Raising Orphaned Kittens

Video Transcript

"Let's talk about raising orphaned kittens. Unfortunately, this happens quite a bit. That is the queen could be sick and die during delivering the litter, or the queen is a stray and she's missing. So if there's an orphaned kitten, the first thing to do is call your veterinary clinic, they can help you through this process. There's several things that you're going to have to do. One is move them to a warm place that's quiet. Be gentle with them. You don't want to over-handle them because that's stressful to them. Kittens that are young, that are orphaned, typically are going to need to be fed, or, actually are going to need to be fed something like kitten milk-replacer, and you can use that at the guidance of your veterinary clinic. You bottle feed them with that every two to four hours when they're really tiny, and generally that gets less and less. Kittens, when they're orphans, need social interactions, especially when they hit about six weeks of age and so it's always good to take care of them just like you would any other kitten. Toys are very important, social interaction with people or other cats is a very, very good thing to accomplish as well. And, again, check with your veterinary clinic. Raising orphans is all about nutrition and socialization."