How to raise a kitten without a cat from birth. Artificial feeding of kittens. Amount of formula for one feeding

In what cases does the question arise, how to feed newborn kittens without a cat?

Sometimes it happens that a cat dies during childbirth or immediately after it.

It happens that for some reason she refuses to feed her offspring.

And sometimes the soulless owners of their four-legged pet can simply throw the offspring outside so as not to violate their comfort zone.

In any case, orphaned kittens can be saved, even if it is not possible to find a nursing cat and give her sucklings.

A wet nurse is, of course, an ideal option, but such an opportunity is not always available.

Caring for newborn kittens requires patience and some knowledge

The main thing is to properly ensure their maintenance. And this:

• arrangement of a cozy “nest” with heating;
• providing nutrition equivalent to mother's milk;
• proper care for babies, taking into account their physiological needs.

Nurse cat or artificial feeding

When deciding how to feed a newborn kitten without a cat, you need to understand that a wet nurse is the ideal solution for both the smallest kitten and its owner.

As a rule, a nursing cat accepts one or more babies easily.

The main thing is to know that the mother and her kittens are healthy and will not infect the babies with infectious diseases, in particular.

Important! Colostrum, which a cat feeds its kittens in the first two days, is usually not enough. If your kittens are older than those she is nursing, you will need to continue feeding the babies until the nurse begins to produce enough milk.

Preparing a place for keeping kittens

Under normal conditions, the cat independently provides its babies with the optimal temperature regime.

She warms the little kittens who are with her all the time.

Considering that the physiological norm for a cat’s body temperature is 38 degrees, when arranging a place for babies, it is important to take into account that in the nest it should be a little higher.

An electric or simple heating pad is suitable for heating; an infrared heater is perfect.

You can also use plastic bottles with warm water.

Of course, the water in a simple heating pad or bottle will have to be changed frequently.

But this will not be difficult, because small kittens have to be fed several times a day.

This way it will be easy to control the temperature.

It is best to wrap the bottle in a towel or terry cloth.

It is best to cover the nest with soft, non-synthetic fabric or baby diapers, which, unlike fabric, do not need to be washed.

When choosing between a cardboard box and a basin, it is better to choose a basin: a cardboard box can get wet and absorb odors.

They will also come in handy only later: it is not entirely convenient to care for orphaned kittens up to one month of age.

How often to feed kittens

Month-old kittens can already feed on their own.

But until this time, they will have to pay maximum attention, because they will have to be fed both during the day and at night every two to three hours.

Animals must be handled with extreme caution

The algorithm for feeding small kittens looks like this:

• up to two weeks of age, feeding every two to three hours without a night break;
• in the third and fourth weeks - every two to three hours during the day plus one night feeding;
• from the fifth to the seventh week - every three to four hours during the day, and night feeding is canceled as the babies grow older.

Cow's milk or formula?

Cow's milk is not the best option for a blind kitten, since its composition is significantly different from the composition of cat's milk.

In addition, it can cause allergies in kittens, resulting in redness of the skin and paws.

The ideal solution is dry mixtures, which can be purchased at veterinary pharmacies.

The mixtures have a balanced composition, which contains all the components necessary for the growing body.

Each package of powdered cat milk replacers Katzenmilch, Royal Canin BabyMilk, Gimpet Cat-Milk, Beaphar Kitty-Milk, Hartz contains a special bottle with a nipple.

Bottles with a nipple are very convenient when feeding kittens

How to make your own mixtures

If it is not possible to buy ready-made mixtures, you can prepare them at home yourself.

The main thing is to follow the recipe.

1. “Universal” mixture:

• 20% condensed milk diluted 1:5,
• bone meal (1 tsp per 1 liter of milk).

1. Mix “Kitten”

• cow's or goat's milk – 25 g
• glucose 5% (20 ml)
• powdered milk – 5 g
• vitamin supplements - 1g.

1. “Vitamin” mixture - recommended for weakened and sick kittens

• milk (100 ml)
• glucose 5% (20 ml)
• 1 yolk
• vegetable oil (1/2 teaspoon)
• Tetravit (about 0.3 ml)
• 2 teaspoons of infant formula “Nutrilon fermented milk”.

1. “Egg” mixture:

• cow's milk – 200 ml,
• vegetable oil – 1 tsp. spoon,
• egg yolks – 2 pcs.,
• vitamins in drops (tetravit or trivit).

The ingredients of the mixtures must be mixed thoroughly and brought to a homogeneous mass.

Before feeding, the mixture is heated to 38 degrees.

The finished mixture should be stored in the refrigerator for no more than a day.

How to properly feed a blind kitten

To feed a one-week or two-week-old kitten, you need to purchase a pacifier and bottle from a veterinary pharmacy.

An ordinary medical syringe without a needle will also work.

You can use a rubber tip from a pipette, pierced with a hot needle and placed on a small vial.

It is better to feed a kitten up to one month of age from a nipple

Firstly, the sucking instinct is satisfied, and secondly, the risk of aspiration of the respiratory tract with milk or formula is reduced, which can lead to pneumonia.

Feeding from a pipette or syringe requires great care.

Since babies' immunity is still weak, any infection can be fatal.

Important! Cleanliness and sterility of nipples and bottles is an integral rule that must be strictly followed.

While the cub is eating, it is advisable to stroke its head and back and talk to it quietly.

There is no need to limit milk or formula - the suckling's face should be in milk, and the tummy should be rounded.

After feeding, it is advisable to hold the suckling upright.

When the blind kitten is full, he begins to fall asleep, and milk bubbles appear from his mouth.

He needs to wipe his face with a napkin soaked in warm water.

Many people are interested in whether it is possible to determine how much food the baby has received?

It’s possible - well-fed babies calmly fall asleep, but hungry ones get restless, crawl, and squeak.

If you give them a finger, they start sucking it.

How to determine if a kitten is fed enough

Advice! Both overfeeding and underfeeding are dangerous for both a week-old and a two-week-old kitten. We need to find a middle ground. Underfed kittens are lethargic or restless and do not gain weight. When overfeeding, problems with stool appear.

The main indicator of overfeeding is stool

If it is liquid and yellowish in color, this means that there is slight overfeeding.

With moderate overfeeding, the stool takes on shades of green.

Constant overfeeding is the cause of gray stools.

If the stool turns white, a veterinarian should be consulted to rule out infection.

During the first 3 weeks, a nursing cat takes care of removing excrement and independently maintains the cleanliness of the nest.

As kittens grow up, they begin to leave their “calling cards” in certain places.

At the same time, the mother cat continues to lick them off with her tongue.

When kittens are bottle-fed, humans take on this mission.

And it doesn’t matter what kind of kids they are: both like, or, and simple mongrel creatures require the same care.

A light massage of the tummy clockwise in the area of ​​the urethra and anus stimulates the passage of stool and urine.

After feeding and massage, the kitten should be wiped with a warm damp cloth and the diaper in the nest should be changed.

Sometimes the kitten can't recover

In such cases, you have to resort to an enema with cool water and a small amount of Vaseline oil.

Depending on the size of the kitten, the amount of water can vary from 1 to 5 ml.

Instead of a bulb, you can use a 5 mm syringe, the cannula of which is generously lubricated with baby cream or Vaseline.

Thus, the question that concerns many people, how to feed a newborn kitten without a cat, can be completely resolved.

Now it will be possible to think about and about further rules of care for both purebred and ordinary babies.

Love for our little brothers, care and affection, combined with the availability of free time, can work wonders.

These kids will definitely give you many pleasant moments and positive emotions.

How to feed a kitten without a cat: Secrets of a dairy diet for babies

How to feed a kitten without a cat if for some reason he is left an orphan? It is not easy to replace a baby’s mother, but if this happens, then patience, scrupulousness and certain knowledge will help save the lives of small defenseless creatures.

The situation when a newborn kitten is left without a mother is a common event. A cat can die, get sick, give up kittens, and then the person takes on all the troubles of feeding and caring for the baby. And the question of how to feed a newborn kitten without a cat worries both an experienced breeder and an ordinary lover of furry creatures.

When caring for a baby left without a mother, you should adhere to the following steps: feeding the animal, equipping the nest, ensuring normal life activities. It must be remembered that the body of a newborn is practically not adapted for independent life. His health and life depend entirely on external factors.

Read in this article

Choosing a Milk Substitute

Feeding a newborn baby is the most important stage in caring for an orphan. Many owners, faced with the need to care for themselves, ask the question: how to feed a newborn kitten without a cat?

First of all, you need to decide on the choice of food. You should know that in the first days after birth, the cat produces colostrum, and only later milk. The first serves as a guarantee of protection against numerous infections for newborn kittens, as it contains ready-made protective substances. For the health of the offspring, it is very important that babies receive colostrum in the first days of life from their mother.

If for some reason this is not possible, you should seek the help of a veterinarian and support the cubs’ immunity with the help of a special serum. It is prepared from the blood of an immune cat. This drug is administered to newborns subcutaneously or swallowed. The procedure allows you to supply the body with the necessary antibodies to viruses and bacteria. Another option is to drink pre-frozen colostrum from another cat. Of course, placing the kitten next to a female who has just given birth is the best option in such a situation.

To understand what to feed newborn kittens without a cat, you need to know that the composition of cat's milk is unique. It contains almost 2 times more protein than cow's milk. The level of fat, mineral elements and vitamins is also much higher. Cat milk has a high level of taurine, an amino acid without which normal breakdown of fat in kittens is impossible.

The best substitute for cat milk is special mixtures for kittens. They are produced by many well-known companies specializing in the production of animal feed. The mixtures most accurately reproduce the chemical composition of cat milk. They are enriched with essential amino acids, including taurine. When used correctly, they do not cause allergic reactions, digestive disorders, etc. Many manufacturers package mixtures in small disposable bags; the kit also includes bottles with nipples, which is very convenient to use. You can purchase milk substitutes at veterinary pharmacies and pet stores.

But what to do if the cat does not have milk, how to feed the kittens in this case? The principle of selecting a milk substitute is the same as for orphan kittens. If the problem with feeding babies takes you by surprise, then at first you can use formula for infants. However, baby food should be diluted 1.5 - 2 times with boiled water.

Whole cow's milk is not suitable for feeding kittens. Its composition is poor in proteins, fats and minerals, and contains practically no taurine. When kittens drink it, they often develop digestive disorders, leading to death.

Goat milk is a little closer in chemical composition to cat milk. However, it contains practically no vital taurine. In rare cases, goat milk can be used for feeding, after diluting it with boiled water in a 1:1 ratio and adding one quail egg for every 50 grams.

Feeding regimen and rules

In addition to wisely choosing a mother's milk substitute for artificial feeding, it is important to know how to feed a kitten if there is no cat. The best option would be to imitate the behavior of the mother. Before feeding the baby, you need to stroke his forehead and back. This should be done with a sterile napkin, imitating the movements of the cat. This massage stimulates an active sucking reflex and improves digestion.

For feeding, it is best to place the newborn on his stomach. The mixture should be fed from a small container through a nipple. A bottle and pacifier can be purchased at a pet store if it was not included in the kitten formula. You can also use an eye dropper by making a hole in its rubber part.

In emergency cases, it is possible to administer the mixture using a disposable syringe without a needle. In this case, you should be careful, as the kitten may choke and develop diarrhea. You should not constantly feed your baby with a syringe. This is unsafe for his health and life, and in addition, a weakened sucking reflex leads to digestive disorders.

When feeding, it is important to observe the temperature of the milk replacer you drink. The feeding mixture in the first 3 - 4 days of life should be heated to a temperature of 36 - 380 C. In the following days, the feeding temperature should be 30 - 320 C. A cold mixture will cause indigestion and hypothermia, which is unacceptable for newborn kittens.

The baby should be fed as long as he sucks. You can determine that a kitten is full by its rounded tummy and behavior. Well-fed babies do not squeak, do not crawl, and fall asleep almost immediately. After feeding, the kitten should be carefully placed in a vertical position, this helps remove air from the stomach and improve digestion.

Feeding regimen depends on age. In the first week of life, babies need to be fed every 2 hours, including at night. In the second week of life, the break between feedings should be no more than 3 hours. Night feedings still continue during this period. When babies are 3 weeks old, they should be fed 6 times a day. From this age, night feedings are no longer necessary.

The feeding mixture must be freshly prepared. You can store diluted breast milk substitute for no more than 6 hours in the refrigerator. It is important to maintain the cleanliness and sterility of the bottle, nipple, and utensils for preparing the mixture. The pacifier must be washed with boiled water. Compliance with these measures will prevent the development of digestive disorders in children.

Setting up a place for a kitten

Having solved the problem with nutrition, the owners of the orphan think about the question of how to care for a newborn kitten without a cat. First of all, you need to equip a place (nest) for the baby. It should be safe, dry, warm. Most often, a small but dense cardboard box or plastic container (small basin) is used for this purpose. The bottom should be covered with waterproof oilcloth, a soft cloth and a disposable diaper should be laid on top. The box should be placed in a quiet place, creating twilight. A soft toy should be placed in it to simulate the presence of a cat in the nest. This will calm the kids down and they will feel protected.

Pet owners do not always have a complete understanding of how to care for a newborn kitten without a cat. For the health of the baby, not only nutrition is important, but also the arrangement of the nest. The cat warms its offspring and maintains optimal temperature conditions. Newborn kittens are very sensitive to hypothermia, since their thermoregulation system is not yet perfect. Therefore, owners should pay special attention to the ambient temperature. To monitor it, you should install a thermometer in the box.

In the first week of life, the temperature for a kitten should be maintained within 29 - 320 C. In the second week of life, it should be reduced to 27 - 290 C. When the babies are 3 weeks old, the most comfortable temperature for them will be no lower than 240 C.

The optimal regime for a kitten can be set using the following devices:

• Electric heater. The top is covered with waterproof material.

• IR lamp. The distance at which the heat source is suspended is determined experimentally using a thermometer.

• A bottle of warm water. This method is suitable for emergency heating.

When caring for kittens, you should avoid drafts, dampness, hypothermia and overheating. A prerequisite for successful nursing of kittens is cleanliness and dryness in the nest. It is necessary to regularly change the litter and clean it to prevent intestinal infections and hypothermia.

Features of caring for orphan kittens

Even experienced breeders do not always have a good idea of ​​how to care for kittens without a cat. While focusing on feeding babies, we should not forget about other functions. Newborns are unable to empty their bowels and bladder on their own. This is why mother cats carefully lick their kittens. This relaxes the muscles and emptying occurs.

For successful nursing, the owner must carry out regular and thorough massage of the anus and urethra. It should start with stroking the tummy, circular movements near the navel. Movements should be intense, but careful. It is better to massage the perineum with a damp sterile cloth after each animal awakens. Don’t forget about massage and caring for the fur and eyes of kittens, because animals learn to wash themselves by the 3rd - 4th week.

When asking how to raise a kitten without a cat, one should not forget about the baby’s development. A mother cat, communicating with her cubs, teaches them the wisdom of life, survival, and the manifestation of hunting instincts. At the age of 3 weeks, kittens see well, hear well, and begin to move actively. At this time, you need to play with them, encourage hunting habits, and stop unwanted behavior.

Feeding kittens

At the age of 3 - 4 weeks, kittens need to be accustomed to solid food. This should not be done earlier during artificial feeding, since the immune and digestive systems of cubs raised without a cat are weak, and an early transition to solid food will provoke diarrhea and vomiting. How to feed a one-month-old kitten without a cat? Complementary foods should be introduced very carefully. The first portions are literally the size of a pea. You should carefully monitor your stool after introducing each new product into your diet. Food should be given in a small bowl and placed within reach of the kitten. Food is purchased and served fresh, not hot or cold. A one-month-old kitten is fed at least 5-6 times a day. After each meal, dishes must be washed thoroughly. Children should have free access to water.

Owners are often interested in what to feed one-month-old kittens separated from their cat. They can be given:

• from dairy products cottage cheese, fermented baked milk, kefir, sour cream, cream;

• from meat products, chicken or beef, chopped and scalded with boiling water;

• Chicken and quail eggs are nutritious for kittens;

• warm broths are useful;

• It’s good to include boiled vegetables and cereals in your diet (vegetables should be grated or chopped in a blender).

Raw meat and fish should absolutely not be given. This can lead to infection with helminths and dangerous infections. You should not feed your little kitten fatty, fried, salty foods. Animals should not receive food from the table.

When feeding dry food, preference should be given to specialized formulations that correspond to the age of kittens from well-known manufacturers. For young growing animals, the best option would be premium and super-premium food.

Of course, artificial feeding and care for the owner’s kitten cannot replace the natural care of the mother cat’s offspring. But patience, perseverance, knowledge of the peculiarities of the physiological processes of kittens, and boundless love for fluffy balls are a guarantee of successful nursing for babies left without a cat.

Unfortunately, there are situations when newly born kittens are left without maternal warmth and, accordingly, milk. There are many reasons for this - the cat could die during childbirth or simply refuse to feed the kittens. In order for the babies not to die, you need to know how to feed a kitten without a cat. Of course, the best option would be to find a wet nurse for the newborn - a cat. This is not often possible. However, you shouldn’t be upset, there is a series of recommendations that you can follow to raise a healthy animal yourself.

In addition to proper nutrition, small kittens need to be provided with comfortable conditions. We are talking about:

• "Nest" with heating
• Controlling bowel movements
• Nutrition equivalent to cat milk

First of all, kittens need a cozy nest in order not to suffer from hypothermia. Being near the cat - mother, they warm themselves from her - her temperature is about 38C. Therefore, motherless babies need to be provided with a similar nest temperature, this is especially important in the first weeks of their life.

The “house” is made from natural fabric or from special diapers for infants. Soiled fabric is easily washed, and soiled diapers are simply thrown away. A heating pad is placed in the house. If it is not there, you cannot refuse heating; you can use a simple heating pad or a simple plastic bottle with warm water. The main condition is to constantly monitor that the water does not cool down and that the optimal temperature for the kittens is maintained in the nest.

It is difficult to forget about changing the water. Since babies ask to eat very often at first, their squeaks will immediately remind you of feeding and heating the house. Do not forget that the heating pad or bottle must be wrapped in terry cloth or a towel. This will protect the kittens from getting burns. After everything is in order in the nest, the kittens are placed there and the house is covered from above with a woolen scarf, shawl or sweater. This is necessary to ensure that the heat does not escape outside and is retained inside the house.

When choosing a base for a nest, it is better to give preference to a basin. Unlike a cardboard box, it is more hygienic and does not absorb unpleasant odors. It can be easily washed and disinfected. Having arranged a place for the children to live, we move on to the immediate question of how to feed a kitten at home.

Piece feeding

In principle, it is not difficult to feed a kitten that has lost its mother on your own. If you approach feeding correctly and follow the advice of more experienced specialists.

First of all, you should remember that milk from a cow, based on the amount of certain components, is absolutely not suitable for feeding a kitten. So, if the level of water, lactose, fat and ash in cat and cow milk is almost the same, then if the protein in cat milk is 7.0, then in cow milk it is only 3.3%.

The best option for feeding a newborn kitten without a cat is to purchase a ready-made powder substitute. It could be:

• Royal Canin Baby Milk
• Kitty Milk

If you don’t have a veterinary pharmacy near you or don’t have enough money to buy one, you can prepare formula and feed newborn kittens yourself.

Correct preparation of the mixture

At home, it is absolutely easy to prepare a mixture for newborn kittens. It will be as similar in composition and properties as mother cat milk and is perfect for feeding a newborn kitten without a cat. In order to prepare it, you will need various ingredients, since there are several possible ways to prepare piece feeding compositions. The main condition is that all products must be fresh.

• 1⁄2 l milk concentrate
• 1 yolk
• 4 tsp. Sahara
• 50 g whole cow's milk
• 15 g milk powder
• 2.5 g yeast (dry)
• 50 g whole milk
• 50 g boiled milk
• 1⁄2 yolk
• 1 tsp. corn oil
• 1 glass of milk 6%
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. honey

Milk can also be replaced with cream diluted 2 times (10%). In this case, the water should be boiled first.

Whichever of the above options you prefer, please note that the shelf life of the stock in the refrigerator should not exceed 24 hours. Before feeding the mixture to the kitten, it is necessary to warm it up to a temperature of 38C.

What to feed a kitten

When purchasing a ready-made formula, in most cases, manufacturers also include a bottle with a nipple. Similar devices are sold in most pet stores or veterinary pharmacies. If you do not have such an opportunity, you have to use improvised means:

• Syringe with needle removed
• A pharmaceutical pipette placed on a thoroughly washed medicine bottle

When piercing the pipette, make sure that the hole is not too big and that the little one does not choke. If the milk mixture regularly enters the baby’s respiratory tract, there is a risk of pneumonia.

Of course, it is much better to feed kittens with a designated nipple, satisfying their innate sucking reflex.

As in the case of artificial feeding of a child, and in the case of feeding a kitten, it is very important to maintain a clean process. All devices, after washing, must be boiled (sterilized).

Procedure

Having prepared the mixture, do not forget that the feeding procedure itself must be properly prepared. When feeding a newly born kitten, it is carefully picked up. Lightly placing a purchased or home-made pacifier into the baby's mouth, support it at an incline of 45. If the baby suddenly coughs, you should turn him head down so that he does not choke.

Experienced cat owners advise that while feeding, gently and lightly stroke the kitten on the head and, if possible, imitate the calm purr of a nursing cat. According to many breeders, such actions have a very beneficial effect on babies. When a kitten is left without its mother, a cat, it is more sensitive to affection and living warmth.

A well-fed kitten can be identified by the milk remaining on its face and round tummy. Milk “gurgles” coming from the baby’s mouth also indicate saturation. In addition, a well-fed kitten stops sucking the formula and falls asleep.

After the feeding procedure is completed, wipe the kitten’s face and any soiled parts of the baby’s body with a cloth soaked in warm water, preventing the mixture from drying on the fur. Such care is mandatory for hygiene.

Amount of formula for one feeding

It’s not difficult to determine whether a kitten is getting enough. Hungry babies constantly squeak and crawl in search of their mother. If you present them with a finger, they immediately strive to suck it. Well-fed kittens are calm and... Having eaten, they go to bed.

There are also certain physiological factors that indicate both that the baby is overeating and that he is undernourished. We're talking about kitten poop:

• With slight overfeeding - liquid and yellow
• With moderate overfeeding - greenish
• With constant overfeeding - gray

Please note that you need to pay special attention to gray or white feces, as these colors of feces may indicate infectious diseases in the kitten.

If the kitten is malnourished, it sleeps little, trembles, squeaks and is lethargic. Besides that, kittens. Babies who receive too little food practically do not gain weight.

Number of feedings

Feeding follows an approximate pattern:

Additional care

In situations where a kitten is left without a mother cat, in order to ensure its full maturation, in addition to feeding, it is necessary to find time for some actions, replacing the mother cat. We are talking about a mandatory tummy massage. It is performed using damp gauze or cotton wool. Movements are performed strictly in a clockwise direction. Paying special attention to the areas of the genitourinary and anal openings.

In this way, you help the kitten to defecate and get rid of its waste products. If necessary, the baby is given an enema. Vaseline oil is stirred in water and the procedure is performed using a 5 mm syringe with a cone lubricated with Vaseline.

Do you know the age of your kitten? Surely you know! Although in life there are also less fortunate owners for whom their pets have fallen out of the blue, and they have no idea how many months the animal is. In principle, what difference does it make how many weeks a kitten is, when it is loved and cherished?

In fact, such knowledge will not be superfluous, for example, for organizing proper nutrition and the educational process. In the end, the administration of medications directly depends on age (for example, some are contraindicated for kittens under 3 weeks of age) and. In addition, developmental delays can indicate possible diseases.

So, let's start describing the stages of kitten development week by week.

First week of life

Kittens are born blind, deaf, but with an already developed sense of smell - the baby is able to smell his mother at a distance of up to half a meter. Weight at birth is no more than 100 grams, length up to 10 cm. The wool is thin, thermoregulation is poorly developed, so they vitally need the presence of their mother, who will warm them. The skeleton is fragile and kittens require careful handling; it is better not to squeeze them or pick them up at all.

Newborn babies sleep and eat almost all the time - adequate sleep will help the proper formation of the nervous system. They can’t do it on their own – the mother cat helps them by licking their genitals.

By the age of three days, the umbilical cord falls off, and on the fifth day the kitten begins to hear sounds. The baby cannot stand on its legs, but is quite capable of crawling short distances in search of its mother's nipple.

Second week of life

The kitten's weight doubles, the baby hears much better, but still has difficulty identifying the source of the sound.

By the end of the second week, the eyes appear: they are cloudy, blue and covered with a film, so the baby sees as if in a fog: only the outlines of objects.

The fur grows, becomes thicker, an undercoat appears, and the kitten can regulate the heat transfer itself, but it is still worth worrying about a warm nest for him and the mother cat.

The baby is still crawling - he will make attempts to stand up and take his first steps closer to the age of one month. Periods of wakefulness increase.

Third week of life

The kitten is getting heavier, he can already see, but his vision is not yet so sharp, so he often bumps into objects. The legs are still unstable, attempts to stand up end in failure. The baby is highly dependent on the care of the mother, but is quite capable of surviving with the help of a person if the mother goes somewhere. The first teeth are coming through.

Fourth week

By the end of the first month of life, the kitten already has milk teeth - it’s time to introduce complementary foods and start drinking water. A kitten at this age is quite socialized, plays with pleasure with its brothers or sisters, and repeats the behavior of its mother.

He still doesn’t know how to run fast, but he walks with an independent and full of confidence look, although he sometimes skids when turning.

It's time to think about the tray. It is placed next to the nest so that the kitten begins to get used to it.

By the end of the first month of life, you can play with the kitten, pick it up, stroke it more often - simple manipulations will help the baby get used to the person and make it tame faster. Don't forget about helminthization: now is the time for it.

Fifth week of life

At this age, babies are often separated from their mother, although it would be worth waiting another couple of weeks for the baby to learn good manners. The kitten is gradually transferred to special food or natural solid food. Breastfeeding is reduced to a minimum, and the mother cat no longer rushes to her babies at the first call of hunger, but prefers to feed them only at night.

Babies still sleep a lot, but physical activity is increasing: small pets play with pleasure and run around the rooms, which forces household members to be careful. You should always watch your step so as not to accidentally crush the tomboy.

The color of the eyes also changes, from dull blue they acquire their natural shade, a complete change of color will occur by the age of one year.

The coat also transforms: the undercoat grows, the pattern appears, the lines become clear.

Sixth to eighth week

By the age of one and a half months, a kitten, like a real adult animal, knows how to wash itself, hunt, go to the litter box, if accustomed to this, and eat solid food.

It’s still too early to separate the baby from his mother, who will teach him all the intricacies of a cat’s life.

The little pet has already learned to let out its sharp claws, so it’s time to think about a scratching post.

The eyes are clear, vision is sharp, movements are coordinated and precise, but childish clumsiness is still visible.

You need to feed the kitten 5 times a day, the food should be as varied as possible. At the same age, the kitten is taken to the veterinarian so that he can examine the baby and draw up a vaccination schedule.

Two month

The kitten does not need its mother's milk; it sucks it out of habit and for its own comfort. He already knows how to purr. Physical and mental activity is off the charts. Curiosity knows no bounds, so safety comes first: close all windows and balcony doors, hide small objects and toys.

Three months

A fully formed personality with its own disposition and character, it is almost useless to re-educate a child. A three-month-old baby calmly navigates the apartment, knows where the bowl and tray are, and responds to his name and the owner’s call. It's time to give it to new owners.

Ages from four to seven months

By this time, growth slows down, weight and size depend on the breed. The baby is cheerful and active, as at an earlier age, but his habits are more similar to an adult, sedate animal. The four-month-old kitten is still just as cute and cuddly, but no longer resembles the harmless little fluffy ball it used to be.

In case of danger, he knows how to stand up for himself. The replacement of baby teeth with permanent ones begins.

Five to six months is adolescence. From a cute round creature, the baby turns into a lanky, awkward, poorly formed creature: he is no longer a child, but he grows and grows into an adult cat.

At seven months, most individuals enter the stage of sexual maturity: males begin to mark their territory, females may appear in their first heat (although this is not necessary, much depends on the breed and individual characteristics of the body).

From eight months to a year

It is difficult to call a cat at this age a kitten - it is already a fully formed animal, capable of reproduction. Despite this, it is not advisable to mate pets: they only look like adults, but they will not be able to produce full-fledged offspring.

Physical activity decreases, but this does not mean that the cat sits on the sofa all day long: they will find time for both games and relaxation.

Weight gain slows down, and by the age of one year, growth stops altogether, although the body will begin to grow stronger and form before the age of two and a half. Closer to the first birthday, the kitten is gradually transferred to adult food.

Watching a kitten develop is always an interesting and exciting activity. Seeing your baby grow and develop is an incomparable pleasure. Love your pets and they will love you back!

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If you find small suckling kittens or the mother cat died, leaving the sucklings behind, they can be saved. The best way out is to find a nursing cat and give her kittens. If this is not possible, you must:

• arrange a heated “nest” for the kittens;
• give them nutrition equivalent to mother's milk;
• ensure proper elimination of waste products (feces and urine).

"Nest". The cat's body temperature is 38°C. In the first two weeks of life, kittens need increased nest temperature, which under normal conditions is provided by the mother cat. The easiest way is to make a nest for them from fabric or baby diapers (the fabric will have to be washed, the diapers can be thrown away when they get dirty). Place a heating pad, a regular heating pad, or a bottle of warm water there, which will have to be changed constantly. But, since the kittens will have to be fed very often, changing the hot water will not create additional problems. It is better to wrap the bottle in a terry cloth or towel. Cover the top of the nest with something woolen to keep it warm. It is recommended to make the nest in a basin, because a cardboard box will quickly absorb odors and is generally less hygienic.

Feeding. Cow's milk is not suitable for feeding kittens, as it differs in composition from cat's milk.

The best option is to buy a powdered cat milk replacer at a veterinary pharmacy, for example, Royal Canin BabyMilk or Kitty Milk. If this is not possible, then you can prepare a mixture that is close in quality to cat milk and feed it with this mixture.

Recipes for cat milk replacer mixtures

• 0.5 liters of concentrated milk, egg yolk and 4 teaspoons of granulated sugar;
• 50 g whole cow's milk, 15 g whole milk powder, 2.5 g dry yeast;
• 50 ml of whole milk, 50 g of boiled milk, half a raw egg yolk, a teaspoon of corn oil;
• Dilute concentrated milk powder in fennel broth to the consistency of liquid gruel, adding a little cream.
• a glass of 6% milk, 1 raw egg, 1 teaspoon of honey (instead of milk, you can take 10% cream, dilute with boiled water 2 times)

A supply of the mixture is prepared for no more than 24 hours and stored in the refrigerator. Before feeding, food is heated to 38°C.

Ready-made “factory” milk replacer food often comes with a feeding bottle and nipple. They can also be purchased at a veterinary pharmacy. In the “home” version, kittens can be fed from a medical syringe, removing the needle from it, or you can make a pacifier from the rubber tip of a pharmaceutical pipette, pierce it with a hot needle and put it on the same syringe or on a (cleanly washed and boiled!) bottle from under naphthyzine or iodine. The hole in the nipple should not be very wide. In any case, it is better to feed kittens from a nipple (rather than pour milk into their mouths from a syringe or pipette), since in the first case their sucking instinct is satisfied, and there is less danger of them choking or choking. If milk gets into the kitten's respiratory tract, it can cause pneumonia.

As with artificial feeding of human babies, it is necessary to keep bottles and nipples clean and, preferably, sterile, for which they must be washed and boiled regularly.

They feed the kittens by holding them in their arms. Gently insert the pacifier into the kitten's mouth and hold it at a 45° angle, shaking it slightly so that he begins to instinctively suck. If your kitten coughs, turn him head down so he can catch his breath.

While the kitten is suckling, gently stroke its head and back, and purr or quietly mumble something to yourself, imitating a cat's peaceful purr.

Do not limit the kitten's food - its face should be covered in milk and its belly should be round.

When a kitten falls asleep or has milk bubbles coming out of its mouth, it means it is already full. Wipe his face and other food-stained areas with a cloth soaked in warm water.

Kitten feeding scheme

You can determine whether a kitten is getting enough food by its behavior: well-fed kittens sleep peacefully, while hungry kittens squeak, crawl restlessly or suck the finger extended to them.

Both overfeeding and underfeeding are dangerous. When overfeeding, the main indicator is the color of the kitten's stool: liquid yellow - slight overfeeding;

greenish - moderate overfeeding; gray - constant overfeeding (gray and white stools may be a sign of infection - consult your veterinarian). If underfed, kittens do not gain weight, are lethargic, squeak, and tremble.

Care. Under normal conditions, the mother cat takes care of removing the kittens' excrement for the first three weeks. She licks them off with her tongue and swallows them. This keeps the nest clean. After the 3rd week, the kittens no longer need this procedure, they leave their “calling cards” in certain selected places, but the mother continues to remove them with her tongue.