Mama Meow! Is your cat having kittens? Or perhaps a stray has identified your shed as a safe place to give birth. Whatever the reason, it is a privilege to be part of that wonderful experience that is a mother raising her kittens.
Hopefully everything goes well and Mama does all the work, in which case your job is to make life easier for her. But if, for whatever reason, you find yourself being surrogate mum, here’s how to care for those precious orphan kittens.
Mother Knows Best
Mother cats are amazing. They give birth to a litter of kittens and instinct kicks in. Without the benefit of ante-natal classes they know what to do, and hopefully mum will do all the heavy lifting when it comes to raising the babies. You can help by providing everything she needs to do a good job.
1. Safe Sanctuary
The mother choses where to have her kittens and is usually pretty determined about it. If the location is totally unsuitable you can try and relocate the litter, but be warned that the mother may have other ideas. Where possible, try and go with the flow and change the environment to suit her rather than upset her chi.
Your aim is for her to have privacy, peace, and quiet. This might mean a strategically placed cardboard box to shield her from a busy thoroughfare, or temporarily accepting that she has first refusal on use of the wardrobe.
Newborn kittens in the house are quite a draw, but make sure Mamma is not overwhelmed with visitors. Those first few days don’t have open house and only let one person at a time view from a distance.
2. EnSuite Facilities
A new mother will be reluctant to leave her babies; in fact she might not eat if this means abandoning the nest. Make sure she has everything she needs within easy reach, including food, water, and a litter tray. Oh yes, and use non-clumping litter in the tray. When the kittens are older and starting to explore, if they eat clumping litter it can block their bowel.
3. Feeding the Family
The mother needs to take in a lot of calories to provide for her growing family. A good quality wet kitten food is ideal as the water content helps mum produce plentiful milk. Make sure she has food available at all times, so in hot weather this might mean a compromise of leaving out dry kibble to snack on, with plenty of fresh water.
4. Housekeeping and Hygiene
The young kittens have weak immune systems so you need to keep the place clean. If Mamma doesn’t want the nest disturbed leave her in peace, but when possible change the newspaper and wash the bedding; and be sure to wash your hands before handling the kittens.
Orphan Kittens
If Mama has no milk or she rejects the kitten then you become surrogate mother. All the things that a mum does instinctively, you are now in charge of.
1. Temperature
A bit like Goldilocks’ porridge the new-born kitten mustn’t be too warm or too cold, but just right. Imagine being snuggled up against the mother and aim for an ambient temperature of around 35-38 degrees Celsius (which is 96-100 degrees Fahrenheit).
Keep the kittens together as they’ll help keep each other warm. Provide a heat source such as a heat pad with a towel on top (this prevents burns from direct contact with the mat). Set up their box so there is a warm and a cool end, so the kittens can wriggle to the place they feel most comfortable.
The kitten needs to be warm for the bowel to digest milk, so if the kitten feels cool to the touch warm her up before attempting to feed.
2. Feeding
If at all possible encourage the new-born to suckle at least once and get the mother’s first milk. The latter is called colostrum; it strengthens the immune system and populates the naive gut with bacteria.
After that, if Mama isn’t feeding then over to you. Congratulations. You have a full time job on your hands for the next couple of weeks because tiny kittens require feeding every two hours (day and night) for the first week or so.
Feeding schedule:
- 0 – 1 week: Feed every 2 hours
- 1 – 3 weeks: Feed every 3 hours
- 3 – 4 weeks: 3 hourly feeds during the day, but 11pm and 5 am overnight
- 4 weeks: 4 feeds a day and start weaning
Just as human babies need human formula milk, so kittens need cat replacement milk. Sadly, cow’s milk won’t do and is likely to give the new-born kittens diarrhoea. Kitten milk replacer (KMR) is widely available from vets’ and pet stores but if you are caught on the hop and don’t have access drip feed a little sugar water as an emergency measure. This prevents dehydration and will give the kitten a little energy, whilst you source the KMR….And don’t forget to make sure the kitten is warm before feeding.
You can buy special kitten feeding bottles, but at a push you can make do with an eye dropper or dripping milk from a syringe. When feeding, rest the kitten on their belly with paws in contact with your lap since kittens are not designed to suckle on their backs like a human baby.
3. Toileting
The other job you just inherited is toileting duties for the youngsters. A kitten doesn’t urinate or defecate unless the area around their anus is licked by the mother. This is a survival tactic as it avoids them soiling the nest and drawing a predator’s attention. To mimic the mother’s licks use a clean damp washcloth and wipe vigorously until the kitten ‘obliges’. Clean the little one up with cotton wool and make sure they are dry before returning to the nest. Do this after every feed.
4. Hygiene
A kitten’s immune system is weak and they are not good at fighting infection so pay careful attention to hygiene. Wash your hands before handling the kittens and save a clean apron for kitten duties.
Replacement milk is an ideal breeding ground for bacteria so never make up a bulk lot, but create it fresh for each feed. Likewise, pay the same scrupulous attention to sterilising bottles and feeding equipment as you would to a human baby’s bottles and teats.
5. Comfort
Those experienced at raising orphan kittens suggest putting a cuddly toy into the nest, for the little one to snuggle up to. Also, a ticking clock nearby can mimic a heartbeat and give some degree of comfort to an orphan.
6. Litter Mate
And finally, your dedication and devotion will pay off around four weeks of age, when the youngster is old enough to start weaning.
But remember, when raising a lone kitten, when she enters the play stage if she’s over rough with her teeth and claws, be sure to yelp and cry if she hurts you. This is because lone kittens lack the feedback from their littermates about when she’s being too rough. So as well as being a surrogate mother, you need to pretend to be a kitten and teach her to be gentle
Have you ever experienced the joy of being a surrogate mama and raising kittens? We’d love to hear your experiences and any other advice you have?
Kathleen Hines says
I feed feral cats. Some of my neighbors are not happy about it. Currently I have 4 males sand 3 females of course the three got pregnant immediately. I captured the first three to hand raise so I can find good homes. I’m having trouble getting them to eat. Any suggestions are welcome.
spencerthegoldendoodle says
Wonderful Post! My mom remembers bottle feeding kitties growing up on the farm.
Carol Bryant says
Awww what a beautiful post. You take us through step and purr by step and purr. For any surrogate cats, this is the post to read.
Sweet Purrfections says
I remember finding out the details, hours involved, commitment, and responsibility of raising kittens from the breeder. it’s a lot of hard work!
Alicia says
Wow great tips! So much work goes into raising these little ones but it’s so worth it!
Beth says
I don’t have any kitten experience, but I know the first days/weeks of motherhood is exhausting for all species. It must be super exhausting to be a foster mom to kittens! I am in awe of anyone who willingly sacrifices their sleep for others.
Talent Hounds says
Luckily Nala was probably 6+weeks when we found her and 2 siblings discarded like garbage on the street. Unfortunately, others took the sibs and they did not make it. Nala had a bit of a vet bill and some intense help for a few weeks but was a survivor. Then she nearly died in a weird unknown accident that broke her jaw at a year. Giant vet bill and eye dropper care for weeks, she lived very well until nearly 18. I have spayed and neutered all my many rescues so no kittens in the house so far but such a great post. Thanks.
Cathy Armato says
Great information in this post! It’s not as simple to care for orphaned kittens or puppies. I fostered puppies who were taken from an aggressive Mom once. I failed miserably trying to bottle feed them, they wouldn’t take the nipple. I had to relinquish them to a more experienced volunteer who had experience with orphaned pups & kittens.
Pets Naturally (@dogtrainer4ever) says
Great post. And to think some people want to have kittens, just because. I bet if they realized all the work, they may have second thoughts. Such cute kittens.
The Daily Pip says
I have only had one experience with newborn kittens. We had a rescued a mom cat (who we ended up adopting) and her 2 month old kittens. She was a stray and very thin, but a few weeks later she had a second litter of kittens. We didn’t even know she was pregnant – had no idea a mom cat could get pregnant so quickly. We found homes for both litters and adopted the mom cat, who we named Daisy.
Kitty Cat Chronicles says
Lots of great information here! I definitely learned a lot. Had no idea that kittens wouldn’t go to the bathroom without the help of their mom. Very interesting. Thanks for a great post – sharing!
Lola The Rescued Cat says
I’ve never had to be a surrogate mom to a kitten. It’s definitely a lot of work and I admire the rescuers who di this on a regular basis. They are very dedicated. There is tons of fantastic info here and I’m going to share it.
DashKitten says
Newborn kittens are a lot of work. We have a lady at the local rescue who specialises in them. She used to have to use a kitten forumula she was not happy with until a lot of rescues agitated for Royal Canin to bring their newborn food into NZ again. We can get it now!
Robin says
The youngest kitten I’ve raised was Manna at 3.5 weeks old. You are absolutely right – young kittens are a full time job. They need near-constant care. I think the thing that surprised me the most was how much such a little kitten could eat! They go through a lot of formula. Good care can be rewarding, but it is also quite a lot of work.
Golden Daily Scoop says
What a helpful article! Raising kittens is a lot of work. I remember when one of the cats in our local shelter had kittens all the work that went into taking care of them and finding them loving homes. Thanks for sharing!
hbethp says
Love this article! I have cared for a few orphaned kittens and although it was a lot of work, it was so rewarding and felt great. It’s pretty cool bottle feeding tiny kittens, knowing you’re helping them survive and thrive. One time I was fostering 3 kittens who were not eating on their own (although shelter staff said they were), so I had to bring them to work with me. Luckily my boss was an animal lover and we set up shop in her office. I bottle fed them throughout the day, and had a litter box set up in her office. The whole place was a buzz and I did this every day for a few weeks.
Tenacious Little Terrier says
Raising newborn kittens is a lot of work! A friend fosters litters of kittens and I’m always amazed at how much goes into it.