By nature, mom-cats lick the “back end” of their babies to stimulate the bowels and bladder on a regular basis. If you are the babies’ new mom-cat, guess who gets this duty! After each feeding, gently rub the kitten on its low abdomen, as well as the genitals and rectum, with a fresh cotton ball, cotton pad, or with tissues moistened with warm water. Make sure you rub only long enough to get them to eliminate. Overstimulation will irritate the area. Keep an eye out for chafing and lingering dirt.

Kittens should — and almost always will — urinate during each stimulation. They should defecate at least once a day. One trick is to slowly count to 60 while you’re stimulating a kitten. At that point, you’ll know if they’re done or if something’s on its way out!

When kittens get to be about four weeks old, they are usually ready to experience the wonderful world of litterboxes — and you’ll be liberated from stimulation duty! Please note that, small kittens can end up ingesting the clumping kind of litter and it can cause problems internally. After each meal, put the kitten in the box and see what transpires. If they don’t get it right away, try taking its paw and showing it how to scratch in the litter. They’ll catch on before you know it!

Cleaning and Flea Control

Kittens will often get very dirty and mucked-up in between cleanings. It’s okay to wash a kitten with warm water under a sink faucet, but try to focus only on the areas where they need it. A simple “butt-bath” will usually do the trick, but if you must get a kitten wet over more than half of its body, it’s safe to dry kittens over one week old with a hair dryer set on low and used very carefully, avoiding their faces.

You should also check their ears regularly for dirt and — especially after initial rescue — ear mites. Dirt can be cleaned gently with a cotton ball or swab. Consult your vet if you find the tell-tale ear mite “coffee-ground” type dirt.

If you find fleas or flea dirt on kittens of any age, you must get them flea-free as soon as possible. Young kittens can easily get anemia from flea infestation and really endanger its life. First, use a flea comb to remove as much of the dirt and fleas from the fur as you can. Ask your vet for a flea treatment that’s okay to use on very young kittens. Always read the warnings on any flea product to confirm at which age it is safe! Place the kitten on a towel for about 20 minutes, and then discard the towel with the dead and dying fleas that have come from the kitten. Coconut oil rubbish over the body also acts as a natural flea treatment.

If you don’t have a safe flea treatment you can wash the kitten with a gentle dishwashing soap like Palmolive (do not use antibacterial soap!), or a citrus-based shampoo, and comb all the fleas out afterwards. Make sure water temperature is lukewarm so as not to chill the kitten. Dry the kitten, if old enough, with a blow dryer or you can towel-dry it, then put it in a carrier and aim the blow dryer into it the carrier to gently dry the kitten with warm, circulating air.

Other skin irritations to look for are ringworm and mange. If a kitten is scratching excessively and there are bare patches where fur is missing, isolate the kitten from littermates and consult a vet immediately for treatment.

Weight Gain

Kittens should gain about ½ ounce every day, or 4 ounces per week. Weigh them at the same time each day with a kitchen scale or small postal scale. Lack of gain or weight loss beyond 24 hours is cause for alarm and requires a visit to the vet. Their bellies should always be rotund — if you squeeze them between two fingers and slowly try to bring the fingers together, you should NOT be able to do it! You can check to make sure a kitten is properly hydrated by pulling up the skin at the scruff of the neck. If it bounces back nicely, hydration is good. If it doesn’t bounce back, or goes back down slowly, they will need at least one dose of sub-q fluids.

Weaning

Weaning occurs at about four to five weeks of age, but keep in mind that some kittens take a bit longer, especially without a mom-cat to show them the wonders of eating solid food. You will know that a kitten is ready for the weaning process when it is (a) biting its nipple often and forcefully, and (b) able to lick formula from your finger. The next step is to get the kitten to lap up formula from a spoon. Once they’ve mastered that, try putting it in a flat dish.

At that point, you can mix the kitten formula with wet kitten food into a gruel and try to get the kittens to lap it up from a dish or a spoon, gradually reducing the amount of formula until they’re eating just the food. It is not uncommon for weight gain to slow and minor, temporary diarrhea to occur during weaning.

Some kittens grasp the concept right away; others take days. Keep bottle feeding while weaning to make sure they get enough to eat. Reduce bottle feeding as their solid-food consumption grows. If you give dry food, moisten it, because kittens can’t chew dry food well until about eight weeks old. Royal Canin does sell a young kitten dry food that has extremely small kibbles that young kittens can easily eat.

Remember that changes in diet can quickly cause diarrhea, so keep an eye on your kitten’s stools. Diarrhea can be life-threatening to a kitten if left untreated. Usually, a dose of one or more types of antibiotics prescribed by your vet will get them back on track.

Development Milestones

Tiny kittens weigh about 2–4 ounces at birth. They should double their body weight in the first week.

Eyes open at 7–10 days. If eyes seem to be pus-filled or sealed shut, open and clean with a warm wet cloth and apply Terramycin ointment (sold at pet stores) until the infection clears up. If it doesn’t, consult your vet as it may be a more serious eye infection. Kitten eyes will stay blue until they are about six to seven weeks old, but true eye color won’t settle in until the kitten is about three months old.

At about three weeks old, they will start crawling around. At three and a half weeks, the ears will start to stand up. At four weeks, they’ll start to play with each other and develop teeth.

A first dose of roundworm medication (procox) may be given when they are as young as two weeks old. A second dose should be given two weeks after the first. Tapeworms may be treated at six weeks. Please consult with your veterinarian on safe worm treatment. 

The first FVRCP (3-in-1) vaccination should be given at six to 8 weeks old, with a series of two more given 21–30 days after the previous vaccination. If you want to vaccinate against FeLV (feline leukemia), the first vaccination should be given at eight weeks old. Consult your veterinarian for schedule of follow-up vaccinations; these vary with vaccination brands and types.

When the kitten reaches 5 to 6 months they are ready to be spayed or neutered, your vet will advise on this.

Love and Attention

This part’s the easy one. Emotional and physical closeness to you is as important to a kitten as is food and warmth. Pet the kitten often, letting it snuggle. You’ll be surprised how this early cuddle activity will stay a basic instinct as the cat grows into an adult. We’ve found that hand-raised kittens have a much deeper bond to their owners and are highly loyal, intelligent, and affectionate. Playing with the kitten with a variety of toys is also important. This will help them develop motor skills and also help them bond to you.

Once kittens are about six weeks old and healthy, it’s okay to let them interact with other cats and even dogs — though they should have been isolated for at least 21 days, been tested for feline leukemia and given their first vaccination before integrating them with other pets.

One Final Thought

All this sounds much harder than it really is. Raising “bottle-babies” is a labor of love for almost everyone who takes it on! Keep in mind, though, that it can be a difficult process and some things are beyond our control. If you “lose” a kitten, you should never blame yourself. Taking on an abandoned kitten is a wonderful and educational undertaking. Bravo!