Kitten Rearing

 Newly born kittens are fragile & delicate. I work hard to ensure my Queen is able to nurse her kittens independently & to see them thrive. Sometimes though, hand rearing or supplemental feeding is necessary. In the first days this is every 2 hours night & day.

Supplemental feeding is common and happens for a number of reasons. I always want kittens to enjoy mother’s milk and rarely need to completely hand rear a kitten. Nature is a cruel master and you see this at play from the moment of birth. Kittens are blind and instinctively search for the mother’s rest and start to suckle receiving the all important colostrum. Competition is fierce and so some kittens are ousted from the nipple by more dominant siblings, or maybe mum simply cannot produce enough milk for her litter - or when she has a large litter - imagine feeding 10 hungry babies all of whom are desperate and driven to survive! 

Deciding when or if to step in to deliver supplemental feeding is a delicate matter. I much prefer to step in early to boost kittens so that they can stay strong and get established. Once I see them beginning to thrive sometimes it’s possible to withdraw supplemental feeds but more often it’s best to just ensure they are topped up. 

Supporting kittens like this ensures they get their nutrients to grow but allows mum time to build up her milk supplies which then respond to the ever increasing demand for food. 

Breeding is a privilege and a joy, but there’s a tough side too and it requires vigilance, strength and resilience. Sometimes kittens begin to fail. Left too long kittens without help they can quickly fade. If the kitten is weak, a small syringe (without a needle) can be use to drip feed milk slowly which might only be 1ml every hour. These kittens often end up requiring emergency help. Measures such as passing a feeding tube into the stomach are fastest but it takes skill and some courage. But, getting life sustaining fluid and nutrients is vital to the survival of a fading comatose kitten. In the past I’ve used a little Manuka +15 honey, mixed with blood temperature previously boiled water with a half strength Kitten milk replacer to bring a comatose kitten back from the brink. 30 minutes later, the kitten had perks up a little but still too weak to suckle. I delivered a second feed by tube this time of full strength milk & thankfully this was enough for this kitten, soon he was suckling like there was no tomorrow. 

Fluids are vital for all mammals. In some delivering this subcutaneously is life saving. For this intervention, a vet prescribed sterile fluid is warmed to blood temperature then delivered via needle under the skin where the body can use it quickly.,

Once a kitten can suckle he or she may be able to feed from mum again but if he/she is bell behind his or her litter mates they might not be able to compete so hand rearing may be required. This does not mean removing the kitten from its mother and siblings, but simply to feed that kitten regularly night & day. 

Sadly despite every life saving effort kitten loss does occur. While they are not always from the common “fading kitten syndrome” deaths occur most often in those first precious first few days. 

The flip side is that once a kitten even one that was in danger, is established they develop & gain weight rapidly.