Some Good Advice In Case Mom Cat Is Gone And You Need To Nurse Newborn Kittens.
Did you ever imagine that you would someday need to take care of newborn Kittens? What would happen it the mother cat was missing or worse yet, found dead? Could "YOU" take care of these new babies? Would you have any idea at all what to do? If your answer is no, please keep reading and see what you can do to help.  OK, you have one or more kittens to tend to. Their lives depend on you. What should you do? First keep them warm. Babies can not produce enough body heat on their own to keep them alive until they are 3 to 4 weeks old. Do this by putting them in a sturdy box or plastic tote. The plastic ones work nice as you can wash them up. Line this with a soft warm blanket or towel. Fleece blanket works great. Do you have any old baby warming blankets around? Put a warm but not to heavy of a towel or light blanket over the top. You could place some warm water bottles in amongst them. Not to hot. Put the bottles under the blanket so the kitten isn't laying directly on or next to it. Maintain temperature at about 80 degrees. These newborns have to be feed from a special baby bottle. One with a very small nipple on it. They will need a special kitten formula to eat. This formula should be fed every two hours for the first week of life and every three to four hours thereafter. You can find these at your veterinary office or a pet store. Directions and amounts will be on the container. Follow the manufactures directions. Each kitten will eat differently so use your judgment on amounts. Don't force feed to get the recommended amount into the animal. If it seams healthy and is growing then it will eat what it needs.  I recently found myself mother of 2 baby raccoon. I picked up 2 baby bottles from the local dollar store. The hole in the nipple was too large. The male coon would eat like crazy then choke. I had a few panicky moments while trying to save his life. It would not breath, grew week and the eyes started this weird stair and seamed to start rolling back. (or was this just my panicked imagination?) I rub him franticly upside down. When this wasn't working I stared the slinging method. Slink 2-3 times, rub like mad. Sling some more, rub, rub. Tears started in my eyes as I thought I was going to loose him. Finely, movement, breathing. Yes he's going to be alright. Then I notice myself trembling, tears streaming down my face. Darn coon I thought. What the heck am I doing. Yes, I would do it all over again if given some more to raise. Ok, back to the kittens. Kittens will cry when they are hungry or under some other distress. Be sure to listen for their cries. A much to quiet kitten could also be a sign of something wrong. Do not ignore this sign. Take immediate action. Ask yourself, "Is it cold? Has it been going potty? Has it been eating enough?" Check it over. Is it week and listless? If your just not sure whats wrong or your not able to fix what you might think it is call your veterinarian immediately. Get ready to go and keep baby warm on the way. Keep your kittens clean and dry. You'll need to change there blankets at least once a day. Mom's not there to wipe up all the little messes. It's up to you. Keep their eyes and faces wiped off also every day. Just use a warm wet wash cloth or rag for this. If your youngsters have been healthy till about four weeks with no trips to the vet you might want to start thinking about taking them in for a visit. Most Vets will give a break for a litter of kittens. You'll have to ask them what there policy is. Vaccines click here and de-worming click here will be on the list of things for "your babies." You made it this far, don't make the mistake that to many people do and ignore the future care of these wonderful playful companions. I wish you and your new babes the best of luck and health in your future years together.
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