Donate

Hand-rearing

Need to learn more about bottle-feeding kittens? Find out about hand-rearing in our guide.

Hand-rearing

Need to learn more about bottle-feeding kittens? Find out about hand-rearing in our guide.

Topics covered:

 

 

Need more cat advice?

Get free cat care tips and inspiring cat stories straight to your inbox.

Subscribe to our emails

Do you need to hand-rear a kitten?

Kittens usually get all the help they need from their mother, but if their mother dies, rejects the kittens or is too ill to care for them, you may need to help. If you think your kittens need hand-rearing, ask your vet for advice.

It can be very risky to rear orphaned kittens using another lactating mother cat. The cat may not accept the kittens, may neglect or attack them and there is a risk of spreading infectious diseases, some of which are fatal.

Hand-reared kittens need:

  • a carer who can attend to them day and night
  • a clean, warm environment. If there is no mother, a cat-carrying basket with lots of bedding and a soft toy to snuggle up to is ideal
  • a safe source of heat
  • a strict hygiene routine to prevent disease
  • a consistent feeding regime. Newborn kittens must be fed every two to two-and-a-half hours
  • to be stimulated to pass pee and poo before and after each feed until at least three weeks old
  • to be socialised with positive experiences and taught normal behaviour that the kittens would normally learn from their mother

If the mother is only temporarily ill, the kittens may only need to be hand-fed for a few days, while in other situations kittens will need to fed by hand until they are weaned.

If a litter is too large for the mother to support and as long as the kittens are gaining some milk from their mother, they may only need supplementary feeding. If possible, kittens should remain with their mother and littermates because orphaned kittens may develop behavioural issues.

Hand-feeding

Use substitute kitten milk, formulated specifically for kittens. Ask your vet for advice on which milk to provide, as well as advice on hand-rearing. Never give cow or goat's milk as kittens find this difficult to digest.

Follow the manufacturer's instructions on dilution, frequency and quantity to feed. Overfeeding can be as dangerous as underfeeding. The milk should be warmed to approximately 35°C. Test it carefully by allowing a drop of milk to fall on the inside on your wrist. You will not feel it when it is the right temperature. Make sure the milk is not too hot or cold.

Feed kittens carefully as they can inhale milk and develop pneumonia which can be fatal. You can buy feeding bottles and teats from your vet or online.

Hypoglycaemia, or low blood sugar, can result from inadequate or infrequent feeding. It can cause severe depression, muscle twitching and occasionally lead to convulsions. If a kitten refuses to feed, speak to your vet urgently. Kittens have no energy reserves and will deteriorate very rapidly.

Toileting

Kittens are unable to pass pee and poo without assistance for the first few weeks of their lives.

You will need to stimulate the ano-genital region, the area around the bottom and the urinary opening, with a damp piece of cotton wool before and after each feed to encourage toileting. The mother would normally do this by licking the kitten's rear end before, during and after each feed.

Try to do this in the litter tray so that kittens associate the feeling of litter under their feet with going to the toilet. From about four weeks of age, placing the kitten in the litter tray should encourage them to pass pee and poo on their own. Ensure the litter tray has shallow sides so the kittens can easily access it, and provide a litter with a sandy texture.

Constipation can be a problem for hand-reared kittens. Normal poo has the consistency of toothpaste. If the poo becomes very hard, making the kitten strain excessively, or if a kitten does not pass any poo for a day, speak to your vet.

Diarrhoea can be caused by overfeeding, by giving an overly-concentrated milk replacer, or by an infection. Because a kitten's condition can deteriorate rapidly, talk to your vet if your kitten is suffering from diarrhoea.

Hygiene precautions

Hand-reared kittens are very prone to infection so you will need to take great care to keep everything clean. Kittens that have received no colostrum from their mother will have little or no immunity to disease. It is vital that these kittens are protected from exposure to disease, including other cats and their poo. Some feline diseases can be fatal, or cause lifelong health problems.

Make sure you have clean hands and sterilised utensils and bottles for preparing and delivering the feed. Ask your vet for advice.

Temperature

Kittens find it difficult to regulate their body temperature without mum's help. You can help keep the kittens warm by:

  • towel-drying newborn kittens quickly
  • providing a source of warmth such as a well-covered water bottle or a heat pad. Make sure these are not too hot (around body temperature is ideal) and that the kittens can move away from the heat source if they get too hot

Kitten development. What to expect

If the kittens can't stay with their mother for any reason, then you will need to help the kittens learn normal behaviour, such as how to deal with frustration, something the kittens would normally learn from their mum.

As the kittens start weaning, slightly delay giving the feed, and slightly delay giving attention, including eye contact, instead of instantly meeting the kitten's demands. However, it is equally important to ensure the kittens are well fed.

Never encourage kittens to bite or attack hands, fingers or toes, as these behaviours can become painful as the kitten grows into an adult.

Normal kitten development:

  • birth weight. Approximately 90 to 110g, depending on the breed and number of kittens in the litter
  • growth rate. Kittens should gain around 50 to 100g per week (10 to 15g per day) and should double their weight two weeks after birth
  • the umbilical cord should dry out quickly after the birth and remain dry until it naturally falls off around three days after birth
  • eyes are closed at birth and open when they are 10 days old on average, though this varies from two to 16 days. The coloured part of the eye (iris) stays a blue-grey colour until four to six weeks old before changing colour permanently
  • crawling starts at seven to 14 days old
  • walking starts around two weeks old
  • kittens cannot pass pee and poo without stimulation of the rear end by their mother until around three weeks of age
  • weaning starts around three to four weeks of age
  • the sensitive period of a kitten's learning is two to eight weeks of age. This is called the socialisation period
  • kittens can start to spend short periods of time away from their mother from six to seven weeks of age
  • kittens should not be fully separated from their mother until at least eight weeks of age
  • vaccination can usually start at eight to nine weeks of age. Worm and flea treatment is often recommended before this
  • sexual maturity is reached from four months of age
  • kittens lose their 26 baby teeth and have their 30 adult teeth by six months of age
  • social maturity occurs between 18 months and four year of age, when relationships between cats may change

Free guide

Download our free guide packed full of all the information you need about pregnant cats and caring for newborn kittens.

Pregnant cats guide
A tiny calico kitten
Find out more

After birth

Find out about what to do after your cat gives birth and postnatal cat care in our free guide.

5 minutes
A beige kitten with brown ears and nose and blue eyes
Find out more

Kitten care

Has your cat had kittens? Take a look at our easy-to-follow guide to caring for your kittens, from feeding to playing.

5 minutes
Two tabby-and-white kittens with blue eyes sitting in a blue plastic cat bed
Find out more

Kitten ageing chart

How old is that kitten? Take a look at our kitten ageing chart to find out how you can tell, as well as providing care for them at every stage.

5 minutes
Find a Cat
Donate
About us