Cats have little trouble in bringing forth their young and caring for them. The mother cat will bite the cord, break the sac in which the kitten is born, clean the kittens and herself, place the kittens in their bed and allow them to nurse. They are practically self-sufficient, but as an owner attention and supervision is important to keep your pets safe and sound.

Here are some easy pointers:

Feeding

by theurchiness via Flickr

• If there are more than four or five kittens in the litter, you may have to feed some of them by hand.
• If the mother refuses to feed any of them, you will have to feed them all.
• Newborn kittens whose mothers cannot feed them may be fed with a medicine-dropper.

Handling and Grooming

by Gúnna via Flickr

• Do not handle the kittens except when it is necessary, like cleaning their bed.
• Since their eyes are closed for the first five days after they are born and do not open fully until they are about ten days old, the kittens should be kept in a dark place at first and gradually expose them to light.
• If their eyelids stick together after their eyes have opened fully, bathe the eyelids with a boric acid solution or apply a bit of white vaseline or a drop of cod liver oil.

Weaning Kittens

by Ryan Wick via Flickr

• When the kittens are three or four weeks old, they may be gradually weaned. The process should not be hurried, but for the sake of the mother cat it should be completed by the time the kittens are two months old.
• To wean a kitten, dip your finger in warm milk and moisten the kitten’s mouth with it while holding its head directly over the bowl of milk. The kitten will soon learn to lap the milk from the bowl.
• Add a teaspoonful of scraped beef to the diet, increasing the amount gradually. Feedings should be at least every three hours at first.
• The intervals between feedings may be lengthened until the kitten is satisfied with three feedings a day and milk at night.
• Kittens that seem reluctant to be weaned should be kept away from the mother for a few hours at a time and gradually for longer periods, so that they will be hungry enough to want to eat from a bowl.