"How to Care for a Kitten " by Amber D

You walk outside of your house, turn and lock the door, ready to leave to work or school when you hear a faint meow from the plants in your front lawn. Closing your eyes, you think to yourself, “This cannot be happening right now,” and turn to look, only to find a newborn kitten all alone. You desperately look around for its mother but find nothing. What do you do? You weren’t thinking about adopting a kitten anytime soon but you know that without the care of a mother, the kitten will die. Making up your mind, you decide to save that poor kitten’s life, but where do you start?
Step 1: Go to work or school.
Now it may seem funny to go along with your day, but more than likely the mother cat is off hunting for food to feed herself for the kitten and typically wouldn’t be nearby when she sees humans around. If you return home from work or school and find the kitten in the same spot, its mother will most likely not return. Wait until it gets dark but if there is still no sign, it’s time to take the kitten in.
Step 2: Gather necessary materials.
This would imply a trip to the pet store such as PetCo or PetSmart. At the store you would need kitten formula and a baby bottle with different sized nipples. When you return home, you need to find a small box (a shoebox would work) and place a heating pad and a blanket inside. Pour the formula into the bottle and heat it up by placing the end of the bottle into boiling water. Test to see if the milk is too hot or cold by pouring a drop onto your hand. Warning: If it’s too hot for you, it will be too hot for the kitten so give the bottle time to cool.
Step 3: Take in the kitten and feed it.
With your shoebox, go outside to where the kitten is and carefully pick it up (not too hard because it was just born a few hours earlier) and place it in the box. Once the kitten is inside, it’s time to feed it since it hasn’t been fed for hours. Put the smallest sized nipple on the bottle and poke a small hole in the top. Take the kitten into the palm of your hand and lift its head up with your finger. Place the nipple in the kitten’s moth and it will eventually begin to suckle. As long as it drinks a small amount of the formula, the kitten will be fine.
Step 4: Make sure it uses the restroom.
Because it is a newborn, it does not need a litter box yet. The mother cat would typically start licking the kitten’s bottom until it uses the restroom but since no mother cat is around it is up to you to do this. You would need to get a cotton ball, dip it in the warm boiled water, and begin to rub the kitten’s bottom until it urinates. This has to be done after every feeding to ensure its

digestive and excretory systems are working properly. Warning: you may get some of its urine or stool on you so make sure to wash up after.
Step 5: Let the kitten sleep.
The kitten would be exhausted after the feeding process. Keep it in the box with the heating pad set on low so it feels as if it has the warmth of its mother. You can add some socks into the box so it feels as if it has the comfort of other siblings by it.
Step 6: Feed the kitten every two to three hours for the first week, three to four the next week and so on until it’s about six weeks.
Even if the kitten is sound asleep, you need to feed it every two to three hours. Yes, this implies waking up about three to four times a night to feed it and stimulate it to use the bathroom. After you feed it, repeat step four each time. As the weeks continue on, the feeding increments will become less until it’s about five to six weeks when you should begin teaching the kitten how to eat by itself. Throughout the weeks, change the nipple size so that the bottle is comfortable in the kitten’s mouth. Warning: If waking up every three hours is too much to handle, it is best to find a shelter that will take it in and provide much love and attention to it. I would recommend Priceless Pets in Claremont or Chino Hills.
Step 7: Teach the kitten how to eat and use the restroom by itself.
Around week five or six, it’s time to teach the kitten how to eat on its own. By this time, the kitten will be walking and meowing pretty frequently. Pour the milk into a small bowl and gently place the kitten’s head in the bowl near the formula. The kitten will feel uncomfortable at first but it will eventually learn to start licking the milk, adapting to the process by the end of the week. It is now time to purchase wet kitten food and begin to mix small amounts of it with the milk. Place the kitten’s head in the bowl again and it will eventually learn to eat the food. At the end of the week begin to mix dry food with the wet food, without any milk. As the days go on, increase the dry food amount and decrease the wet food amount until only dry food is left. This can take anywhere from a few days to a week but it will be eating the dry food on its own in no time. The kitten also needs to learn how to use the restroom. This is a long process beginning with purchasing a small litter box. Place the kitten in the box, take its front paws, and scratch the sand with them. Eventually the kitten will catch on and scratch the sand itself when using the restroom. The litter box should be cleaned every day and the sand should be changed frequently enough to prevent your house from smelling like cat droppings.
Step 8: Decide where the kitten will go from there, once it is eight weeks.
At week eight, the kitten is fully prepared to live on its own but because it has known only humans throughout its life, it’s best to leave it in a human family setting. You can decide to keep it because of the attachment you had made with it or you can find it a home if you do not believe

that you are able to care for it anymore. Just remember that wherever it ends up, it will need to receive all the love it deserves.
That’s all there is to it. It is an eight-week long, sleepless process but it is well worth it knowing that you had saved a kitten’s life. I was in this exact spot about a year and a half ago when I found a kitten in my backyard. People told my family and I over and over that it will never survive without its mother but by following these steps and putting love into the process, my kitten grew up to be a healthy and happy cat. Though she is not with my family anymore because of my sister’s allergies, we found her a happy home where she is being taken care of and given lots of love. I am positive that you will be able to raise a kitten if you happen to find one abandoned by its mother by following this process.
Day 1 Week 1 Week 4
Week 8 1 year