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CARING FOR ORPHANS

This mentions kittens specifically, but also applies to puppies. Temperatures formulas and grooming/toileting are the same with the exception of litter box training.

FORMULAS

The best formula is Milk Replacer which you can usually find at your Veterinary Clinic. It comes in cans of pre-mixed liquid which is ideal if you have a whole litter of orphans. It also comes in a powder so you can make smaller amounts for your 1-2 orphans. If your kittens are under 4 weeks of age you will need bottles from the Vet as well. I would always have an extra bottle on hand in case a nipple is damaged or a bottle gets lost. They should be washed in hot, soapy water and rinsed with boiling water after each feeding. See Bottle Nipples below.

NOTE: If the kitten is over 4 weeks of age you can dip the corner of a washcloth in the formula and apply to the lips of the kitten till it begins to lick, then slowly lower the washcloth towards a shallow saucer of formula. The kitten will soon begin lapping on its own.

IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO GET MILK REPLACER:

Mix: 1 can of evaporated milk (or if you must, whole fat milk), the yolk of one egg, a tablespoon of Karo syrup or honey and just a few grains of salt. Mix well. Put in a sterilized jar and keep in the fridge. This is a large quantity. Do not use if sour (after 5 days).
Before feeding, Mix the formula well and measure out half of the required amount and mix with an EQUAL quantity of boiling water. This should dilute the milk sufficiently and bring the temperature of the formula up to 95-100F . (Cold formula will not mix well and will cause gastric upsets)

ONCE A DAY

Mix one drop of liquid vitamins (which are made for human infants and can be found in any drugstore,) into one of the feeds. This is vital.

If the kitten becomes constipated, a drop of vegetable oil may be added to one of the feeds, but should not be given more frequently than once every 3 days. If constipation is the norm, get the orphan to the vet! See "Young Kittens:After Feeding" below

BOTTLE NIPPLES

Use a needle from your sewing kit, sterilized with a lighter to glide through the end of the nipple from the inside before assembling the bottle. The needle should not be too narrow or too wide.
It is a case of life or death if the hole in the nursing bottle is too small or too large. Too large a hole could cause aspiration pneumonia (The kitten will drown). The formula should not drip freely out of the nipple if the bottle is inverted, but a drop should be seen to come out if the nipple is squeezed lightly.
Smearing a bit of the formula on the end of the nipple may encourage the orphan to ignore the obvious rubber smell and texture of the nipple.

FEEDING

DO NOT hold the kitten on its back. It should lie on its stomach on a blanket across your knees. Hold the bottle in front of the kitten's mouth and only slightly elevated. If after a few tries, the kitten totally rejects the formula-dipped nipple, you may have to feed with an eyedropper, one drop at a time, by gently squeezing the sides of the mouth.
See."Young Kittens: After Feeding" below

HOW MUCH? HOW OFTEN?

Healthy Kittens A Few Days Old: 2-4 ml of formula warmed to 95-100F (35-37.8C) every 2-1/2 hours
Kittens 7-12 Days Old: need a minimum of 4-5 feedings a day. The quantity of formula increases as the kitten demands.
Kittens 3-1/2 to 5 weeks Old: Begin the weaning process. Always leave a saucer of fresh water down. 4-5 times a day put down a saucer of warmed formula. You can begin using the washcloth method or your finger. Dip tip of cloth in formula and offer to kitten, smearing some on lips. The kitten will lick the formula off and should lick the washcloth. You can gradually lower the cloth or your finger lower and lower to the saucer of milk. It should be a very shallow saucer as the kitten may tip forward into it.
As the kitten becomes accustomed to eating from the saucer you can start adding tiny amounts of canned kitten food to the milk replacer, keeping it more liquid than solid. If you intend feeding only dry food, add a few pieces of a Kitten kibble to the formula and allow it to become soggy. Remember to keep water nearby. Over the next few weeks increase the amount of canned food or kibble.
If at this time, your kitten is not drinking the water, you can put down a separate saucer of formula mixed with a bit of water. Over the next few weeks increase the amount of water in the formula till the kitten is drinking water alone.
All food at this time should be at room temperature. Do not feed straight from the fridge or you will have a sick kitty.

As kitty becomes weaned, he will still need at least 4 feedings of a good quality kitten food in order to get the amount of vitamins and minerals he requires for healthy growth.

NOTE: Although a dog can eat cat food without any adverse effects other than obesity, you must NEVER give your cat or kitten a diet of dog food. The cat's metabolism is very delicate. Without certain minerals not available in dog food, and being unable to assimilate certain minerals and vitamins the cat fed a canine diet will develop heart disease and become blind.

At 6 Months Of Age: 2 feedings are sufficient, so make the adjustment gradually between the age of 4-6 months, reducing feedings, supplementing with dry kitten food and gradually getting down to 3 feeds a day at 4 months, and 2 feeds at 6 months.

YOUNG KITTENS: AFTER FEEDING

BURPING:

Kitten's tummies become rounded when full. He will need to be burped gently by holding the kitten upright and gently rubbing or lightly patting the back to help air bubbles work their way up and out..

TOILETING AND GROOMING:

Young kittens (and pups) cannot eliminate by themselves and will become coinstipated and die if not helped frequently.
Generally the mother cat would lick the kitten all over every inch after each feeding and nap to stimulate it to urinate and defecate.
Get a clean washcloth. They are best because the terrycloth is slightly bumpy like the mother's tongue. Rinse it in fairly warm water and wring almost dry. You don't want the kitten getting too wet, and the cloth should be slightly above skin temperature (100F) to mimic the cat's saliva and keep him from getting a chill. Begin with the face (eyes, mouth, throat) and work back over every inch till you are stroking along the spine to the tail, belly, and across the genitals. At this point the tiny kitten should urinate and defecate into the washcloth. Make sure you turn and fold the cloth so you are not wiping the soiled areas of the cloth across the kitten. If the cloth becomes cold, rinse it in warm water again, wring and continue wiping gently over the genitals till kitty has done both jobs. This should be done religiously after every meal and each time he wakes from a nap and should continue (refreshing and warming the cloth as necessary) until the kitten has both urinated and defecated.

TOILETING CONTINUED:

By the time the kitten is 4 weeks old, he can be placed in a SHALLOW litter pan with no more than 1/2" of litter in the bottom. For the first few times you may have to wipe him with the warm, moist cloth as above. Then you can probably just take him to the pan and scratch the litter with a finger to get him to go. It might help to leave a small amount of the soiled litter in the pan for a while at first so he recognizes the scent. Praising and petting the first few times when he does what is expected, helps too.
At 4-5 weeks his curiosity and mobility increase and when the need arises he MUST relieve himself quickly, so make sure there is a litter pan near his play areas. Do not put a pan near his food, however, or he may stop eating.
Note: At 3-4 weeks puppies can be carried outside after every nap, feeding and play session. He must be gushed over every time he does his business. I use the words "Go pee" or "Go potty" every time the pup goes outside. My dogs now know that if I say those words they must go. This is very handy if I need them to go to the toilet before I go out or for long trips in the car. The puppy bed should be a good sized dog crate which will also be an aid to housetraining as he will not want to soil his bed. Please remember that just like babies, young pups and kittens have no control when it comes to urinating or defecating.

BEDDING

Tiny kittens (and pups) depend upon heat from the mother's body or they will die.
For Tiny Kittens: The box should be in a secluded area that is warm and away from drafts or temperature fluctuations. It should have a layer of soft, clean, washable cloths or towels. In the absence of a mother, it should be large enough so that one half of the box can have a heating pad or hot water bottles (change often) under the towels for warmth, or a carefully monitored heat lamp. This way the kitten can seek warmth or crawl off the heated area to the cooler side if he gets too hot.
When you remove the orphan from the bed for feeding or cleaning, hold it close against your skin.

SURFACE TEMPERATURE OF THE BEDDING BOX (heated side)

Chilling a newborn or a kitten that is just a few days old will kill it.
So will suddenly heating a chilled orphan. The raising of body temperature should be gradual.
These temperatures listed below must be strictly maintained around the clock until the 4th week when the kitten begins exploring away from the bed.
Kittens under 2 weeks: 85-90F (29.4-32.2C)
Kittens 2 through 3 weeks: 80F
Kittens 4 weeks: 75F
After 4 weeks: normal house temperature, not to fall below 60F.

GENERAL NOTES

A newborn kitten will alternately nurse and sleep.
At 7-10 days when its eyes and ears are fully opened it begins simple play and exploring for brief periods.
The average cat alternates between light and deep sleep for 18 hours a day.
The cat is a nocturnal creature. It will take a kitten time to learn to sleep at night instead of playing.
A very young or elderly cat will sleep even more than 18 hours a day.
Cats and kittens are not toys. Their sleep should never be disturbed.
In the wilds before cats were domesticated, cats would sleep for long periods to not only heal or grow, but to gather and store the energy it would take for the burst of speed they need when catching prey. This is why cats will suddenly get a case of "The Crazies" and race around doing the wildest antics. It is like a pressure valve. They are literally "letting off steam"
An "only cat", particularly one left alone for long hours, MAY oversleep out of boredom and loneliness.
Pups and kittens can be wormed with a gentle, liquid wormer from your Veterinarian at 3 and 6 weeks of age if necessary.
Immunization should start at 6-8 weeks of age unless the orphan never received clostrum (immunity to diseases passed through the first mik from the mother) from the mother's first feeding, in which case first immunization is given at 3 weeks of age.
The second booster shots are given one month after the first, but your orphan is not immune from these diseases for 2-1/2 weeks -3 weeks after the last shot.

IMMUNIZATION

This information went out across the internet and the author was Dr. Ihor Basko.

VACCINATION NEWSFLASH - Dr. Ihor Basko

I would like to make you aware that all 27 veterinary schools in North America are in the process of changing their protocols for vaccinating dogs and cats. Some of this information will present an ethical & economic challenge to vets, and there will be skeptics. Some organizations have come up with a political compromise suggesting vaccinations every 3 years to appease those who fear loss of income vs those concerned about potential side effects. Politics, traditions, or the doctor's economic well-being should not be a factor in medical decision.
Dr. Ihor Basko DVM

Dr. Jean Dodd's Vaccine Protocol

"Dogs and cats immune systems mature fully at 6 months. If a modified live virus vaccine is given after 6 months of age, it produces immunity, which is good for the life of the pet (ie: canine distemper, parvo,feline distemper). If another MLV vaccine is given a year later, the antibodies from the first vaccine neutralize the antigens of the second vaccine and there is little or no effect. The titer is not "boosted" nor are more memory cells induced. "Not only are annual boosters for parvo and distemper unnecessary, they subject the pet to potential risks of allergic reactions and immune-mediated hemolytic anemia."There is no scientific documentation to back up label claims for annual administration of MLV vaccines "Puppies receive antibodies through their mothers milk. This natural protection can last 8-14 weeks. Puppies & kittens should NOT be vaccinated at LESS than 8 weeks. Maternal immunity will neutralize the vaccine and little protection (0-38%) will be produced. Vaccination at 6 weeks will, however, delay the timing of the first highly effective vaccine. Vaccinations given 2 weeks apart suppress rather than stimulate the immune system.

A series of vaccinations is given starting at 8 weeks and given 3-4 weeks apart up to 16 weeks of age. Another vaccination given sometime after 6 months of age (usually at 1 year 4 mo) will provide lifetime immunity.