How to Ensure Survival of Orphaned New Born Kitten

When you decide to rescue and raise kitten specifically neonatal (newborn) kitten without their mothers, you should equip yourselves with knowledge on how to do so. Taking take of them on their very early age is no simple task. These neonatal kittens are very delicate and may suddenly die or "fade". They are vulnerable because their body and immune system is not fully developed yet. Therefore, they have very high mortality rate therefore most of them die during the first week of their lives. Here are some information necessary to ensure their survival.

Watch and Observe

Do not immediately assume a kitten is orphaned once you see one. There is possibility that the mother is looking for food or transferring her litters. Assess first the situation by standing far away from the kitten. The mother will not approach her kittens if there is someone close to her kitten. It might take hours before the mother comes back so decide if you will leave the kitten and be back after few hours or wait the whole time. If you have to leave take note of possible dangers the kitten might be exposed. The weather, neighborhood, wild animals and location of the kitten should be assessed. Remove the kitten only if there is grave danger.

Medical Check Up in Clinic

The first thing to do when you rescue newborn kitten. Do the necessary check up so that you would know if there is a need for medicine or supplements. The vet will check if there are infections (viral, bacterial, parasitic) and the health status. When my friend and I first experienced the death of 2 newborn kittens, we learn the hard way this necessary action. We fed the kittens milk without knowing that they have low glucose level and red blood cells which could be supplemented by milk only. They should have dextrose powder and/or as recommended by the vet. Getting them to vet ensure that you to know the status of the rescued kitten and the necessary actions for their survival.

Regulate their body temperature

Newborn kittens are prone to hypothermia because their body mechanism is not yet developed to regulate their body temperature. When the kitten experiences hypothermia, this can lead to cardio vascular attack resulted from decrease in heart and respiratory rate. Another problem when they have hypothermia us that they often could not suck milk effectively. Prepare warm nest for the kittens by lining cardboard box with towels or blankets. Cardboard box makes great bed for kitten since it is an insulator. Change the towels or blankets regularly to maintain clean environment. Now to keep their nest warm fill a bottle with hot water. Wrap the bottle with towel and place it in the prepared bedding. Monitor the temperature of the bottle and replace the water at least every two hours. Or you can also purchase heating pad for convenience and put it under the cardboard box. You can also use use heat lamp. D.I.Y. : replace your study lamp with incandescent lamp and tada heat lamp is ready to use. Make sure to avoid direct contact of cardboard and lamp.

Feed them appropriately

You should have enough knowledge on low blood sugar (hypoglycaemia) and dehydration. Kittens require high energy which they acquire from the milk of their mothers. Inadequate milk intake will result to hypoglycaemia. The newborn kittens will suffer weakness, hypothermia, difficult in breathing and worst seizures, coma and death. Dehydration also occurs due to inadequate milk intake, overheating and diarrhea. They have high risk of dehydration because they cannot regulate water loss efficiently.

You must feed the kittens around-the-clock to avoid hypoglycaemia and dehydration. Prepare things needed for feeding.

• Dropper or syringe or newborn kitten bottle (if available in pet store) to contain the milk and help them in sucking.
• Kitten formula. Do not used cow's milk since it makes them sick and cause diarrhea.
• Towels and washcloths. Wrap them to make sure they are kept warm.

A rule of thumb is that 8 cc is needed per ounce of body weight of kitten. A one week old kitten must be fed at every two hours, but never less than every four hours. This includes night time so you must have alarm to wake you up (welcome to motherhood friends). On their second week feed them at every 3 hours but not less than five times a day. A month old kitten can be fed at every six hours but not fewer than 3 times a day. This period is also the transition time from milk to solid food. It must be stressed the importance of following the schedule of feeding time. Skipping feeding or overfeeding them can lead to diarrhea resulting to dehydration and worst eventually to death.

Pay attention to the position when you feed them cause this might be fatal to them. Let their action be your guide in feeding them. Do not feed kittens if they are  cold. Warm them for about 20 minutes before feeding them. After feeding them help them to defecate because they are not able to regulate their elimination. Stimulate the kitten by gently rubbing at the area under the tail with dampened cotton. The kitten should pee or poop when you are helping them. Once done clean them with wash cloth dampened by warm water. Finally towel dry the kitten.