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The local animal shelter has asked you to volunteer to foster a mother dog and her family until she and the puppies can be placed up for adoption. Or perhaps you've taken in a neighborhood stray feline, only to find out she will have kittens any day now. While most dog and cat mothers will do all that is necessary to raise their litters, it's a good idea to be prepared in the event of a problem.
Newborn Kitten Care
If the mother has died, rejected her young or cannot produce milk, its up to you to make sure that the litter receives adequate nutrition. If you have newborn kittens to fed, try to find a new mother cat with a small litter. She may accept one or two orphan babies as her own.
If you cannot find a foster mother, you can bottle-feed the babies with a milk replacer. Puppies and kittens need to eat every two hours, so consult your veterinarian for the exact amount to feed.
It is also imperative that you keep the young ones warm. A hot water bottle wrapped in a towel works well.
It is also important that you regularly handle the newborns. This will help socialize them. If it's at all possible, ANIMED recommends keeping the litter together until they are at least 8 weeks old for cats and 7 weeks for dogs.
Newborn Puppy Care
For proper socialization, try to handle puppies about 3 or 4 times a day, starting when they are about 3 weeks old. When they are four weeks of age, introduce them to moistened puppy food two to four times daily dry food should be available as well. By six weeks , they should be weaned off of milk completely.
Older Kitten & Puppy Care
At three weeks of age, kittens are ready to explore their environments. They can be introduced to kitten food, in small amounts, 4-6 times a day. At four weeks the young ones can be taught to use a litter box. Place the kittens in the box after each feeding. You can cut down one side of the box so it is easier for the kittens to enter and exit. As they reach 6 to 8 weeks old, increase the amount of solid food, and offer it 3-4 times daily, while gradually decreasing their access to milk. By the time they are 10-12 weeks old, the kittens should be fully weaned.
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