Newborn kittens: development and care rules

Having a cat at home, sooner or later the question of posterity arises. If the pet is a thoroughbred, then getting offspring can even be beneficial. To help the cat and properly care for newborn kittens, you need to know the basics of their development in the first days and weeks, the regimen of the day and nutrition. With the right actions, kittens will quickly gain weight and get stronger, after which they can be presented, sold or left to themselves.

Cats are good and caring mothers, they are able to take full care of their cubs themselves, it is unnecessary for a person to interfere in this process. In nature, the cat herself finds a suitable place, equips herself with a corner there and just there she gives birth and takes care of her babies. In an apartment it’s more difficult to do this, so the owner can help to arrange a comfortable and quiet place where mom can be alone with her children.

When choosing a place for pets, you need to look a sufficiently shaded part of the room where bright light does not fall. In the first weeks, kittens will need peace and quiet, so the resting place should be given as much as possible from the common room and the corridor.

The temperature in the room should be quite high so that newborn babies do not freeze. The optimal range ranges from + 21– + 25 degrees. It is very important to prevent drafts so that small animals do not catch a cold. It is not worth ventilating the room in the first weeks at all, the cat herself can provide a change in temperature. After the birth of the kittens, it is necessary to examine them, check for signs of life and the normal appearance of the pets.

If the kids squeak and move, then they are in perfect order. If a kitten looks suspicious or has any obvious signs of a malformation, it is worth immediately euthanizing it so that mom does not have time to attach to it and does not waste strength and resources on someone who still will not survive. Ordinary kittens are born blind and deaf, these senses begin to work a little later.

Newborn kittens open their eyes about a week after birth, and they will be able to consciously see after another 5 days. If this does not happen for a long time, then you can try to help the baby with a cotton pad moistened with water, with which they rub their eyes. The color of the eyes in newborns is usually light, but after three weeks the iris of the eye acquires its basic shade.

There is no need for a small pet to navigate in space, as there is a mother nearby who takes full care of him. This care is carried out around the clock until the kittens begin to see and hear. In newborns, hearing appears on the eighth day, and until that moment the ears are pressed to the head. Three weeks later, the kitten begins to look like an adult, as it sees well, has straight ears, learns to walk and learns the world around it.

Most newborn animals rest or eat most of the time, so they do not yet need active movement. After 18 days from the moment of birth, the duration of wakefulness significantly increases, the pets try to stand on their feet. Training lasts only a few days, usually by the 21st day they already begin to walk.

At first, kittens eat exclusively mother’s milk, which should be quite oily to saturate all offspring. The owner is already monitoring the quality of the cat’s food. As soon as babies have milk teeth, they begin to eat on a par with their mother, from a bowl. At the time of birth, the kitten weighs about 100 grams, and in the first week of life they can become 2-3 times more. Weight every day grows by 15–20 grams with proper feeding of the mother and nutrition of the baby.

After the delivery of kittens, the cat rests with the cat; by nature she knows what to do and easily fulfills her duties. In addition to providing rest and feeding, the cat helps its offspring to empty. In newborn kittens, urination and bowel movements do not occur on their own, they need to be stimulated from the outside. The cat performs this procedure as follows:

• licking the hair of each kitten so that it is clean, which is important for the safety of the pet; active actions in the area of ​​the organs of the excretory system stimulate the emptying of the bladder and intestines;
• to maintain cleanliness in the habitat of kittens, the cat absorbs all the secretions of the offspring, not allowing to stain and harm the babies
• protects the droppings from bacteria with the help of their saliva, which remains on the skin of babies after licking.

If the kittens were immediately taken away from their mother, then a person will have to look after them. Completely replace the cat does not work, but using imitation can help animals a lot. To establish digestion processes, it is necessary to find linen or other natural and slightly rough tissue and moisten it in a heated solution of potassium permanganate. Massage movements need to walk along the abdomen and anus, continuing the procedure until the body is empty.

Hygienic procedures involve not only carrying out certain actions and maintaining the cleanliness of kittens, It is important to pay attention to the color of feces, which can change, which signals the health status of the pet, namely:

• brown - healthy individual;
• greenish - problems with the number of meals and their size, when the body does not have time to digest everything;
• grey - Significant overeating, which provokes inflammatory processes and infectious diseases.

The hygiene of small kittens includes the care of the eyes and nose, which are wiped in case of secretions or an odor. Daily it is necessary to wash the baby until he can do it on his own.

Wool should be wiped with a damp cloth or a cloth dampened with water. Bathing as such is absent during this period and may be necessary only in case of severe pollution, which is difficult to get rid of by wiping. If kittens live with a cat, you should pay attention to her health.

Accustoming to the tray is an important step in caring for kittens. If they do not leave the mother, then she will show and bring them to the tray at the right time. If the owner takes care of the animals themselves, then the training process will need to be done as soon as the kittens become a little more independent. It is best to push the emptying process on your own by massaging the kitten's body in the right places.

It is important to do this near the tray, so that the selection product gets to its destination. Focusing on the smell of their bowel movements, the kids will try to do everything on their own.

Kittens who are with their mother after birth feed exclusively on her milk. This diet is enough for them until they get stronger and grow up. If small animals are left without a cat, then a person has to feed them. Since cat milk cannot be obtained, it must be replaced with an equivalent product.

In order not to cause a negative reaction of the body, you can breed milk powder with water and feed it to kittens from a bottle or using a pipette. If it is possible to purchase non-skim milk, then this option will be most convenient for feeding. Small pets need only be given fresh food so that it does not stand. After each meal, it is important to wash and steam the bottles or dropper thoroughly.

A newborn kitten grows quite quickly and gains weight, which is primarily due to the optimal amount of food that it absorbs. Depending on the age, the number of feedings and the serving size will change as follows:

• from the moment of birth and during the first week of life, you need to feed the kitten every 2 hours, giving him 5 ml of milk;
• from the second to the third week, 5 ml of food is also given, but at intervals of 2.5 hours;
• the schedule of the third week involves an increase in the interval between meals up to three hours;
• the last week of the first month of life completes the feeding phase exclusively with milk, the interval increases to 4 hours; you don’t need to feed the kittens at night, and the portion can be slightly increased so that it is enough until the next feeding.

When the pet has grown stronger, it has become good to see and actively move around the apartment, it needs a lot more energy, so the diet needs to be supplemented with new products. During this period, the animal already eats meat, the main thing is that it be lean and in small quantities. The optimal menu during this period would be meat or fish in combination with rice, well boiled and crushed in mashed potatoes.

New food should be combined with dairy products, which are familiar to the pet and helps to empty well. Instead of milk, you can give the kittens cottage cheese, and by the end of the second month of life, gradually transfer to cat food. Immediately recommended to give exclusively dry food, and after a certain time, gradually add canned food.

If kittens live with a cat after birth, then she decides all the questions about their care and health on her own. The owner can only help the mother a little, creating the necessary conditions for a comfortable living for the whole family. If the kids are left alone a person must make a lot of efforts to replace his mother, creating the same comfort and giving a certain care.

In the first weeks it is very important to keep the kids warm, as they are still very small and the wool does not provide them with the necessary warming. In the habitat of kittens there should be an object of heating with a controlled temperature, it can be a heating pad or a simple bottle of water.

Offspring that grows without a mother must have full socialization; it is man who provides it. If it is better not to touch the tiny kittens without need at all, giving them the opportunity to sleep and rest, then from the moment they start walking, it is important to play with them, communicate, stroke, giving warmth and love. As soon as the kitten grows up, it is necessary to introduce it to household items: a place to rest, a tray, a bowl and toys. The toilet occupies an important place in the life of a indoor cat, as the inability to use it will cause a lot of problems.

It is important to purchase a tray of a suitable size and with low sides so that it is convenient for the pet to use it. The filler should only be natural, as kittens can try it by mixing it up with food. At first, it is important to monitor the visit to the tray to make sure that the pet is doing the right thing and is not harming itself.

To give the kitten the necessary rate of activity and help its socialization, it is necessary to play with him often, for which it is better to purchase specialized toys and balls. The game process is best intertwined with education, controlling the behavior of the kitten and preventing it from scratching or biting. As for the health care itself, a good owner should consider all the risks, even if the cat does not leave the territory of the apartment.

An important component of care will be timely vaccination against plague, rabies and various infections. For the safety of the animal, it is necessary to ensure that it does not have ticks, fleas, lichen and helminths, if they are found, you must immediately take measures or consult a veterinarian.

If a cat has kittens, it is important to know that it is not worth touching them after birth, because the cat-mother will not be delighted with this and may attack the owner. To help socialize the little kittens, they can be picked up no earlier than the second week of life, and then for short periods, so as not to upset the cat.

The baby's body is still very fragile, therefore handle it carefully and gently so as not to injure. This nuance is very important to explain to children if they are in the family, since they can accidentally hurt a kitten, or even break something for him.

To make life with a kitten, and later with an adult, comfortable, it is important to protect the apartment from the sharp claws of the pet. The best solution to this problem will be a scratching point, which will allow you to exercise on it, grinding your claws, and completely protect furniture and wallpaper from a nimble pet. In pet stores, there is a large selection of such devices, so choosing an option that suits the size, price, color and functionality will not be difficult.

To maintain an attractive and neat appearance of a kitten, you will need to purchase a special comb that helps to remove unwanted hair. Especially during molting, she will prevent the formation of pellets in the body of a kitten, which licks itself.

The process of playing and educating should be familiar to the kitten, but not always a person is able to properly train an animal or wean it from some habit, so it’s better to purchase specialized harmless spray. He will scare away the pet from those places where you can not go to the toilet or where you should not run or jump. There are also attractive varieties that help lure the pet into a carry or house. Care and care of a kitten will be incomplete without brushing your teeth which often go bad, causing a lot of problems.

If you do not teach your pet to calmly go through this procedure as a child, then in more adulthood it will be much more difficult. To facilitate the process, you should buy a toothpaste with the taste of meat or fish, as well as a high-quality and comfortable toothbrush. Another important event is ear cleaning necessary for tick prevention. Kittens love this procedure, so they will be happy to lie on their hands until the owner does everything.

Thanks to the proper care of the kittens, even without the fate of a cat, good and affectionate friends of a person can grow out of animals, who will know the order in the house, obey the owner, not offend children, not scratch the furniture. The pet’s life will be rosy and long if the owner takes measures to ensure the cat’s health on time.

For more information on how to get a newborn kitten without a cat mom, see the next video.