Orphan Kittens

A queen giving birth can be a very tense time, with everyone hoping that all will go well with a healthy litter of bubbly kittens at the end. But unfortunately and sadly, that is not always the way things may go. Maybe the mother has died in an accident or through the childbirth itself. Maybe mother is still present but for some reason has rejected the kittens. In this article we will look at what may happen if the the kittens are left without a mother and how you as the owner can help nurture the new borns.

Feline to Feline

When a litter is first born the mother has many tasks to do to ensure her brood is fed and nurtured. As well as being a source of milk to many hungry mouths, she will be grooming, toilet -training, making sure they are warm and that they are not going to far astry before they can cope with the dangers of the outside world. So when there is no mother, this is a great loss to vulnerable kittens. In the same way the best substitute is another mother cat who is nursing. Your local cat club, your vet, RSPCA or Cats Protection league (or if it is a pedigree cat your local club for the breed) maybe able to suggest names who can help you out. Of course if you are a breeder yourself you may have another queen who is also nursing.

In either case it is surprising how easily another mother cat is likely to take on some more foster kids. Scent is the important element. If the orphans are mingled with the new litter(while mum is away) they will pick up the scent making them indistinguishable from the others. The mother will not count her charges so will not realise,and usually nurse them as if they were her own. It is a good idea to mark them with a non-toxic removable dye so you can keep a track of who is who. Psycholigically this early contact with a mother and the chance of being nursed by a feline is of great benefit for the kittens.

Bottle-Feeding

If there is no substitute mother available then of course the most important factor is the milk. This can be quite a skilled technique and it is best to get advice from your vet before attempting it. The milk needs to be warmed to about 38c(100f). The best tool for for feeding a kitten is a "medical dropper" or "a pippette". Draw the milk into the pippette and, holding the kitten in the palm of one hand (facing you if possible)squeeze the milk out gently into the kittens mouth. His natural reaction at this age is to suck. Dont hurry him, he must take it at his own pace. The initial diet can consist of proprietary milk or evaporated milk made up to double the normal human concentration. The kittens need to be fed every two hours for the first three weeks. Four hourly feeds are adequate at night after the first four days. The amount the kitten drinks at each feed is likely to vary widely but a teaspoon is about average at first rising to 7ml at the first week and 10ml at three weeks. At this point a little baby cereal or dissolved meat jelly can be introduced as the weaning proccess begins.

Other areas of Care

If the warmth of an adult cat is not present the kittens can be kept warm in a cosy blanket lined box. A hot water bottle wrapped in a blanket would have the advantage of simulating the natural mothers body for the kittens. The temperature in the box should be kept to 27c to 30c reducing to 21c at six weeks. They may need help with thier toileting as maternal licking normally stimulates urination and defacation. Vetinary help maybe needed if the kittens have not defecated after 4 days.