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12 essential facts about kittens after birth, Kittens after birth need a lot of care. After the birth of kittens, they enjoy a set of particular characteristics and needs that help them grow healthy and naturally until they reach puberty.
Kittens after birth are distinguished by many specifications that you must know as a cat breeder, so we offer you nine essential pieces of information that you should know to deal with kittens after birth and until weaning.
The vaccination of young kittens starts from 45 days, where they are vaccinated with the essential vaccinations, which is the quadruple vaccination. We provide you with a broad topic for review about cat vaccinations and their dates.
1 Weigh kittens after birth
When kittens are born, they weigh approximately 85 grams to 115 grams. And you start gaining more weight as you get older.
Kittens gain weight after birth at a rate of about 115 grams every week, so when they reach the age of four weeks, they may go about half a kilogram.
The kittens continue to gain weight by about half a kilogram every month until they reach the age of six months.
2 Boost the immune system of newborn kittens through breast milk
In the first 48 hours of a newborn kitten’s life, a specific substance called colostrum is excreted in the mother’s milk.
This substance is excreted in breast milk in all mammals, and it is responsible for providing kittens with natural antibiotics and boosting the immune system.
Therefore, without this substance, kittens may grow unhealthy, but they will be more vulnerable to diseases than others in all their life periods.
Therefore, in the case of orphan cats who lost their mothers, they are given subcutaneous injections from the vaccinated adult cats to help them boost their immune system naturally.
3- Newborn cats cannot control their body temperature
After birth, kittens require a unique heating system, especially for the first two weeks of their life.
Heating can be through a mattress placed under the cats or perhaps a central heating system for the home.
The ideal temperature for kittens after birth is 32 ° C, with a humidity of around 55 to 65% approximately.
It is also essential to be careful to provide a safe space for the kittens to move around to escape from a high or low temperature.
Therefore, it is recommended that the cat’s birth be somewhat wide so that the kittens can roll over and crawl freely.
4- Cats do not hear or see at the time of birth
Cats are born without the sense of hearing or sight; this information is known to cat breeders of all kinds.
Newborn kittens have closed auditory channels as well as closed, inactive eyes.
Then, after one to two weeks, the kitten’s eyes begin to open, and the newborn kittens start to see for the first time in their lives.
While for the sense of hearing, kittens after birth begin to hear from the tenth to the fourteenth day.
Therefore, after two weeks, we can say that all cats’ senses are working well, and we can test them.
Cats are born with all shades of blue eyes, and then the pupils begin to discolor after the eighth week of their life.
Also read: Cat Breeds With Pictures: Blue Eyed Breeds With Pictures
5- Milk cats’ teeth start to appear after 3 weeks
Newborn kittens begin to have milk teeth at three weeks of age.
These teeth are fragile, and small cats can use them to eat soft food or dry foods intended for kittens only.
When cats reach the age of 14 weeks, kittens’ teeth begin to fall out.
Cat teeth fall out, and cat canines in the fourth month of their life are normal because they begin to change teeth and the appearance of permanent teeth, as well as dogs.
By the time the kittens reach the age of 6 months, they have had all their teeth replaced.
6- Newborn cats need to eat every two to three hours
Kittens, after birth, need to eat every two hours or every three hours maximum.
If you are breastfeeding orphan cats, you should put them on the palm of your hands or their stomachs during feeding and not on their backs until they are breastfed in the same way that occurs to natural cats.
Cats, if breastfed while they sleep on their back, may develop shortness of breath.
Failure to feed cats in sufficient quantities may lead to hypoglycemia and thus may lead to many diseases.
7- Newborn cats do not use the litter box (litter box)
The mother cat licks the kittens’ anus after birth to stimulate the excretion process, as newborn cats do not use the litter box (litter box) until after they reach weaning.
Therefore, in the case of orphan cats who lost their mothers, you can imitate this act by using
warm wet cotton and wiping the anus after feeding the kittens.
8- When do kittens start walking after birth
After birth, kittens begin to stand on their feet after 10 days, and kittens walk after 21 days.
When the kittens reach 4 weeks old, they start to play and fight.
Cats begin to practice cute and funny fights with each other from four weeks old to seven weeks old.
It is during this period that newborn kittens begin to learn basic skills.
For example, cats will learn to play with each other without harm to develop their skills in hunting, jumping, and movement.
9- When will kittens start eating after birth
The mother cat begins to completely wean the kittens after birth at about 8 weeks of age.
A mother cat begins at the age of 6 weeks to help the kittens eat and gradually stimulates them.
But when the cats reach the age of two months, the mother cat may resort to pushing them away from her and ignoring them until they become accustomed to living on their own and relying on natural feeding and forgetting to breastfeed.
10- When to stop feeding cats
The age of weaning in cats is generally 45 days. At this age, cats stop feeding and begin to support themselves.
Some believe that the age of weaning cats starts from the fifth week or the period of 32 days, and this is not accurate.
The mother cat begins weaning the kittens and helping them try normal eating at the age of 30 days, but the kittens continue to breastfeed naturally.
Besides, newborn kittens start trying to eat and imitate the mother.
But at the age of 45 days, cats ultimately stop feeding, and at that time, they can be separated from the mother cat without problems.
11- When do kittens open their eyes?
As we explained, newborn cats do not hear or see in the early days of their lives as it is born with closed audio channels and eyes closed as well.
After the first week of her life has passed, the kittens open their eyes gradually; you will notice that the eyes of newborn cats begin to open slightly from the eighth day.
But the cats will open their eyes entirely on the fourteenth day, that is, after two weeks of their life.
You will notice a waxy substance on the eyes of a newborn kitten, and the mother will lick it and clean it frequently.
If you notice a buildup of this waxy substance on the eyes of kittens, you can clean it with a cotton ball soaked in warm water slowly and gently.
12- How do kittens die after birth
Kittens die after birth for various reasons, the most important of which is the absence of the mother cat to take care of them.
Newborn cats need the presence of the mother cat so that they can breastfeed approximately every two hours.
If kittens die soon after birth, this may be due to incomplete internal organs.
Newborn kittens also die because of the mother’s fear, as she may run them under her feet or eat her children.
Newborn cats may die because of other animals in the house, as the animals kill each other’s children and consider them prey. The bride is also famous for eating newborn cats.
Finally, newborn kittens may die from diseases transmitted to them by the mother cat.
Also read about Comprehensive advice for lovers of raising cats
