Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
BIRTH TO 1 MONTH
During this period a kitten develops from being totally dependent on
his mother for food, warmth and elimination, to being able to handle
these things on his own. Newborn kittens can neither see nor hear, but
they can smell, and they have touch receptors on their faces that enable
them to home in on their mother's body heat.
If you find a newborn orphaned kitten, you will have to perform
the duties that the mother cat would have performed. These duties
include keeping him warm and safe, feeding him with proper cat milk
replacer through a bottle and “pottying” the kitten. Kittens are unable
to eliminate on their own until they are about four weeks old, and their
mothers stimulate them to eliminate by licking their genitalia.You can
replicate this action using a cotton ball or tissue soaked in warm water
and gently wiping the kitten's genitalia.
Make sure you use a feline milk replacer, and not any other kind of
milk.Although they love the taste of cow's milk, cats are fairly lactose intol-
erant.They lack the enzyme needed to properly digest the sugar found in
cow's milk, so more than a taste or two will usually cause diarrhea.
The mouth is a very important organ for a kitten. A newborn kit-
ten will start using his mouth within an hour of birth, when he starts
nursing. Kittens nurse every few hours around the clock for the first
couple of weeks of life.
Kittens' ears open around five days of age.They can orient to sounds
at about 10 days, but they don't recognize sounds until they are three
weeks old. Eyes open between 5 and 14 days after birth, but kittens can-
not visually orient until their eyes have been open a few days.
Newborn kittens can feel with both their front and rear limbs.They
can walk with uncoordinated motions at two weeks and can visually
place their front legs and climb by three weeks.
Immunity is passed to newborns when they receive colostrum, their
mother's first milk, during their first 24 hours of life.They are protect-
ed from most diseases during their first month if they ingest colostrum,
continue to nurse normally and are kept warm and clean by their
mothers.
