Fostering Newborn Kittens

You have to wake up every few hours for the first couple of weeks to feed them, and there's the possibility they might not even make it, which is a heartbreaking but very possible thing. Sometimes they just weren't born healthy, and there's nothing you could have done to save them; a sad truth but it happens. However, it's still worth the love you give them no matter what ends up happening in the end.

And without a mommy, the kitten doesn't have much to keep it warm. Put in a few blankets over a heating pad that is set on low to keep your kitten warm. Make sure that the blankets fully cover the heating pad so that the kitten doesn't get onto it and burn itself. Don't put so many blankets that it could get tangled up and suffocate in them either! If you don't have a heating pad, another great solution is to take a hot watter bag (or bottle) and fill it with hot water; just remember to change it out as it gets cold.

For the first few months, kittens need to be fed very carefully. Here is a great feeding schedule to follow that worked for my kitten!

0-14 Days Old: Every 3 hours
14-21 Days Old: Every 4-5 hours
21-28 Days Old: Every 5-6 hours
1-3 Months Old: Every 6-8 hours
After 3 Months Old: Twice a day

Don't forget to slowly transition the times your kitten eats so that it can adjust easily!

THIS PICTURE TO THE RIGHT IS THE WRONG WAY TO FEED YOUR KITTEN. DO NOT POSITION THEM LIKE YOU WOULD A BABY. Look at the picture below to see how to properly hold your kitten and feed them.

At Birth: A kitten should weigh from two (2) to four (4) ounces
By the end of the first week: Kitten should weigh nearly eight (8) ounces
8 Days: A kitten's eyes and earswill start to open. They will be blue until they are about 3 months old, when the true, adult color comes in.
2 Weeks: A kitten's ears will start to stand erect.
3 Weeks: The kitten will be toddling about, trying to walk.
4 Weeks: The kitten will be interacting and playing with you! Their teeth will also be coming in, so watch out for chewing.
8 Weeks: Your kitten is now old enough to go to a new home, if necessary. They also need to start getting their shots!

When kittens are young, they cannot yet control their bowels. They still need to go to the bathroom of course, so what the mother would usually do is lick the kitten's bottom until they pee/poop. In this case, it is your job to do!

What you need to do is take a small, slightly textured towel (the mother's tongue has the texture of sandpaper) and make it a bit moist with warm water. Rub it lightly against the kitten's bottom to get them to pee or poop. At first, it will be mostly pee, as they are only having the KMR formula. Their poop will also be coming out a mustard-y color; don't worry, that's the color it's supposed to be in the first few weeks.

Note: As the kitten gets older especially, it will cry and fight you when you go to clean it's butt. Don't be too rough with them, but they do have to go to the bathroom every time they eat, so if they are continuously crying and not going potty, give them a short break and try again.

Training your kitten to use the litter box is not as hard as it would seem to be! It's nothing like potty training your kid, or so my mother tells me! When your kitten is about 4 weeks old, start placing them into their small, low to the ground litter box. Hold their paw and gently drag it across the litter, so that they get the digging sensation. Kittens usually catch on fairly quickly, but if not, just let them climb out and continue about their business. Do not force them to stay in the litter box, or they will learn to see it as something bad. Just continue to place them daily in the litter box, and eventually they will understand and go into the litter box!

Weaning your kitten is perhaps one of the hardest things to do when raising a kitten, especially an orphaned one. Yes, it's even harder than training them to use a litter box. Start the weaning process at about 4-5 weeks old by putting their KMR formula into a small saucer (not deep enough for them to drown in). They will hopefully start learning to drinking from a saucer by this.

The next step is to mix in a tiny bit of wet food into this saucer. Make the transition slowly; cats do not like big changes. Put in a bit more wet food into their formula each day, until the mix is mostly wet food. When they get used to this and start eating it, start getting rid of the KMR; we don't want them getting overweight, after all!

Once the kitten is eating 100% wet food, you can start to slowly mix in dry food. Mix in a tiny bit and let it sit in their for a while, until the food is soggy and easy to chew. Remember, small kittens cannot chew very well, as their teeth are still coming in. As they get used to this, start again the slow process of putting a bit more dry food and not letting it get as soggy.

Soon, your kitten will too be eating dry food!

Note: Changes in your kitten's diet may change the consistency of their stool. Keep an eye on it and talk to a vet if you are concerned. Diarrhea can be life-threatening to a small kitten!