What Do Baby Kittens Eat When They Are First Born

When the orphaned kittens are three to four weeks old begin to offer milk replacer in a shallow bowl then introduce a moist easily chewable diet.

What do baby kittens eat when they are first born. Weight newborn kittens weigh between 90 100 grams 3 ounces by the end of the first week they should have doubled their weight to 200 grams 6 ounces. Find cat s milk at your local pet store or veterinary office where it is sold as cat s milk or kitten milk. My cat just turned 15 years old this month. After her kittens have fed she will lick their bellies and genital areas eating any feces and urine.

If we have adopted a kitten of lactation age or their mother rejects them we must bottle feed them every two hours with special cat milk. It is essential that kittens receive colostrum to protect them against disease. They might need to transition during. When kittens are first born they are helpless they cannot see hear keep themselves warm or eliminate waste on their own.

They fit in the palm of your hand and weigh 3 5 ounces. Newborn kittens need to feed every two to three hours. They will open eventually but not for a week or two between 7 to 14 days approximately. I fed her with baby formula and an eye dropper then found a baby bottle at a pet store.

It must be catered to them to aid digestion so avoid cow s milk. They will open on their own. Even so these kittens can purr and make distress calls. When i found her she could only crawl and still had a bit of umbilical cord.

Many breeders and rescuers will have been feeding this food to the mother cat and the kittens will quickly accommodate to eating what mom eats. Kittens are born with their eyes closed. After about a week i started mixin. For the first month of life newborn kittens eat only the milk their mother produces.

Never try to open a kitten s eyes. Kittens like darling and his siblings are completely dependent on their mother or you for protection warmth and nutrition. If any kittens do not receive the first milk contact your vet. Another takeaway from these kitten facts once the weaning process begins at about 5 weeks of age kittens can eat wet or dry food.

Select a quality brand of canned kitten food with a named meat source as the first ingredient chicken is good. Kittens can also be trained to the litter box now. They spend 90 percent of their time sleeping and the other 10 percent eating. If the mother cat doesn t produce enough milk for all her kittens or if your newborn kitty is a rescue you may need to obtain cat s milk for her.

Feed kittens a growth diet. If you do try this it can cause damage to their eyes and even blindness. The first food that a kitten takes as soon as they are born is their mother s milk. Kittens can only absorb colostrum during their first 16 to 24 hours of life and they should feed within two hours of birth.