Not all cats have a strong maternal instinct, so they may abandon their offspring. This behavior can also be influenced by severe stress or physical exhaustion after another birth. So you can often find a phenomenon where a cat abandoned kittens. What to do and how to feed newborns, what conditions need to be created for them so that their development proceeds normally.
Why does a cat abandon kittens?
In most cases, the cat's behavior is influenced by stress. This is possible due to frequent births. If an animal gives birth twice in a season, the body is under a lot of stress. Accordingly, older kittens are just weaned, and new kittens appear in their place.
The cat is physically exhausted and may produce very little milk. Animals understand that there are no means to feed new offspring, so they abandon them.
Why does a cat abandon kittens?
- Eclampsia. This is a lack of calcium in a cat's body, which can cause it to die. A large amount of calcium is released along with milk, as a result of which bones begin to break down. The balance of electrolytes in the animal’s body is disrupted.
- Hormonal imbalance.
- Estrus immediately after birth. This also happens, although it is considered a pathology.
- Cat's unpreparedness for kittens , first birth.
- Too noisy place, excessive attention to kittens from people.
Kittens
Features of feeding by month
In the first month, the kittens' diet consists of dairy products, to which other foods are gradually added. In the second week, complementary foods in the form of meat broth begin to be introduced. As the kitten grows, it is fed minced poultry meat. It is also recommended to give various cereals and egg yolk.
From 1 month onwards, the diet includes more solid food - meat cut into small pieces, fruits and vegetables.
By 6 months you should stop drinking milk in its pure form. This is due to the fact that the kitten noticeably decreases the secretion of the enzyme lactase, which breaks down disaccharides, so diarrhea, vomiting and general malaise occur when using the product. Milk is replaced with fermented milk products - fermented baked milk, cottage cheese.
As you grow, other foods besides the mixture are included in the diet; nutrition can be:
- natural;
- ready;
- combined.
For kittens, both the regimen and the feeding process itself are important. Insufficient food can lead to exhaustion or impaired development of the pet. Failure to follow feeding rules leads to aspiration of the respiratory tract with food and other pathologies.
The cat abandoned her kittens - what to do?
What to do if you are not ready to accept the death of kittens? There are several options to solve the problem.
The cat abandoned the kittens, what to do:
- The simplest and most profitable way is to find a nursing cat. Very often, cats add new babies to newborn kittens that their mother has abandoned. Oddly enough, cats usually never separate kittens and do not throw them out of the nest or box. Accordingly, they take care of them in the same way as their offspring.
- Where can you find a cat? There are many veterinary forums and animal shelters. This is where you can find a nursing cat. In this case, you will have to take her home with your offspring.
- This is the simplest option, because the cat requires not only milk, but also other skills and functions.
Kittens
Growth stages and needs of kittens from 0 to 30 days
There are three reasons why you will have to feed orphaned babies:
- Your cat had a difficult time giving birth and required surgery or treatment.
- The young mother's milk did not come.
- You found newborn kittens thrown to certain death and could not pass by.
In the last option, without delay, we do the following manipulations:
- We thoroughly dry the kittens if their fur is wet. We warm the babies with a heating pad or in our hands.
- We examine the face; the kitten should breathe through its nose.
- We check the reflexes, the baby should poke his muzzle into the palm in search of the nipple and try to roll over on his back from stroking his tummy.
- We examine the tummy, the umbilical cord should be short. If the umbilical cord is long and there is a “pouch” at its end, do not panic, this is the kitten’s “place”: Place the baby on a towel with his stomach up.
- Lift the umbilical cord so that all the contents flow into the baby's tummy.
- Cut the umbilical cord with sharp, sterile scissors 1–1.5 cm from the abdomen.
- Treat the umbilical cord and the area around it with green paint.
Important! If you find your newborn has breathing problems—sharp, jerky breathing, wheezing—consult your veterinarian. Kittens lack thermoregulation; when hypothermia occurs, the development of pneumonia is almost immediate, which explains the high mortality rate.
To understand how to feed small kittens without a cat, you need to determine their age and current condition:
- 0–3 days – eyes and ears are tightly closed, the umbilical cord is fresh, they squeak loudly when they feel hungry, weight is 70–90 grams.
- 1–2 weeks – the shape of the eyes is clearly visible, in “early” kittens the eyelids begin to open, the umbilical cord dries out.
- 2-3 weeks - the eyes are open, the ears begin to rise, but the kitten still does not eat on its own, and the baby front teeth are emerging.
- 4 weeks – the kitten walks, tries to play, fangs erupt, and is able to learn to eat on its own.
The first three days are decisive in the life of “orphans”; even with adequate nutrition and care, the likelihood of mortality is high.
The cat abandoned the kittens - how to arrange the place of detention?
If, nevertheless, the cat left the kittens, the best option is to invite a donor, or a surrogate mother. But most often this is not possible. Then you will have to take care of the kids yourself.
The cat abandoned the kittens, how to arrange the place of detention:
- At the first stage, you need to prepare a house for them. This could be a shoebox lined with soft, warm material. It could be a wool blanket. Please note that the house must be spacious enough.
- It is necessary to divide it into two parts, put bottles of hot water in one, cover with a blanket, the second part of the house should be without bottles. This is necessary if the kittens suddenly become hot.
- The temperature of the bottled water should be approximately 37-40 degrees. The optimal temperature for nursing kittens is 30 degrees. It is at this temperature that cats keep their babies. Next, you must also ensure that the place is secluded and secluded.
- There is no need to allow children to constantly carry babies in their arms. This can affect their health and even cause death. Contact with people is stressful for babies. Regular feeding is required every 2-3 hours.
Notice that the cat in the nest is constantly licking her kittens, cleaning them.
Kittens
How to prevent it?
During pregnancy, prepare your cat for lambing: - monitor her weight;
— feed properly (calcium and vitamins are required); - communicate and reassure; - prepare a soft place for birth and offer it to the cat. The pet itself should lie down in the nest and feel comfortable in it even at the stage of pregnancy. During the birth, be present and have the veterinarian's number handy, as well as all necessary medications and tools. After lambing, do not handle the kittens so as not to disturb the mother’s scent. Keep children and pets away from a lambing cat.
How to keep newborn kittens without a cat?
In addition to a constant source of nutrition, babies need warmth, a feeling of fullness, and a mother’s heartbeat. This is why the best option is to find a nursing cat. However, if it is not there, there are ways to deal with such a situation. You will have to put in a lot of effort.
How to keep newborn kittens without a cat:
- Please note that newborn kittens are not much different from human babies. They also need to be fed initially every 2 hours, then every 3 hours.
- If there is no cat, the kittens get dirty and can get stuck in their feces. Therefore, it is necessary to moisten the disc in warm water and wipe the entire kitten completely. This will also serve as a kind of massage that will help the kittens with their bowel movements.
- You should be prepared for the fact that newborn kittens may suffer from constipation due to an incompletely formed digestive system. It is for these purposes that animal massage is performed.
- Check the temperature in the nest from time to time. It should be at 30 degrees. In the second and third weeks, a temperature drop of 24-27 degrees Celsius is allowed.
Cat
Help the kitten defecate
Usually in the first weeks of life, the mother cat helps the kittens with the toilet, stimulating them. She licks the kitten's backside, and thus stimulates the intestines and bladder. If mom is not there, you need to do this.
After each feeding, you need to gently stroke the kitten's lower abdomen and the area under the tail. It is better to do this with a cotton pad or napkin soaked in warm water. The kitten needs to be stimulated only until it finishes its business. Overstimulating the stomach can cause irritation.
The kitten should pee almost every time you perform this procedure. That is, after almost every feeding. A kitten should defecate at least once a day.
At the age of four weeks, you can begin to accustom your pet to the tray. It is best to use fillers made from natural materials. If the kitten decides to taste the litter, the natural litter will not harm its stomach.
To train your kitten to use the litter box, place it in the litter box after each feeding. The baby may not understand what is required of him. Help him: show him how to dig the filler. Gradually he will learn to do his business in the tray.
How to feed a newborn kitten without a cat?
Kittens cannot lap on their own; they must be fed with a syringe or pipette. A mandatory condition is a tummy massage. It is carried out immediately after feeding the crumbs. It is necessary to make longitudinal movements in the direction from the head to the tummy, lightly massaging.
How to feed a newborn kitten without a cat:
- There is no need to give kittens water. Everything you need is contained in the mixture. Under no circumstances should babies be fed pure cow's milk.
- It can negatively affect the digestive system of animals. Kittens that are fed milk often experience diarrhea, indigestion, constipation, or even diarrhea. It is necessary to prepare a special mixture.
- Starting from two weeks of age, it is necessary to purchase soft, wet food for kittens. It is added to the milk mixture in an amount of approximately 1/3. Gradually the amount of wet food in the mixture increases. Already at the age of 3 weeks, the kitten can be fed wet food.
Cat feeding puppies
How to tell if your baby is full
For any baby, both at one and at 2 weeks, underfeeding and overfeeding are dangerous. It is important to correctly calculate portions for small kittens, and give them food only in the required doses. From a small amount of food, the animal will not gain weight and will become lethargic or restless. Eating too much will lead to bowel problems. The kitten may refuse food if it is already full.
Owners need to pay attention to the animal's stool. If it is yellowish in color, it means that the baby is being overfed slightly. Constant overfeeding causes animals to have gray stools. Sometimes the kitten produces white stool. What to do in this case? It is best to consult your veterinarian as soon as possible regarding possible infections.
What and how to feed blind kittens without a cat: recipes for mixtures
Cow's milk is not suitable for feeding and does not contain all the nutrients.
What and how to feed blind kittens without a cat, formula recipes:
- A mixture of cow's milk with eggs and vegetable oil . For approximately 220 ml of cow's milk you need 2 chicken yolks and 50 ml of vegetable oil. It is better to take refined one. This whole mixture is shaken and heated in a water bath to a temperature of 35 degrees. This mixture can be fed to kittens.
- You need to dilute 400 ml of condensed milk without sugar with water and add about two tablespoons of bone meal. The mixture is shaken and heated before feeding. If you don’t want to prepare anything, you can safely use mixtures that are sold in veterinary clinics. However, their cost is quite high, so not everyone can afford to purchase such products.
Please note that it is also necessary to accurately calculate food standards for babies. Under no circumstances should you overfeed. On average, about 4-5 ml of formula is needed per 100 g of kitten. If the kitten weighs 250 g, the optimal amount is 10 ml of mixture. Prepare the mixture for one day, store in the refrigerator. Never use two-day formula to feed babies.
Homeless
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 syringe feed a newborn kitten?
We'll have to prepare for sleepless nights feeding the babies. Newborn kittens are not able to lap up milk on their own; they must be fed with a syringe or pipette.
How to syringe feed a newborn kitten:
- It is necessary to squeeze out the milk little by little, drop by drop. There is no need to insert a syringe into your mouth; you need to place the tip on your lower lip and apply pressure.
- Gradually, drop by drop will appear, and the kitten will lick off the food.
- You should not dip your baby's face into the mixture; it can get into the respiratory tract, which can cause suffocation.
Feeding kittens
Feeding devices
Until the baby begins to feed on his own, it is necessary to provide him with feeding. A variety of auxiliary devices are suitable for this - a bottle, a pipette for feeding kittens, a syringe with a special latex pad, a nipple for animals.
INTERESTING TO KNOW: What to do if the kitten does not eat or drink
You can feed your newborn using devices you make yourself. So, to make a bottle, you can take an empty drop container. You can use medical grade latex for the pacifier. The means at hand for making feeding accessories must first be doused with boiling water to disinfect them.
Many owners do not know how to feed small kittens on their own without a cat and are afraid that they will not be able to cope. However, feeding a baby with a pipette is not so difficult, the main thing is to practice properly.
What to feed a kitten without a cat for 1 month?
Starting from 2-3 weeks of age, babies must be switched to standard food.
What to feed a kitten without a cat for 1 month:
- In no case should dry food or wet canned food be introduced into the food at the initial stage. Kittens must be switched to dry food starting at 4 weeks of age.
- Never use food for adults, as it does not contain enough minerals and trace elements to meet the needs of babies.
- How do you know that a kitten is developing correctly and is healthy? It is necessary that at the age of about 1 month the kitten weighs 250-500 g. This indicates that there are enough nutrients and food for the baby.
Kids
Rules for caring for babies
Kittens left without a mother must not only be fed, observing all the necessary requirements, but also warmed. Thermoregulation of newborns practically does not work, and they often die not so much from hunger as from low ambient temperatures. Under no circumstances should fluffy balls be allowed to become hypothermic even for a short time. Therefore, in addition to feeding, the owner must take care of maintaining the temperature regime for the babies.
The best solution would be to purchase an electric mattress, rug, blanket, and heating pad with adjustable temperature. An ordinary rubber heating pad with water is only suitable as an emergency measure for a short period of time.
- In the first week of life, the ambient temperature should be 29-320 C.
- In the second week – 27-290 C.
- Then the temperature is reduced by 2 - 3 degrees every week.
You should also know that not only low but also high temperatures are detrimental to kittens. Therefore, babies should not be overheated.
What to feed kittens: reviews
Of course, nursing kittens is a rather complex manipulation, so we recommend that you read the reviews of kitten owners.
What to feed kittens, reviews
Veronica, 30 years old . I became the owner of two kittens completely unexpectedly for myself. Not far from our multi-storey building, a cat brought kittens, but for some reason, at the age of about 2 weeks, she threw them out of her den. The two kids could barely move around the yard, as they practically couldn’t walk. Their paws moved in different directions. Judging by the not fully open eyes, I concluded that the babies were about 2 weeks old. I fed the babies approximately every 3 hours. I purchased a special mixture. In addition, the kittens constantly meowed and called for their mother. I placed the box with the babies near the radiator. I think it was cozy there. For another two weeks I woke up at night and fed the kittens. Already at the age of one month she began to give regular cow's milk and special canned food.
Elena, 35 years old. I live in my own house, and not long ago we got a new cat in our yard. As I understand it, she came to us already pregnant. After she brought the kittens, she disappeared somewhere. As a result, I had to take care of 4 kittens. To do this, I prepared the mixture myself from cow’s milk, eggs and sunflower oil. She fed with a syringe. Unfortunately, one of the four kittens died. No matter how hard I tried to massage him, he defecated with great difficulty. 5 weeks have passed, three kittens are running around the yard, they are healthy and playful.
Evgeniy, 30 years old. My cat recently gave birth to kittens, but unfortunately, due to health problems, we had to take her to the veterinary clinic. We were advised to temporarily wean the cat away from kittens due to eclampsia. We gave vitamins and injections because the cat stopped walking with her hind legs. The kittens had to be looked after on their own. I have three children who regularly monitored the babies’ condition. They were fed with a special mixture, which was purchased at a veterinary clinic. A week later, the cat came to her senses, but, unfortunately, due to lack of milk, she was unable to feed them. But she continued to lick them, so all questions regarding bowel movements, as well as cleaning the babies, disappeared. The cat performed these duties independently. But we had to feed. Now the kittens are alive and healthy, gaining weight well. The cat also recovered.
Friendship
Remember, an animal is not only a source of food for its babies, but also a heater and a nanny. You will have to perform all the functions of a mother.
When a newborn kitten may need human help
There are quite a lot of circumstances under which it is impossible for a cat to care for kittens. We list the main ones:
- death of an animal during childbirth,
- complicated birth, after which the cat needs time to recover,
- lack of lactation,
- insufficient milk to feed the entire brood.
In addition to the above, it also happens that a cat may simply refuse to care for her offspring, not allowing the kittens to come near her. In all these cases, the owner must take on the burden of caring for the newborn.
How to determine the age of a kitten
When nursing kittens, it is very important to know exactly their age, because the acceptability of this or that food for them, as well as the feeding regimen and norms, depends on this.
Newborn kittens, which have a small remnant of the umbilical cord on their tummy in the form of a characteristic “tail,” cannot be older than one week. Usually it disappears on its own approximately 3 days after birth, but sometimes this period shifts slightly upward.
When conducting an external examination of a kitten, you should pay attention to its eyes. If they are closed, then the baby has not crossed the two-week mark of life. If the eyes are slightly open but remain narrow, then he is about 3 weeks old. They open completely when they are about a month old.
You should also pay attention to your baby's teeth. The first incisors appear in the third week of life. All teeth erupt by 4 months. And after the 5th month they begin to be replaced by radical ones.
The ears can also provide information about the age of the kitten. They are fully expanded by 3 weeks. Newborn babies' ears are completely pressed to their head.
A fairly accurate method of determining the age of a kitten is to weigh it:
- a newborn weighs about 100 grams,
- at the age of 2 weeks the weight will be about 200 grams,
- a month-old kitten weighs 250–300 grams.
Undoubtedly, weight is greatly influenced by the baby’s nutrition and health status, therefore, to obtain a reliable result, it is necessary to evaluate all of the above signs comprehensively.
Do you need veterinarian help?
If the cat refuses to feed the kittens or dies in childbirth, then immediately after their birth it is necessary to call a veterinarian to examine the newborns. The specialist will be able to assess the health of the babies and give recommendations on care and feeding.
If the kittens are developing normally, then there is no need for additional consultations with a veterinarian. However, if the kitten is sick or does not gain the weight required for its age, then the help of a specialist in this case is necessary.
