NEWBORN AND SMALL KITTENS
Newborn kittens are completely dependent on their mother and have no chances to survive without care if they lose their mommy cat. Usually, they are thoroughly hidden by their mother and do not leave the litter till they reach at least four weeks, when they become able to digest food other than mothers’ milk. Mother cat tries not to leave them alone for long as in their first weeks of life they are blind and can’t warm themselves, also they eat every two hours. But street life is full of dangers and challenges that mother cat faces every day while searching for food. She can be run by the car, killed or wounded by other animals or people, trapped or get sick and too weak to feed her offspring. If the mother cat does not come back to her kittens, the only chance for them to survive is to be fostered by kind people.
It is supposed that kittens of the age from a few days to a few weeks have chances to stay alive without their mother for 24 hours maximum. After this time most probably, they would die. If you find a small, abandoned kitten, it is crucial that you help it.
What to do if you find small kittens without their mother.
First of all, make sure if the mother cat is really missing, perhaps she just left to find some food and will be back to her kittens. Usually, a nursing cat leaves her kittens for a couple of hours only, but the older they become, the longer her trips may last. The best option is to ask neighbors and people who work in the area. There is a chance that they can recall when they last saw a mother cat or at least to describe how she looks like. With this information you can check the area and make sure that she is alive. If the mother doesn’t come back in 4 – 6 hours, most probably an accident happened to her, and she will not be back. If the kittens are placed in the open area, on some distance from each other, crawling and screaming, or look too skinny without ball shape belly, most probably they were hungry for some time, which is the evidence that the mother cat is not there or she stopped nursing them. In this case there is no need to wait 4 or 6 hours, they need immediate help.
What to do first.
The best choice is to take them to the veterinary doctor. After checkup the doctor will specify their condition more precisely and advise on the needed care. In some cases, abandoned kittens might need to be placed in an oxygen box or to be treated with medicine.
If the vet clinic is not available, you will need to take a few necessary steps.
Step one. Make sure that the kittens are warm. In the beginning of their lives, they can’t regulate the temperature of their bodies and completely depend on the warmth of their mother’s body. You will need heating pad or plastic bottle filled with warm water. The temperature of the pad / bottle should be around 38 - 39°C (close to the mother’s body temperature). Make sure that you do not overheat the kittens as they are not able to change their position when it’s too hot and may die.
Important! You should warm the kittens even if it’s Summer and the weather seems to be warm to you. They need to have a nest that imitates the mother’s body temperature (38 - 39°C). Whatever is lower than that is not enough to support their metabolism. Warming the kittens should go first, before you feed them!
Step two. Try to estimate the kittens’ age. If there are still the remains of the umbilical cord on their belly, their age is few days only. If their eyes are closed, they are less than 7-10 days. If their eyes are small and narrow, they are 2 or 3 weeks old. If they have small teeth, they are 3 or 4 weeks.
Step tree. Feed the kittens.
If the kittens do not have teeth. The best choice is to buy special feeding formula for cats from pet shop and feed them with bottle and nipple every 2 – 3 hours. The quantities should be calculated according to the instructions of the formula manufacturer. If pet shops are not available, you can buy lactose free formula for humans in the pharmacy and feed with the syringe. For newborn kittens (with cord) 1-2 ml every hour or two will be enough. For the kittens in their age of one week, you will need 3 – 5 ml every 2 – 3 hours, from 2 weeks they need 10 – 15 ml, in 3 weeks – 15 – 20 ml every 3 hours. The formula must be warm, but not hot, the temperature of the formula must not exceed 40°C.
Important! Do not feed kittens with regular caw milk, it is dangerous and may cause death.
Important! Be careful while feeding kittens with syringe, do not push syringe plunger too fast, the kitten needs to breathe between each swallow, if you push it too quickly, the kitten may choke and die.
To make sure that kittens get enough food and grow properly, it is highly recommended to measure their weight every day. Normally it should increase daily (around 10 grams a day). If you notice that the weight does not change or decrease, you should immediately take the kitten to the vet.
If the kittens have teeth, they can eat very soft food, for example wet food for kittens from 4 weeks (can be found in pet shops). Or thoroughly blended chicken breast boiled with no salt and spices (as a temporary solution until special food is found). They may need your help to start eating as they are not familiar with any food different from their mother’s milk. You may need to gently open kitten’s mouth and put inside a bean sized piece of food with your finger.
Important! Kitten’s stomach at this age is very small, do not feed big quantity of food even if kittens cry and ask for it. Start with the bean sized portions every hour or two, then gradually increase the portion. In the age of 4 weeks kittens are ready to switch to special dry food for baby kittens. The breaks between each feeding should be gradually increased to 3 hours, then to 4 hours. At nighttime the break may be 4 hours, and gradually increased (+ 1 hour every week till it’s around 5-6 hours).Make sure that kittens drink water. After they stop eating mother’s milk, they need more liquid. Offer a bowl with fresh and clean water and play with it with your finger to attract kittens’ attention. If it doesn’t work and kittens do not drink water, you should give it to them with a syringe (needle removed!), at least 5 mg with each feeding. The bowl should be also available; they may start drinking from it any moment. After they start drinking water from the bowl, there is no need to use syringe anymore.