How To Care For 2 Week Old Kittens Without A Mother

Since they can t do this get a heating pad designed for puppies or kittens.

How to care for 2 week old kittens without a mother. You can do it but you ll want to know some tricks so you don t hurt them. If it s your first time bottle feeding don t panic. As a rule of thumb for every ounce of kitten body weight he or she needs 8 ccs of formula. So a kitten weighing 3 ounces will need about 24 ounces of milk replacement every 24 hours.

Like a human baby a newborn kitten will need to be fed frequently approximately every two to three hours. Place the kittens on the heating pad making sure to avoid direct contact with the pad if there s no fleece cover on it. At two weeks old they can be fed every 4 6 hours. You can use a box or small crate with plenty of dry clean bedding.

Caring for 2 week old kitten. Neonatal kittens under 2 weeks old cannot regulate their body temperature and usually keep warm by snuggling up to the mother. Newborn kittens cuddle up with their mother and siblings to stay warm. Eight to eleven weeks of age.

Wrap a heating pad or hot water bottle in a blanket to create a warm bed but position it so that your kitten can move away from it if she gets too warm. A heating pad on low a warm water bottle or even a sock filled with rice and put in the microwave can all provide a steady but mild heat source to a cold kitten. If you adopt or foster an orphan kitten in this age group special care will need to be taken including bottle feeding the kitten for every two hours up to four weeks of age and possibly helping your kitten pee and poop. It s best to consult with a veterinarian for specific instructions and advice.

Home care if you are committed to helping the newborn kittens and become their surrogate mother then you will need to provide a safe warm home for them. Place the kitten in a cardboard box that has been lined up with a clean cloth or towel. If your kitten has been abandoned you ll need to keep her warm. After three weeks old and until they are weaned kittens should be fed every 6 8 hours.

To feed a baby kitten without a mother feed it a kitten milk replacement formula using a sterilized feeding bottle. Make sure you change the bedding frequently so it doesn t get too soiled. For a particularly small kitten you may want to use a syringe or dropper to feed it instead. You should feed the kitten for 5 10 minutes every 2 hours and never go longer than 4 hours in between feedings.