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Orphaned Kittens - 7 Household Objects That Can Save A Life
Could you be a kitten's lifesaver?
Could you be a kitten’s lifesaver?
It is a sad fact that many newborn kittens face life without their mother, either through abandonment or by being orphaned. So what should you do if you find yourself needing to be a surrogate mother to a small and fragile orphaned kitten?
Surprisingly, it is fairly straightforward to care for your orphaned or abandoned kitten successfully. The most burdensome aspect of the whole process is the amount of time you will need to invest in the care of this newborn bundle of fur. Also, you will need to equip yourself with seven essential pieces of kit that will be required to help you with your task. First, you will need to find a suitably sized cardboard box, then:
A hot water bottle.
Nesting material.
A small eye dropper.
2ml hypodermic syringe fitted with 5cm plastic tubing.
Sterilizing solution for a baby bottle.
An old towel.
The above items will make sure you are able to give your orphaned kitten the basics of life - food and warmth.
Newborn kittens will usually get all the warmth they need from their mother’s body and it is vitally important to ensure that your orphan doesn’t become chilled. This can easily happen and the best way of maintaining the necessary temperature required - between 30-35 degrees centigrade for the first week of life and 25 degrees centigrade afterwards - is to place a suitably sized cardboard box close to a radiator.
As an alternative, a hot water bottle placed under one corner of their box will provide the warmth needed and your kitten will have the choice of moving to a cooler area of its home if it chooses.
When choosing a box for your kitten’s home, you must bear in mind that it must be escape-proof. A small kitten will become cold very quickly if it gets out into the big, wide world of your home. The box must also be roomy enough to allow free movement and play whilst remaining at a suitably warm temperature. Covering the top with an old towel will help keep your kitten warm and secure.
One job of a mother cat is making sure that her kittens are kept clean and that their bedding doesn’t remain soiled. As you now have that responsibility, you will need to provide clean bedding regularly. Old newspaper is good for this as it can easily be removed and disposed of when dirty.
When your kitten’s warmth and security have been provided for, nourishment will need to be taken care of.
Patience and perseverence are required here. Learning to feed your kitten via an eye dropper and, as your kitten grows, via a plastic tube attached to a syringe, is a skill you will need to master. Suitable kitten formula milk will be available from your vet who will also be able to supply you with any equipment that you don’t have at home. Good pet stores too will have a range of goods designed to help with feeding very small kittens. Just make sure that you sterilize any bottles or droppers each time you use them - just as you would with a baby.
Using an old towel, place it and your kitten on your lap or if preferred, on a firm surface. Gently hold the kitten around the back of its head to steady it and gently introduce a couple of drops of milk into the kitten’s mouth. With a little luck and much patience, your orphaned kitten will begin to suckle. You will need to make sure that the teat is always filled with milk and that you maintain a gentle pressure to match the strength of the kitten’s sucking.
Consult your vet regarding the amount of milk required to keep your orphaned kitten healthy and growing well. Be aware at all times of whether your kitten is acting normally and is generally well. If you see any signs that something is not quite right, consult your vet swiftly. Young, motherless kittens can become very unwell very quickly.
As you watch your orphaned kitten grow, you will rightly feel parental pride in the role you have played in saving its life. Your care, dedication and love given freely to a helpless and tiny creature will have safeguarded its survival and without you it would surely have perished at birth.
So you definitely can save an orphaned kitten’s life. However, to succeed, you will need to have the best information and guidence to help you in your task. It will be your responsibility to find out all you need to know and then to use that knowledge to ensure that your kitten recieves the very best care you can give. Your time and trouble will not go unrewarded though - your healthy, playful kitten will return your love many times over!