Caring for Motherless Kittens

Should one wish to adopt a kitten, it is easiest to care for one that has already been weaned, which occurs between one month and six weeks of age.

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If one is taking care of a motherless kitten between one day old and 1 month old, one needs to take very good care of them or they will become sick. All baby kittens need to be fed every 3-4 hours. They also need to be kept nice and warm or they will not eat. A good way to keep a baby kitten warm is to fill a soft drink bottle with the hottest water you can get, then surround that bottle with blankets and have the kitten sleep there. Baby kittens should be taken to a vet when they are between the ages of 2-3 weeks old. Kittens need to be played with but, like all babies, they can get in trouble and hurt themselves, so they need to be watched closely.

Kittens can be litter box trained at the age of 2-3 weeks old. All you need to do is take something little so the kitten can get in (a little pie pan works great), and fill it with litter. Then when the kitten starts to "go", put the kitten in the litter box so it learns to "go" in there. Another approach that works is to place the kitten into the box and rub its front paws into the litter, so it learns to dig there. Most kittens only take a matter of days to learn; sometimes it takes longer, but it seems that the younger the kitten is, the easier it is for it to learn.

Kittens should be examined by a veterinarian and given their first shots, as well as being checked for parasites. Vaccination schedules vary regionally: the veterinarian will advise you on what is recommended and when to bring the kitten back for booster shots in the future.

If a kitten is (gently) handled and played with consistently from a very young age, it will be much more willing to be held when it is older. This will make it much easer to put in a pet carrier, give pills, take to the veterinarian, and so forth. Cats that do not appreciate being picked up and held can often be very difficult to deal with in these situations.

See also:
Caring for a Kitten - for caring for kittens after they have been weaned
 Caring for Cats, which has instructions on caring for adult cats.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Kitten" and from Cat-Purr.com

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