Every kitten deserves the best start in life. Whether the queen is absent or simply unable to meet her litter’s needs, providing a safe and effective feeding alternative is essential for the growth and survival of the kitten.
1. Understanding the Need for Assisted Feeding
Some kittens are unable to be nourished by their mother due to a range of circumstances, including orphaning, maternal rejection, insufficient milk production (agalactia), illness, or complications during or after birth. These vulnerable neonates require gentle, attentive care and reliable nutritional support to help them thrive during this critical stage of development.
Optimal care for orphaned kittens requires attention to many areas including provision of heat and humidity, nutrition, immunity, sanitation, security and social stimulation, as well as assistance with elimination.
Here, we’ll touch on a few of the critical factors and actionable steps to support the health and well-being of your infant kitten.
Key Factors for Optimal Kitten Health
To provide the best start in life, it helps to understand the factors influencing a kitten’s early health — whether under maternal care or hand-reared.
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Maternal nutrition
The nutritional status of the queen during gestation and lactation significantly impacts the health of her kittens. -
Maternal behaviour and physical health
The behaviour and physical health of the queen can affect her ability to care for her kittens. Identifying signs of stress or illness early is crucial. -
Neonatal care
Providing adequate warmth, nutrition, and hygiene ensures kittens thrive even in the absence of their mother.
Risk Factors for Orphaned Kittens
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Low birth weight
Kittens born with a low birth weight face increased health challenges. -
Failure to receive colostrum
Kittens should ideally receive colostrum or queens’ milk within 12-16 hours of birth as a source of effective species specific antibodies -
Poor hygiene
Maintaining a clean kitten and environment reduces the risk of infection -
Inadequate warmth
Hypothermia is a significant risk to orphaned kittens
2. Choosing the Right Nutrition
What do I Feed a Kitten?
The queens’ milk is perfectly designed to meet 100% of the kittens’ nutritional needs. If the mother is not able to feed the kitten, and a foster queen is not available, the kitten will require hand rearing with a milk replacer that has a composition similar to queen milk.
Why Unmodified Cows Milk is Not Suitable
- Too high in lactose - which could contribute to diarrhoea
- Too low in protein - which will not support optimal growth
- Too low in iron – the iron content of cows milk is low and it’s poorly absorbed by the kitten, increasing the risk of anaemia and poor growth
Choosing the Right Milk Replacer for Your Kitten
- Look for a milk replacer such as Di-Vetelact that is certified by the PFIAA as nutritionally complete and balanced for kittens.
- Di-Vetelact is well tolerated by and suitable for kittens. This is because it is suitably low in lactose, high in protein and fortified with iron. It also contains prebiotics and is fortified with 25 vitamins and minerals to meet the needs of the rapidly growing orphaned kitten.
- Di-Vetelact can be used as a nutritionally complete milk replacer for an orphaned kitten, or as a supplemental milk for a kitten that may not be receiving adequate milk supply from the queen.
How much do I Feed my Kitten?
- Always refer to the product feeding guide available. Di-Vetelact offers detailed feeding volume and schedule on pack as well as online.
- Be careful not to overfeed - Overfeeding can cause vomiting, aspiration, bloating and diarrhoea.
Tip Feed milk replacer heated to 38 -40 degrees C. This should be warm to the touch, but not hot.
3. Feeding Techniques for Orphaned Kittens
Bottle feeding
This is the preferred method for active kittens - it has the advantage that the kitten will stop feeding when full which will help avoid over feeding. Small pet nursers can be purchased in most pet stores or your local vet.
The size of the hole in the nipple is crucial. When preparing to feed, check that the nipple opening only allows one drop at a time to fall from the nipple when the bottle is upside down. The bottle should require a light squeeze (simulating a kitten suckling) for milk to drip out. If you need to make the hole bigger, you can sterilise a needle (heat a needle with a lighter) and use it to enlarge the hole.
Once a kitten is feeding, the formula should be sucked and never squeezed from the bottle. This is because a rapid flow rate may lead to aspiration of milk (where droplets of liquid enter the airways or the lungs). Aspiration can potentially cause pneumonia and/or death.
Kittens should normally be held horizontally with the head in a natural position. This position reduces the risk of aspiration.
Tube feeding
This feeding method is an option if your kitten cannot consume enough milk replacer from a bottle. However, it requires proper equipment, training, and technique to avoid overfeeding or accidentally placing milk replacer into the kitten's lungs. (Consult your veterinarian for guidance on the correct technique).
4. Supporting Healthy Development
Helping Kittens Eliminate Waste
For the first three weeks of life, kittens are stimulated by their mother to encourage urination and defecation. In the absence of their mother, you will have to provide the stimulation. Massage your kittens’ genital area with a moist cloth to stimulate bladder and bowel action. After three weeks, kittens should urinate and defecate on their own. Watch them carefully to make sure that happens.
Monitoring Growth and Weight Gain
Always keep a thorough record of birth weight for each kitten in your care to track healthy growth and development.
Weigh your kitten every 1-2 days for the first 1-3 weeks if they have a low birth weight (less than 75 grams). If the kitten is a normal weight at birth (85-120 grams) then weekly weighs are adequate. The kitten shouldn’t lose weight or fail to gain weight for more than 1 day.
Tip Identify each kitten within a litter soon after birth – this can be achieved easily with nail polish of different colours on claws
Healthy Weight Gain Guidelines
Weeks 1-4
- A kitten’s weight may double by 7-14 days after birth,
- and may triple by the 3rd or 4th week!
Example
- Domestic short hair kitten body weight at birth - 100 grams
- Typical weight gain per week - 100 grams
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So weight at end of week 4 is 100 + (4 x 100) = 500 grams
Identify Weight Issues Promptly
Weight loss or failure to gain weight for more than a day could indicate either:
- Inadequate milk production / intake of milk replacer
- Inability to suckle
- Illness in the kitten
*Seek advice from your vet if you have any of these concerns
Maintain a Safe and Warm Environment
To stay warm, kittens depend on radiant heat from their mother. In her absence, they need constant temperature control. So you’ll have to provide your kittens with a draft-free nesting area. Heat lamps or hot water bottles can be used to keep the temperature controlled.
During the first four or five days of life, kittens should be kept in an environment that is between 32-34 degrees C. The temperature can gradually be decreased to 27-29 degrees C by the 7th day and can be reduced to 24-27 degrees C by week 3, and 24 degrees C by the fourth week.
Provide necessary warmth or cooling to the kittens gradually. If you have a large litter, they will huddle together, which means they won’t require as much help with external heat from you. Take care not to overheat the kittens; newborn kittens cannot move away from the heat on their own, and overheating can lead to dehydration.
5. Maintaining Hygiene and Preventing Disease
Hygiene
Good hygiene is very important as the orphaned kitten is more susceptible to infection if they have received little or no colostrum from the queen.
Feeding Materials
(e.g. bottles and nipples) should be cleaned thoroughly and sterilised by boiling in water between uses.
Preparation of Milk Replacer
Only prepare the amount of milk replacer required for 24 hours and refrigerate - discard any unused milk after this time.
Serving Milk Replacer
Remember to mix milk replacer well and warm to approximately 38-40 degrees C before serving. When the kittens are 3 to 4 weeks old, you can start feeding them milk replacer at room temperature.
Discard any unused milk after one hour at room temperature.
Bathing
At least once or twice a week, orphan kittens should be washed gently with a soft moistened cloth to simulate cleaning by the mother’s tongue. Take care to avoid wetting the kittens excessively and dry them quickly with a clean towel.
Disease Prevention and Visitors
Kittens are very vulnerable to disease, so disease prevention in their space is important. Always wash your hands before touching the kittens. If you work with other animals or visit animal shelters (any place where you come in contact with other cats), always change your clothes and shoes before entering the area where the kittens are kept and before handling the kittens.
Likewise, limit the number of visitors to the kittens' space and the number of people who handle the kittens until they are at least a few weeks old. Avoid interaction if someone has been in contact with sick animals or has been to an animal shelter, vet clinic, or other animal facility just before visiting.
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Raising a kitten without its mother is a delicate and demanding task, but with attentive care, appropriate nutrition, and a clean, warm, and secure environment, these tiny lives can thrive. Whether you’re hand-rearing a single neonate or caring for an entire litter, your support plays a vital role in their survival and development.
With the right feeding practices, careful monitoring, and a focus on hygiene and comfort, orphaned or maternally unsupported kittens can grow into strong, healthy companions. And remember — you’re not alone on this journey. If you’re ever unsure or concerned, always consult your veterinarian for guidance and support.
