Hand-Rearing Kittens

Cold kittens must be warmed up slowly. Rapid warming can be fatal. In an emergency, newborn kittens have been warmed by holding them in warm water (i.e. up to their necks). Kittens warmed in this way must be dried in a warm environment.

Newborns are wet and chill rapidly as they dry. The ideal solutions are an incubator, heat lamp (infra-red - not placed too close to kittens, not in a small enclosed space and with care not to overheat them) or heated pad. If these are not available, wrap a warm (not boiling) hot water bottle or microwavable pad in a towel and lay the kittens on this. Cover them with a section of blanket or fleece (fleecy side inwards). Fix a thermometer inside the box to check the temperature.

Suggested kitten nests are fleece (e.g. VetBed) which must either be washable or disposable; towels or blankets. These can be placed in a low-sided box (disposable) or crate (washable). Initially, divide the box or crate into compartments because very young kittens have such a strong urge to suckle that they may start to suckle parts of each other's body, leading to skin lesions which are an infection risk. The kittens remain in separate compartments until they are three weeks old. After three weeks, kittens NEED social contact and they like to huddle together. If the suckling is still excessive and causes skin sores, separation will be necessary for a little longer.

Caution: If using a plant propagators as an emergency incubators, be extremely careful of the temperature; heated plant propagators, or propagators placed on top of a heat pad, may get too hot for kittens as the heat is not easily dissipated.

Expected Temperature of Kittens and Environment

Note: You need a suitable thermometer and training to measure rectal temperature - ask your vet for advice. Undersized, premature or poorly furred kittens need slightly higher temperatures at each stage.

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