How do I care for baby kittens when the mother is gone?

Question

My cat,kit-kat,just had kittens about 5 days ago.I just found them under our house today.The mother has been gone about 3 days now and i can already tell the kittens are getting really hungry because they have been sucking on my blanket i put in there box.My mom wont take me to the store because she keeps swearing our cat will come back,but shes never been away this long.what do i do???

Answer 1

Let your mom read this site.

First of all a mom cat WOULD NOT LEAVE HER KITTENS FOR MORE THAN A FEW HOURS... so something must have happened to her.  (and she will not come back so you will have to help them.

Call your local vetrinarian... and tell them your situation...Possibly they might have a kitty mom that will take them

You need to get SOMEONE to take you to the pet store and get a bottle and nipples (no the kind that looks like a U ) get the ones that are long and skinny.

Get some kitten foumula... it comes either wet or dry... (I suggest since you are a kid then get the wet it is easier)  they MUST be fed every 2 hrs. !   You are going to have to get your mom to help!

DO NOT FEED THE KITTENS MILK

here is a formula you can make at home...

and instructions (read all of it and make sure they go poo /pee)

ORPHAN KITTEN FORMULA

4 oz. evaporated milk

4 oz. water

2 egg yolks

1 teaspoon corn syrup (or substitute pancake syrup)

1 capsule cod liver oil

*REFRIGERATE any unused formula and make fresh formula if all not used within 48 hours.

FEEDING:

Warm formula but make sure it’s not too hot ! Use a plastic feeding tube – a 3 cc size is best but you can use a 1 cc size and you can obtain a tube from a vet or pharmacy. Orphan kittens need to be fed every 2 – 3 hours until they are 4 weeks old. At 4 weeks old, you can introduce some canned cat food mixed with the baby kitten formula but supplement with the feeding tube until all kittens are fully able to eat enough on their own. They should be weighed on a kitchen scale each day and their weight recorded in order to make sure they are gaining. Consult a veterinarian if the kittens fail to gain weight, have diarrhea, continually vomit or sneeze.

ELIMINATION:

Orphan kittens need help to eliminate their bowels until they are 3 – 4 weeks old, after which time they will begin to eliminate on their own. Until that time, after EACH feeding, use a warm, soft cloth and gently tap or rub their anal area until they pee/p**p. This action simulates the mother’s rough tongue washing which, in a natural situation, helps her kittens eliminate. Be careful not to rub too hard as the skin is very tender on their rear ends when they are tiny kittens.

SAFE CARE

All baby kittens should be kept warm and out of a draft in a cardboard box in a safe area away from small children, dogs or other animals. All interaction with small children should be supervised as tiny kittens are very vulnerable to stress and handling.

Kittens eyes will usually open around between 10 and 13 days after birth.

Answer 2

If the mom was going to take care of her kittens, she would not have disappeared for so long.  They need to be taken to a shelter.  Not only are they probably starving, but they would make a good meal for any hungry dog or other animal that might come around.

Answer 3

The kitten should be fed every 2 hours for the first 2 weeks of life, 4 hours for the next two weeks. For the two weeks following, the kitten should be fed every 6 hours, along with the kitten having access to a small bowl of moist canned food. At the end of the last two weeks, your kitten will be about 6 weeks old, and should be fully weaned onto the canned food.  At 8 weeks of age, dry, hard food may be introduced and a combination of both should be fed until 10-12 weeks of age.  At 12 weeks of age, you can just feed the kitten dry food, as this will help strengthen the teeth and keep them healthy.

Now, during this infant stage, there are a few things you will need to do.  The mother cat stimulated the kitten to urinate and defecate by l*****g the anal area.  You are going to have to do this... stimulate it by taking a warm damp cloth or baby wipe and gently rubbing the anal area.  This will cause the baby to defecate and urinate.  The defecation of a newborn kitten should be very soft, and yellowish brown.  If the defecation is simply liquid, or very firm, a veterinary visit would be needed as liquid would indicate diarrhoea, which could be devastating to a kitten this small causing severe dehydration, and firm stool would indicate constipation, which could cause an intestinal rupture or obstruction.

The kitten will need to be kept very warm. Keep the kitten in a box with some soft blankets.  Under the box, set a heating pad on "low" setting, and put a towel over the heating pad, right under the box.  This will prevent any burning. If you don't have a heating pad, fill up some soda bottles with hot water, wrap in hand towels, and place them throughout the perimeter of the box. Usually two 2-soda bottles will do it

Answer 4

Your mom cat should have been back by now.  If your mom will not take you to the pet store to get kitten bottles and kitten milk, call your local Humane Society, and they will send someone out to get the kittens right away.  They will starve without their mother's milk, and three days is way too long.  Thank you for asking this question - good luck!

Answer 5

You should give them some milk and then call the vet get their opinion.