Content
- The water needs of newborn cats
- Signs of malnutrition in the newborn cat
- Weigh the kittens
- For orphaned or malnourished cats: artificial lactation
- artificial milk
- distribution rate
- The milk
A kitten should stay with its mother and drink her milk until 8 or 10 weeks of age, before being adopted. Nothing replaces your mother to give you the nutrients you need and the care that allows you to have the best socialization and a good development of your immune system. It is recommended to leave the kitten with its mother up to 12 weeks of life.
However, you must watch the kittens and confirm that they are growing and increasing in weight at an adequate rate, otherwise you may have to be in charge of their feeding.
If the mother has died or if you find an orphaned kitten you will have to feed it, so keep reading this article by Animal Expert to find out how to feed a newborn cat.
The water needs of newborn cats
If newborn cats have their mother, she is responsible for feeding them and must do so for at least 8 weeks.
Usually all water needs must be covered completely by breast milk for the first few weeks. Any facts that prevent breastfeeding can usually lead to rapid dehydration. So you must make sure that all kittens suckle correctly, especially in the case of numerous litters, you must also check that they gain weight properly.
THE moisture environment is a parameter that must be controlled: hygrometry must be between 55-65% especially when newborn cats are away from the mother. To do this, you can simply place some hot water containers close to the litter to keep the kittens' oral and respiratory mucous membranes hydrated. Make sure the cats cannot climb into the containers to avoid possible drowning.
If the hygrometry falls below 35% the risk of dehydration is very significant.
The hygrometry should also not exceed 95% as this can cause breathing difficulties, and micro-organisms also develop more easily in a humid environment. But in the case of weak or premature newborn cats it can be interesting to maintain a hygrometry of 85-90%, this reduces water loss by evaporation at the mucosal level and reduces heat loss.
Signs of malnutrition in the newborn cat
A healthy newborn cat sleeps between milk feeds and wakes up when its mother stimulates it and then meows in search of its food source, the mother's breast.
When their meals are insufficient, cats wake up more often and moan. They progressively become inactive and don't gain enough weight. The most frequent complications due to malnutrition are diarrhea, dehydration, hypoglycemia and hypothermia.
All newborn cats that are underfed or rejected by their mother must be assisted quickly.
If you have a kitten and would like to know how many days cats open their eyes, check out this article by PeritoAnimal.
Weigh the kittens
Birth weight is an important diagnostic factor: it is known that a low birth weight is correlated with the severity of illness in the newborn. One study shows that 59% of cats that are stillborn or die within a few days of birth had a low birth weight.
If the cat received a diet that was inadequate for her physiological state during pregnancy, the weight of the kittens could be affected.
Newborn cats with a low birth weight have a higher metabolism and higher energy needs. more predisposed to hypoglycemia.
To keep the data, we recommend that you record the weight of the kittens on a spreadsheet every day, for at least the first two weeks.
O normal birth weight of a kitten is between 90 - 110 grams, and should gain about 15 - 30 grams every day during the first month (minimum 7 - 10 grams daily) and should have reached double your birth weight when you reach 14 days of age, as your weight increases about 50 - 100 grams per week. The fact of being male or female does not influence the increase of your weight in the first weeks.
Weight loss may be acceptable if it does not exceed 10% daily and only affects a limited number of kittens. On the other hand if the whole litter loses weight the cause must be found quickly.
If a kitten's weight decreases every day, the food is likely to be insufficient or of poor quality and a thorough examination of the mother should be done to find possible mastitis, metritis, or any other condition that has a negative influence on milk production.
A newborn cat that loses weight for 24 or 48 hours or stops gaining weight for 2 or 3 days must necessarily receive a food supplement, the results are more favorable if you intervene in the beginning of weight loss.
Relationship between age and weight of a newborn cat from birth to 8 weeks:
- Birth: 90 - 110 grams
- 1st week: 140 - 200 grams
- 2nd week: 180 - 300 grams
- 3rd week: 250 - 380 grams
- 4th week: 260 - 440 grams
- 5th week: 280 - 530 grams
- 6th week: 320 - 600 grams
- 7th week: 350 - 700 grams
- 8th week: 400 - 800 grams
For orphaned or malnourished cats: artificial lactation
artificial milk
Artificial milk should be a food that best meets the needs of newborn cats. The kitten's energy requirements are estimated at 21 - 26 kcal per 100 grams of body weight.
A kitten that has had a mother will receive colostrum in its first hours of life, which serves not only to give nutrients to the kitten but also to give it passive immune defenses by transmitting immunoglobulins. Therefore, for the first hours of life, a substitute must be found that fulfills the same functions as colostrum. Colostrum is produced physiologically by the cat during the first 24 to 72 hours of breastfeeding, after which time it starts to produce milk.
distribution rate
The number of recommended daily meals for a newborn cat is difficult to calculate. Effectively, newborn cats tend to absorb milk in small amounts but in several intakes: up to 20 per day. The replacement food distribution rate should be regular, without exceeding 6 hours between two doses.
But allow enough time for the stomach to empty: 3-4 hours and as much as possible respect the newborn cat's rhythm. In fact, waking him up too often can be stressful. we advise some 4 to 8 daily drinks, separated by 3-6 hours.
Generally, although conditions are favorable and the substitute milk is good, kittens fed on artificial nursing often have a delay in growth. This delay must not exceed 10% and must be compensated during weaning.
The stomach capacity of a newborn is around 50 ml/kg, usually a kitten only absorbs about 10-20 ml per milk intake, so the concentration of milk is essential to cover the kittens' needs.
If the energy density of the milk is too low, we have to increase the number of intakes. In this case, to cover the nutritional needs, we create an excess of fluid that can affect the water balance and damage the kidneys. On the other hand, if the milk substitute is too energetic or if you give the kitten too much, it may have osmotic diarrhea or other digestive disorders.
The milk
The natural composition of the cat's milk changes within 72 hours after giving birth and starts producing milk itself instead of colostrum. Milk will be the newborn cat's only food gain until weaning. You can use, for example, breast milk.
O breast milk it must be prepared just before being administered to the kittens and must be given through sterile syringes or bottles, it is also better that each kitten has its own bottle. It is advisable not to prepare milk in advance, but if you have to, keep it in the refrigerator at a maximum temperature of 4ºC, and never for more than 48 hours. The milk must be given to a temperature 37-38°C, it is better to heat it in a bain-marie because heating it in the microwave can form very hot bubbles of liquid and other very cold ones.
When cats accept to be bottle-fed, this is the ideal situation: this way, the newborn cat stops breastfeeding when it has had enough milk. But the newborn cat must have a sucking reflex in order to be bottle-fed, otherwise it may have swallowing problems.
Syringes are best suited for kittens less than 4 weeks old because often bottle teats are too big for them or have too high a fluid cadence.
Kittens between 1 and 3 weeks need two large scoops for 110 grams of live weight every 2-3 hours.
To feed the kitten, place it in the same position it would have if it were able to suckle from its mother: head raised and belly on a towel, letting it suckle until it is not hungry, but be careful not to give it too much. You should be calm when you feed him so that he feels confident and relaxed, and let him take your time to nurse to avoid digestion problems or eating too much food.
Once you have finished nursing keep the kitten lying on its back and gently caress its belly, if you were with its mother it would lick its belly or genital region to stimulate its bowels to form a solid or gaseous bowel movement. This step is very important.
Then put the kitten in your bed so that it curls up and rests. Keep feeding him like this until it is time to start weaning and gradually introduce another type of food.
It should usually start with add feed at 4 weeks, but some cats feed exclusively on milk for up to 8 weeks, so you should consult a veterinarian to determine the ideal time for weaning and to know the needs of your newborn kitten.
