How to Raise a Week-Old Kitten

Ideally, kittens should remain with their mother at least for the first six weeks of their lives. If you have found an abandoned one week-old kitten, however, you can successfully feed and nurture the young animal for the next several weeks until it becomes able to eat and eliminate wastes on its own. Very young kittens need bottle feeding of a special kitten formula every few hours. Someone must also stimulate the kitten by applying friction to its abdomen in order for it to release its bowels and urinate.

Things You'll Need

  • Eyedropper
  • Small baby kitten bottle and bottle brush
  • Milk replacement kitten formula
  • Electric heating pad or hot water bottle
  • Cotton balls
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Instructions

    • 1

      Make sure the kitten is without a mother before you take it in to raise on your own. Feral mother cats will leave their litter to hunt and go to great lengths to avoid human notice. If the kitten is in a litter with other kittens who look clean and well fed and are sleeping peacefully, they likely have an attentive mother nearby. Abandoned kittens are dirty and will cry piteously due to hunger.

    • 2

      Bring the kitten to a veterinarian to check for dehydration, intestinal parasites and to stock up on kitten formula, medicine and other supplies. The veterinarian will also provide additional information on how to care for your kitten at home.

    • 3

      Provide a warm environment for the kitten by putting it on a heating pad wrapped in bath towels or by wrapping towels around a hot water bottle. Place these items in a small packing box with an open top or a cat carrier to keep a steady temperature. For their first week, maintain a temperature between 88 and 92 degrees F. During the second and third weeks of their lives, keep the temperature at 80 degrees F.

    • 4

      Obtain kitten feeding supplies through your veterinarian or at a local pet store. These supplies include kitten milk-replacement formula, a small kitten feeding bottle, a bottle brush for cleaning the bottle, and a couple of extra bottle nipples. You can also use a small eye dropper to feed the kitten.

    • 5

      Start feeding the kitten once it is warm since a cold kitten cannot properly digest food. Sterilize all feeding items in hot water and warm the formula to body temperature by placing it in the microwave for a few seconds or by placing the bottle in a pan of hot water for a few minutes. Fill the bottle or eye dropper to the 5 cc level on the bottle or dropper and test the temperature on your inner wrist. Open the kitten's mouth with your finger and gently insert the nipple. Hold the bottle at a 45-degree angle and allow the kitten to suck at its own pace. Feed the kitten six times a day, or every three to four hours, for a total amount of 32 cubic centimeters of formula each day.

    • 6

      Stimulate the kitten to release waste after every feeding by imitating the licking of a mother's tongue on the kitten's genitals and anus. Warm a cotton ball with water and gently rub these areas with short strokes. The kitten will almost always urinate during each stimulation. Defecation will occur at least once a day. Foster parents will continue this activity until the kitten reaches four weeks old.