How to Take Care of a Week Old Cat

Kittens under 8 weeks old need to stay with their mother and siblings to nurse, acquire social skills and learn to eliminate properly. Unfortunately, a situation may occur in which you find a very young, week-old kitten without a mother due to a variety of reasons, such as abandonment. If you find such a kitten, whose eyes have not opened, you need to play the role of the mother and keep it safe, warm and well-nourished until it can mature into a healthy cat.

Things You'll Need

  • Cardboard or plastic box
  • Heating pad
  • Blankets
  • Towels
  • Thermometer
  • Kitten milk replacement formula
  • Kitten nursing bottles
  • Sewing needle
  • Washcloth
  • Cotton balls
  • Baby or pet scale
  • Flea comb
  • Tweezers
  • Grain alcohol
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Instructions

    • 1

      Wrap a blanket around a heating pad and set the pad to the lowest setting. Place the wrapped pad in a cardboard or plastic storage box about twice as big as the pad. Put the pad on one side of the box and line the other side with a soft blanket or towel. This setup allows the kitten to move off the heating pad if it becomes too warm. This box serves as the kitten's nesting area to keep it safe and warm.

    • 2

      Place the kitten in the box gently. Attach a thermometer to the inside of the box to monitor the temperature. Kittens at one week old cannot regulate their body temperature and require an environmental temperature of about 85 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit, according to PetEducation.com. Keep the box moist and humid by draping a damp towel across half of the top of the box (to allow for air).

    • 3

      Prepare a pet nursing bottle by heating a sewing needle in hot water and using it to poke two holes in the top of the bottle. Make the holes small enough so that a few drops come out of the bottle when it is filled with liquid and shaken.

    • 4

      Prepare kitten milk replacement formula according to the directions on the package, if you have the powdered form, or open a can of already prepared kitten formula. Pour it into a kitten feeding bottle and warm the bottle in a bowl of hot water until the formula reaches a temperature of 98 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

    • 5

      Place the kitten on its stomach over a soft towel. Rub a drop or two of formula on the nipple of the bottle and put it into your kitten's mouth. Squeeze a drop of formula into the kitten's mouth, and it should start to suckle. A week-old kitten requires nine to 12 feedings per day, every two to three hours. Feed the kitten 5 to 7 ml of formula per feeding, according to PetEducation.com.

    • 6

      Burp the kitten after each feeding by placing it upright on your shoulder, with its belly facing toward you. Pat its back until it releases any trapped air from the feeding.

    • 7

      Stimulate the kitten to urinate or defecate after each meal by rubbing its genitals very gently with a cotton ball or washcloth dampened with warm water. Do this until the kitten produces urine or feces. Because the kitten may not eliminate after each meal, do this only for about one minute after the meal. Clean up the kitten with a dampened cloth and place it back into its nesting box to rest.

    • 8

      Weigh the kitten daily to monitor its weight on a kitten or baby scale. The kitten should gain about 10 grams of weight per day, according to veterinarian Ron Hines of the 2ndchance.info website. If your kitten does not gain any weight or loses weight, take it to a veterinarian immediately, because young kittens can become ill very quickly from malnutrition or other underlying health conditions.

    • 9

      Check the kitten for fleas. Week-old kittens may die from anemia caused by fleas, so you need to remove them from the kitten with a flea comb or a pair of blunt tweezers. Dip the flea comb or tweezers in grain alcohol, such as vodka, to kill any fleas you find on the kitten. Kittens this young cannot tolerate flea medications.