Orphan Kittens
Neonatal Kittens
If you find yourself needing to care for orphan kittens that are not yet eating solid cat food it is a big job! Some very important notes:
Always use kitten milk replacer available from pet stores or vet clinics, never Whiskas Cat Milk, cows milk, or other substitutes. You will also need a bottle kit.
Stabilize first! Never feed a kitten that is cold, they need to be slowly and gently warmed first. Kittens cannot digest food when they are cold and feeding formula at this time may kill the kitten. You may, however, feed the kitten a mixture of water and sugar mixed in equal amounts (0.01 ml by syringe or dropper) or rub a few drops of corn syrup on their gums or under their tongue every 15-20 minutes.
Be careful not to force or squeeze formula into the kitten’s mouth as this can cause aspiration.
Keep kittens warm, contained, and away from other animals.
Determine their age: aging kittens and weigh them if you can: weighing kittens
Get started:
Kittens need to be fed small frequent meals with quantities determined by their age. Here is a link from Kitten Lady with information and a video: bottle-feeding.
Very young kittens will also need to be stimulated to pee and poop on their own after each feeding. Here is a link from Kitten Lady with more information and a video: Stimulating kittens
These are the guidelines we have created to train our fosters that take care of orphans: Raising Teeny Tiny Kittens and the monitoring chart we use: Basic Kitten Monitoring Chart