Taking care of a cat is hard work, but very beneficial. When the time comes, you’ll have kittens as well. Delightful as they are, these newborn creatures are so helpless and so sensitive, proper handling is required. Do you know what to feed newborn kittens in an emergency? Read on and find out.
Caring for the Newborn Kittens
Under four weeks of age, kittens are considered newborns. During this time, newborn kittens are just developing motor skills and coordination. You need to know that bottle feeding kittens every 2-4 hours is necessary. Their environment needs to warm and safe. Regular checks are essential to ensure the kittens aren’t too hot or cold. They easily become chilled and dehydrated. Newborn kittens need to be stimulated to help them urinate and defecate. Their mother licks them to do this to keep them nice and clean. You will need to imitate this behavior by stimulating the kittens with a warm, wet cloth during each feeding.
Kittens will less than three weeks of age are considered very young. During this period, when a mother cat leaves and has not returned after four hours, you may conclude she has abandoned her kittens. You must get in the picture, and it’s time to care for these helpless kittens. It means a bottle-feeding them until they are four weeks or older.
What to Feed a Newborn Kitten
In the first four weeks of life, your newborn kittens need milk from a mother cat. Without their mom, young kittens between three to four weeks should be fed milk, and a small amount of kitten food at least four to six times every day. They need to be fed regularly. You should know and understand the foods that they require and establish the right practice to enable them to grow properly. You may think what exactly you can feed your newborn kittens other than milk.
As a general rule, never feed cow’s milk to a kitten because it is hazardous to their health, and could, unfortunately, even cause death. Instead, purchase kitten milk replacer, sold at most pet stores, to be sure. It is also very important to take note that a kitten should never be fed with a cold formula. Kittens need a bottle-fed formula until they’re about four weeks old, and then they can begin to wean.
What to Feed Newborn Kittens in an Emergency
If you unexpectedly find yourself needing to feed newborn kittens at late night or on a day when you can’t go to the store, or we call the situation as an emergency, a useful kitten milk recipe is a must for feeding the kittens. There are homemade kitten formula recipes that are intended as emergency kitten formula substitutes. They use ingredients that you usually have in your kitchen and will help get you by until you can purchase kitten formula. You can do a simple formula in different ways.
For the first method, mix one can of evaporated milk with one egg yolk and two tablespoons of Karo syrup. Another recipe is to blend 8 ounces of homogenized whole milk, two egg yolks, and one teaspoon salad oil. The third option is even simpler. Just mix one part boiled water into five parts, evaporated milk. After that, add half a teaspoon of bone meal per every 16 ounces of liquid that you mix.
All three of these homemade recipes should be thoroughly mixed. Store them in a sealed container and put them inside the fridge. When it’s time to feed, combine half of the mixture with an equal amount of boiling water. Make sure that the mixture should be just above room temperature when you feed it. Always make sure to test the mixture on your hand before feeding it to the kittens.
You can purchase commercially made milk replacers from local pet stores, feed stores, and even online retailers. Your veterinarian may also have these products, and give you some supply until you can go to a store or purchase online. Keep prepared formula in the fridge to preserve it. These are carefully studied suggestions only for you in times of emergencies, but when you’re caring for orphaned newborn kittens, and you observe any severe health concerns, never hesitate to call your veterinarian.
Conclusion
Having kittens can be exciting, but you must be responsible for taking good care of them. Caring for your kittens doesn’t require training. You must be familiar with them and the ways on how to feeding them. Kittens are very special and require your special, full-time care for them to survive. But knowing what to feed newborn kittens in an emergency takes you there halfway. Find out more about emergency plans.