Money Making Machines - How to Feed and Care for Orphaned Kittens

Two more kittens fell out of the nest in our barn when they were only a day old; three others were only hours old when their mother died; four of them were two weeks old when their mother was killed. I have raised nine orphaned kittens, over the last 15 years.

Time and plenty of TLC, but it does require patience, raising motherless kittens is not a difficult process.

Here are some tips to help you raise your orphaned kittens:

Make a nest. 1.

All of their bodily functions will slow down, and in fact, they won't want to eat, keeping the kittens warm is important because if they're not warm enough. Which helps her babies stay warm, a mother cat spends many hours a day in the nest with her kittens, normally.

Use a small 40-watt desk lamp and place it several feet above the box to help keep the kittens warm, if you don't have a heat lamp. Female cats choose nests that are dark. Put a towel over the box to keep out the light. Make a nest in a small box and line it with towels or old t-shirts or sweatshirts to help the babies conserve their body heat, to keep your orphaned kittens warm.

You can use a quart jar as a "hot water bottle" too except that a quart jar cools off very quickly. Refill the jug when it cools off. Place the jug in the box and then make a nest with towels beside it. You can also use a jug or another large container filled with hot water to keep the babies warm, if the box is big enough.

Use an eyedropper or a syringe to feed the kittens. 2.

Check with your vet clinic to see if any used syringes are available or to see if you can buy new syringes from the clinic. And my kittens eventually sucked hard enough on the end of the syringe to draw the plunger down by themselves, the tip of a syringe is about the size of a cat's nipple. I started out with the 3 cc size and used larger syringes when the kittens grew bigger. ). The kind of syringe for giving injections (without the needle of course, a syringe worked very well, as the kittens grew bigger! I used an eyedropper, for newborn kittens, at first, so. The kittens couldn't get their mouths around the nipples. I discovered that the small nursing bottles available at vet clinics were too big, the first time I raised orphaned kittens.

Inhaling formula will make your kittens much more susceptible to pneumonia. They might inhale it, my veterinarian told me that if the kittens were given too much formula at once (more than they could swallow). Be careful to give only a few drops at a time, a word of caution: Whether you're feeding with an eyedropper or a syringe.

They will eat around 12 CCs at a time (usually in several different helpings), as they grow bigger. Tiny kittens will start out taking maybe 1 CC at a time. They will settle down and sleep until the next feeding if they are getting enough to eat. I have also discovered that it is best to feed the kittens as much as they want to eat, along the way.

Then introduce the syringe and let them suck on it while you very slowly press the plunger down. Let nuzzle in the palm of your hand for a few seconds or let them suck on your fingers, if you are having trouble getting them to take the formula from the syringe. Kittens learn very quickly that food comes from the syringe you hold in your hand.

Feed the kittens KMR or kitty formula that you have mixed yourself. 3.

They only needed a half an eyedropper of KMR at a time, and for the first several days, my newborn kittens weighed three ounces each. The amount to feed is determined by body weight. Follow the directions on the label. It is specifically formulated for kittens to provide all the nutrients they need. Is available at most vet clinics in either a premixed or dry form, the canned cat milk replacer, kMR.

This is what all of my kittens have been raised on, " After the first can of KMR. My vet clinic also gave me a recipe for "kitten formula.

Here is the recipe for Kitten Formula

1 cup whole milk

1 tablespoon white corn syrup

1 egg yolk

A pinch of salt

Mix in a blender and mix it up far enough in advance so the bubbles will have time to dissipate.

The same was true for KMR. All of my kittens have refused to swallow the formula if it was too cold or too warm. Heat the formula so it feels slightly warm to the touch. Warm over medium heat.

Feed your kittens on a regular schedule three times a day. 4.

Feeding the kittens three times per day worked out very well. He was right. " he said, "They won't eat well and you'll get frustrated and they'll get frustrated and it will be harder on everybody. The veterinarian I consulted cautioned me not to feed them that often. Mother cats nurse their kittens every couple of hours.

Wet washcloth and help them to empty their bladders and their bowels, groom your kittens with a warm. 5.

I put the washcloths in a pail of warm water and put the pail where I can reach it easily. Smaller washcloths that you can wring out with one hand while you hold onto a squirming kitten with the other work best. Look out -- it could get messy, if they have to empty their bowels! You won't need that many, if they only have to empty their bladders. Be prepared to use as many as four washcloths for each kitten. Wet washcloth and wipe under their tails until they have emptied their bladders and/or moved their bowels, use a warm. So you'll have to help them, young kittens are unable to empty their bladders or move their bowels.

But be careful not to get the kittens TOO wet or it will be hard for them to stay warm, wet washcloth to wipe off the formula, use a warm, from time to time. They become sticky from the formula that inevitably dribbles down their chins, and after a day or two of eating kitten formula, young kittens also do not know how to groom themselves.

Provide a litter pan when they're four weeks old. 6.

But it won't be long before they are using the litter pan, you might still have to assist them with a washcloth for a while. They will already be thinking in this direction and providing them with a litter pan will help them get the idea, by the time the kittens are four weeks old. Cats have a strong instinct to use material that they can scratch around in when they have to empty their bladders and move their bowels.

Use a bigger container for a litter box, as the kittens grow bigger. Kitty litter in an aluminum pie plate works well to start out.

Start feeding solid food when the kittens are about six weeks old. 7.

But you will be able to provide more milk than their mothers would have available, kittens that are raised by their mothers probably will start eating sooner than six weeks.

They will drink by themselves, and once they discover where it is and what it is, you can put the formula into a small saucer. You won't have to feed them with a syringe, by this time. Supplement their caloric intake with kitten formula, and until the kittens are eating solid food regularly. As well, be sure to provide fresh water for your kittens to drink. " you can also try a little canned kitty food, to tempt their appetites and to give them a "treat. Kitten chow also is made in tiny kitten-bite-sized pieces. Kitten chow has all of the nutrients and protein that they need to keep growing. A good quality kitten chow will work fine, if you want to feed dry food. You can begin feeding them solid food, when your kittens have gotten their teeth.

Be prepared to be surprised and amazed. 8.

You will think they are growing right before your very eyes, and on some days, kittens grow very quickly.

Kittens get their eyes open when they're about 10 days old.

They will start purring when they are as young as 6 days old.

Attempting to groom and lifting a hind food to scratch behind their ears when they are between two to three weeks old, kittens will start other "kitty behaviors" such as shaking their heads.

) while you are feeding them. Young kittens will sometimes get the hiccups (!

Or they might feel cold, or they might have to empty their bladders or move their bowels, they might need a little more to eat, if they are restless and crying and meowing. " they will sleep or rest quietly until you are ready to feed them again, when you put them back in the "nest, after the kittens have gotten enough to eat and have had their bodily functions taken care of. Sleeping and emptying their bowels and bladders, their days consist of eating. In a way, young kittens are like baby humans.

They will be awake for longer periods of time and will eventually start playing with each other, as the kittens grow older.

Because the first one will be too small and they will know how to get out on their own, if not sooner, you will most likely have to move them into a bigger box, by the time the kittens are four weeks old!

You can e-mail me at bigpines@ruralroute2.com if you have any questions concerning the raising of orphaned kittens,

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Ralph LeAnn R.