baby kittens for the Humane Society of Western Montana. When they get in a batch of newborns without a mother, they call me and I pick up the pile of squirming, squealing kittens. Here is what I have learned about how to do this right...
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WARMTH:
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For the first six weeks, kittens need a warm, draft free place to live. A cat crate with a blanket over it and a heating source inside is ideal. As they grow, say, around three to four weeks, they may be transferred to a large dog crate with room for a litter-box and enough space for them to move around and play.
Rice Socks: (also works with beans) Take an old sock. Fill it with rice, uncooked, and tie a knot in it. Now heat it for two minutes in the microwave and then check on it. If it is not hot enough, it can go longer, one minute at a time.
Saline Bags: (the Humane Society uses these when they expire and haven't been used yet.) Heat them in the microwave for two minutes, adding one minute more at a time until hot.
Heating Pads: (on low setting) These work well as long as a) they are not too hot and b) the kittens can get away from them if needed. Most human made heating pads turn off after a certain amount of time, though, so that wont work. So think about getting one made specifically for pets. I ordered this one on Amazon... SOVPAIT Pet Mat.
Saline Bags: (the Humane Society uses these when they expire and haven't been used yet.) Heat them in the microwave for two minutes, adding one minute more at a time until hot.
Heating Pads: (on low setting) These work well as long as a) they are not too hot and b) the kittens can get away from them if needed. Most human made heating pads turn off after a certain amount of time, though, so that wont work. So think about getting one made specifically for pets. I ordered this one on Amazon... SOVPAIT Pet Mat.
FOOD:
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weight: You need to weigh the kittens every day so you can keep track of a) how much they should be eating and b) that they are gaining weight appropriately. Weigh them on a kitchen scale and jot their weights down in a notebook. This helps you keep track of how much they should be fed and make sure they are healthy and growing. When you are weighting them, it isn't so much WHAT they weigh, since that varies by kitten, but that they are gaining weight. They should gain about 4 oz. per week or about 1/2 oz per day. I have this digital scale: 33lb Kitchen Scale. Weight them at the same time every day, before they eat or eliminate waste.
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food: When young, feed only comercial kitten milk replacer like KMR and mix it always to the package instructions. Don't ever use cow's milk, as this will make the kittens sick. I buy mine here... KMR powdered milk replacer for kittens.
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temperature: Warm the milk or use warm water to mix it. Kittens should not drink cold milk. It is warm enough when you can drop a few drops on your inner wrists and it is warm but not hot. Around 100 degrees Farenheit.
- birth-six weeks old: In general, a kitten of this age needs to eat 2 Tablespoons per 4oz. of body weight. But I let the kittens eat until they are done, then give them a rest while I feed the rest of the kittens and let them all eat again. They will generally eat as much as they need without you needing to keep track of it, if they are healthy and thriving. You know there is a problem if the kitten looses weight or doesn't gain for a few days in a row.
- week one: Feed every two hour around the clock, including at night, then help kitten eliminate and give them a bath, tucking them back in to sleep after drying them well.
- week two to six: You can soon switch to feeding 3-4 times per day, then go down to 3 times, letting the kittens (and yourself) sleep through the night.
As the kittens get older, I cut a bigger hole in the nipple of their bottle. This means that they will get more in each feeding. It also means they will need a break in between eating. Feed each kitten until it stops eating and spits the nipple out, then go back and start again, feeding each a second or third time until they no longer want the bottle.
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Starting them on Food: Sometimes you have to work a bit to teach the kittens to suck and to accept a bottle instead of a mother cat's living teets. Kittens can have trouble adjusting to a plastic nipple when they are expecting living flesh. We often start out with a small syringe (maybe 10ccs). You fill the syringe and work the tip into the kitten's mouth, pushing the plunger just a slight bit in order to get a drop or two of milk in the kitten's mouth. |
DO NOT push any more than that out at a time. You risk getting milk in the kitten's lungs and that is deadly to them.
Ideally, a drop here and there will cause them to start sucking and they will begin to pull the plunger back with their own sucking. Once a kitten has eaten a good bit this way, you can switch them to a kitten bottle which holds more.
If they don't manage the sucking on their own, try rubbing their bellies, make sure the milk is warm and push one drop at a time into their mouths (not the back of their throats—let them choose to swallow).
When they are eating well from the syringe, move them on to a kitten bottle. You will need to take a razor the first time you use it and cut an X in the nipple so a little milk comes through. Later you will cut the nipple down so that it has a bigger hole, but small amounts are better at first.
Ideally, a drop here and there will cause them to start sucking and they will begin to pull the plunger back with their own sucking. Once a kitten has eaten a good bit this way, you can switch them to a kitten bottle which holds more.
If they don't manage the sucking on their own, try rubbing their bellies, make sure the milk is warm and push one drop at a time into their mouths (not the back of their throats—let them choose to swallow).
When they are eating well from the syringe, move them on to a kitten bottle. You will need to take a razor the first time you use it and cut an X in the nipple so a little milk comes through. Later you will cut the nipple down so that it has a bigger hole, but small amounts are better at first.
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Positioning: How you hold a kitten when it is feeding is important. Don't lay them on their back, as they can get milk in thier lungs that way, and this can kill them. Kittens naturally eat in what is later a standing position, with their bellies down and their heads tilted up.
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Amount: Kittens wont over eat, so feed them until they stop sucking on their bottle at each feeding. You can't feed a kitten too much, but you can feed it too often. Wait until the kittens wake up and ask for food. Don't wake them to eat if you can help it.
- around three weeks old: Make sure they have access to a litter-box and some room to move around.
- around four weeks old: Begin putting a small bit of wet food out in the kitten cage. This should be a spoon-full or two on a flat plate. The kittens will walk on it, sleep in it and eventually figure out how to eat it. They will need lots of baths during that time. They will also need lots of room to run around and play.
- around four weeks old: At some point you have to stop giving the bottle and encourage them to get on solid food. They probably wont like this. I often spend a week giving the bottle only in the evenings before bed timing then stop all together. I put out wet kitten food and dry kitten food free choice on a dish (like a small plate) that they can't tip over. They will step in it and hopefully eat it. You may have to shove some food into their mouths at first to make them realize that food can be solid. During this time make sure you still hold them and play with them a few times a day.
- six to eight weeks old: By now the kittens should have learned to eat wet food and be pretty good at it. You don't need to be feeding them milk anymore. Further, they will begin to clean up after themselves, if you have kept them clean as youngsters well enough for them to learn to want to be clean.
HOUSING:
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At first the kittens will only need a small crate with heat source and lots of blankets. They will eat and sleep and that is about all. I love the small cates with the opening tops. These allow you to get kittens in and out without all of them rushing the door. When they are young, you can leave the top open as you feed, weigh and poop each one, handing them back and forth as needed.
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As the kittens get older, I use large dog crates. They will need a litter box in there as well as a good nest to sleep in and plenty of room to play. They will also need a blanket over it, to help them sleep in the dark.
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litter-box: They will need a small sided litter box that they can climb in and out of with natural litter. This is because they will at first not know how to use it, and will walk in it and play in it and eat it. Thus, you don't want chemical heavy litter. We use clay or wood pellets. Use low-sided boxes that the kittens can easily step into (pictured bellow). Fill with litter and as the kittens reach 3 weeks, start putting cottonballs with poop or pee on them into the litter box to show them where to go.
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We use short sided boxes as litter boxes for young cats. These work well and allow them easy access to the box.
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SAFETY NOTE: Once the kittens are old enough to run around on their own it is great to let them do that. However, please be careful of letting them run loose in a room that people are walking around in. We once lost a kitten when it ran unexpectedly under someone's foot and was stepped on. It was tragic and heartbreaking for all of us.
SOCIALIZING:
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Once old enough, the kittens will need time to play outside or inside, in a safe environment, and they will need more people to interact with. I bring in all the people I can to help feed the kittens when they are young and play with them when older. This makes them ready to be adopted.
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Young Kitten Developmental stages:
1. Week One: Kittens sleep and eat. Eyes and ears are closed. They sense warmth, touch and smells. They want to stick close to their mother and don't recognize their siblings as much other than sources of warmth. They can do minimal crawling. They will seek out the warm mama body they expect to have, crying if they can't find it. They need very little space.
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2. Week Two: Eyes and ears open but kittens can't see very well. Begin to move around more but mostly still stick close to mom. They don't need much space, as they will seek out a warm body to lay against if given a larger area, crying until they find it. Begin to eat more. They respond some to sounds and get curious about the world but they wont play yet. Their crawling will increase.
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3. Week Three: They begin walking and have some motor control. Their teeth begin to come in. Start handling them more and getting them used to people at this stage. They will still stay close to littermates and mama. They are starting to utilize a bigger space, and starting to explore a litter-box. They still are mostly only seeking milk or a warm body to sleep against and will cry if they don't have what they need, but now they will begin to seek out you specifically. They see you as mama and want to be with you, crying and climbing the crate doors to find you. By the end of week three they will be using the litter box and walking around. By the end of the week they will start being ready for a slurry of solid food mixed with milk.
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4. Week Four: They move around more and get better balance. They are using the litter box more reliably. They probably don't need help eliminating anymore, though they may need a little here and there. They are ready to learn to eat solid food. Put some in their crate with milk poured over it and refresh it each day. Also, mix some wet food in with their milk and start feeding them a slurry of food at milk time. They will learn to play with each other and you, and need room to explore and run around a couple times per day.
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5. Week Five: Kittens will develop more teeth, interact more with others and start to play a lot. Grooming skills will become stronger. Litter box use should be solid, though there will still be accidents. They should be on solid food, both wet and dry, though you might start this week out still giving them milk in the evenings before bedtime. They will need access to water as their milk intake goes down. They should get their first kitten shots.
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6. Week Six: They will play more, interact with people and each-other and further their litter-box skills. They should be eating solid food by now and drinking water. Continue to give them all the food they can eat.
7. Week Seven: Play, play, play. They will explore more and can be taken outside, if there is a safe way to keep them from running too far. They should get booster shots this week.
8. Week Eight: They are ready to go back to the humane society, can be spayed or neutered and adopted.
Failiur to thrive:
Sometimes orphaned baby animals become weak and lethargic, even when they have started out doing quite well. They loose their interest in food and become mostly passive. When this happens, they loose weight and eventually die. Sometimes you can turn this around. Sometimes you can't. This is called "Failure to Thrive" and it most often happens around week one (birth) or three.
It is my guess that these babies are missing the physical contact of the mother and just don't care to push on without that. It can sometimes help to hold them a lot, especially against your chest where they can hear a heart beat and feel your breathing, and especially when they are very young. I have had some luck with sewing a pouch into an old over-sized tee shirt and putting a heated rice sock in there, then piling the kittens on top of it. This constant contact with you can help a lot, but doesn't always work. You simply can't duplicate the constant presence of a soft, furry tummy with nipples to suckle milk out of 24-7.
Sometimes the vet can give them fluids and food long enough to turn things around but sometimes there is simply nothing you can do. The kitten has to choose to live and there can sometimes be congenital issues you can't fix.
It is my guess that these babies are missing the physical contact of the mother and just don't care to push on without that. It can sometimes help to hold them a lot, especially against your chest where they can hear a heart beat and feel your breathing, and especially when they are very young. I have had some luck with sewing a pouch into an old over-sized tee shirt and putting a heated rice sock in there, then piling the kittens on top of it. This constant contact with you can help a lot, but doesn't always work. You simply can't duplicate the constant presence of a soft, furry tummy with nipples to suckle milk out of 24-7.
Sometimes the vet can give them fluids and food long enough to turn things around but sometimes there is simply nothing you can do. The kitten has to choose to live and there can sometimes be congenital issues you can't fix.