A kitten must stay with its mother and drink its milk for up to 8 or 10 weeks before being adopted. There is no substitute for your mother to provide you with the nutrients you need and the care that allows you to have the best socialization and development of your immune system. It is recommended to leave the kitten with its mother until 12 weeks of age.
However, you should keep an eye on the kittens and confirm that they are growing and gaining weight at an appropriate rate; otherwise, you may need to be responsible for feeding them.
- If the mother dies or finds an orphaned kitten.
- It will be up to you to feed it.
- So keep reading this Animal Expert article to learn how to feed a newborn cat.
If newborns have their mother, she is responsible for their diet and should do so for at least 8 weeks.
Normally, all water needs should be fully covered with breast milk during the first few weeks. Any event that prevents breastfeeding usually causes rapid dehydration. That’s why you should make sure that all kittens suck correctly, especially in the case of many litters, you should also check that they gain weight properly.
Environmental humidity is a parameter to control: humidity must be between 55 and 65% especially when newborns are away from the mother. To do this, you can simply place hot water containers near the sand to keep the oral and respiratory lining of the kittens hydrated. Make sure cats cannot get in the containers to avoid possible drowning.
If humidity falls below 35%, the risk of dehydration is very high
Humidity should also not exceed 95%, as this can cause breathing difficulties and microorganisms develop more easily in a humid environment. But in the case of weak or premature newborn cats it may be interesting to maintain a humidity of 85-90%, this reduces water loss by evaporation in the mucous membranes and decreases heat loss.
A healthy newborn cat sleeps between meals and wakes up when its mother stimulates it and then bodes it for its food source, the mother’s breast.
When their meals are insufficient, cats wake up more often and moan. Gradually they become inactive and do not gain weight enough. The most common complications of malnutrition are diarrhoea, dehydration, hypoglycemia and hypothermia.
All newborn cats who are malnourished or rejected by their mothers must be treated quickly.
If you have a puppy and want to know how many days cats open their eyes, check out this Animal Expert article.
Birth weight is an important diagnostic factor: low birth weight is known to correlate with the severity of neonatal diseases. A study shows that 59% of cats born dead or died a few days after birth had a low birth weight.
If the cat has received inadequate nutrition for its physiological state during pregnancy, the weight of the cubs may be affected.
Newborn cats with low birth weight have a higher metabolism and higher energy needs, i.e. they are more predisposed to hypoglycaemia.
To keep the data, we recommend that you write down the weight of kittens every day on a spreadsheet, at least for the first two weeks.
The normal birth weight of a kitten is between 90 and 110 grams, and must gain between 15 and 30 grams per day during the first month (at least 7 to 10 grams per day) and must have reached twice its birth weight. When you turn 14 days old, your weight increases from 50 to 100 grams per week. Being male or female does not affect your weight gain in the first few weeks.
Weight loss may be acceptable if it does not exceed 10% per day and affects only a limited number of kittens. On the other hand, if the whole litter loses weight, the cause must be found quickly.
If a kitten’s weight decreases every day, the food is likely to be insufficient or poor quality and a thorough examination of the mother should be performed to find a possible mastitis, metrita or any other condition that negatively influences milk production.
A newborn cat that loses weight for 24 or 48 hours or stops gaining weight for 2 or 3 days should receive a dietary supplement, the results are more favorable if involved in the early stages of weight loss.
Relationship between the age and weight of a newborn cat from birth to 8 weeks:
Artificial milk should be the food that best suits the needs of newborn cats. It is estimated that the energy needs of the kitten range from 21 to 26 kcal per 100 grams of body weight.
A kitten that has had a mother will receive colostrum in its first hours of life, which serves not only to give nutrients to the kitten but also to give it passive immune defenses when transmitting immunoglobulins. Therefore, it is necessary to find a substitute for the first hours of life that performs the same functions as colostrum. Colostrum is physiologically produced by the cat during the first 24 to 72 hours of breastfeeding, after which it begins to produce milk.
The recommended amount of daily foods for a newborn cat is difficult to calculate. In fact, newborn cats tend to absorb milk in small amounts but in several doses: up to 20 per day. The rate of distribution of the substitute food should be regular, not exceeding 6 hours between doses.
But you have to give the stomach enough time to empty: about 3-4 hours and respect the rhythm of the newborn to the fullest. In fact, waking up too often can cause stress. We recommend 4 to 8 doses per day, spaced for 3 to 6 hours.
Generally, although conditions are favorable and replacement milk is good, kittens fed artificial breastfeeding tend to have atrophied growth. This period should not exceed 10% and must be compensated during weate.
The stomach capacity of a newborn is 50 ml / kg, usually a kitten absorbs only about 10-20 ml per milk intake, so the concentration of milk is essential to meet the needs of kittens.
If the energy density of milk is too low, we should increase the amount of drinks. In this case, to meet nutritional needs, we create an excess of fluid that can affect the water balance and damage the kidneys. On the other hand, if the milk substitute is too energetic or gives too much to the kitten, you may have osmotic diarrhea or other digestive disorders.
The natural composition of cat’s milk changes 72 hours after delivery and begins to produce milk instead of colostrum. Milk will be the only dietary gain from newborn to weath. For example, you can use breast milk.
Breast milk should be prepared just before giving it to kittens and should be administered with sterile syringes or bottles, it is also preferable that each kitten has its own bottle. It is advisable not to prepare the milk in advance, but if necessary, you should keep it in the refrigerator at a maximum temperature of 4oC, and never more than 48 hours. The milk should be given at a temperature of 37 to 38 degrees Celsius, it is best to heat it to a water bath, because if heated in the microwave can form very hot liquid bubbles and others very cold.
When cats access bottle feeding, this is the ideal situation: this way, the newborn cat stops feeding when it has enough milk. But the newborn cat must have a suction reflex to be fed the bottle, otherwise it may have trouble swallowing.
Syringes are best suited for kittens less than 4 weeks old because nipples are often too large for them or have too much liquid cadence.
Kittens between 1 and 3 weeks need two large tablespoons for every 110 grams of body weight every 2 to 3 hours.
To feed the kitten, place it in the same position as if you could suck your mother’s head and belly with a towel, letting it suck until it’s hungry, but be careful not to give too much. You should feel comfortable feeding you to feel safe and calm, and let you take your time to breastfeed to avoid digestion problems or eat too much food.
As soon as you finish breastfeeding, keep the kitten on her back and gently caress her belly, if she were with her mother, she would lick her belly or genital area to stimulate her intestines to form a solid or gaseous evacuation. This step is very important.
Then place the kitten in your bed so it snuggles and rests. Continue to feed it this way until it is time to start wearing and gradually introduce other types of food.
In general, you should start by adding food at 4 weeks, but some cats only eat milk for up to 8 weeks, so you should consult a veterinarian to determine the ideal time to wean and know the needs of your newborn kitten.
If you would like to read articles similar to, we recommend that you go to our Nursing section.