Newborn kittens are so tiny and helpless but within a few months they have to grow up and learn all their life skills. They have instinctive inbuilt knowledge and, in addition, mommy teaches them everything they need to know. At birth they are blind and their mum will be exhausted after the birth, they will start nursing from the first few hours though. Mum will be purring and the vibrations will encourage the kits to her. They’ll find the milk bar and stay close to the warmth she provides. Cats are normally excellent mothers and the fussing and licking is all part of the bonding process.
By the eighth day the kits will weight between 4 and 9 oz. Their eyes will start to open in the next few weeks. At sixteen days there will be a big increase in development, the kits will weigh between 6 and 12 oz and will start to begin crawling soon.
Around twenty one days the kittens will start to become interested in food, they will weigh between 8 and 15 oz). Offer baby cat biscuits and kitten milk. Mum should be having premium kitten food herself, which is suitable for pregnant cats and nursing mums. The kits might start nibbling at mum’s rations and getting the taste of proper food now. In another week or so’s time they will also start to litter train themselves, put paper down or if you give a litter tray make sure it’s shallow enough for them to get in and out easily. Mostly they will learn everything from mum and copy what she does.
One month old and the kittens will weigh between 9 and 18oz. You will see them start to move out of the nest and they will start to scamper round and play. Give them toys such as screwed up silver paper, ping pong balls, feathers or leaves – anything that can be thrown away – toys soon get soiled and should be replaced frequently. Offer meat or fishy baby kitten food or chopped up fine ‘real’ meat or chicken. The kits will still be nursing but keep offering the kitten milk too.
Five weeks old and now they are raring to go – playing and eating well. They should weigh between 10 and 22 oz now and will be eating well. Feed to appetite several times a day, just as much as they will eat at one go. We leave babycat biscuits down all the time. Mum will snack on these as well. Be sure to provide plenty of fresh, clean water in several shallow dishes – as soon as the kits start to eat they will drink water as well.
Six weeks old – and the kittens weigh 11 to 25oz and are old enough to be survive on their own. They should still stay with mum though as their immune system isn’t fully developed yet, also they are emotionally immature and need to gain more confidence – they still need their mommy! By eight weeks – the kits are fully weaned, they should weigh around 14 to 31 oz and will have all their milk teeth. Keep up with the baby cat feeding routine, small meals and often, also kitten milk (never leave it down for long or it will go off) and plenty of fresh clean water. Nine weeks and the baby cats will be ready to have their first vaccination. Up to this date the antibodies circulating in mom’s bloodstream will be protecting them.
A new home please. At the same time as their vaccination we ask the vet to give the kits a health check. If all is well, they are ready to go to their new people. They should be kept away from other cats, and anyone who has been handling cats, until they have had their second vaccination at twelve weeks. They are still little babies but the first stage of their childhood is now safely over.