The first three weeks in the life of a newborn kitten is truly the most important for the development of the overall kitten health, personally, and character. Keep in mind that the kitten is is a lot like a newborn human baby. It eats around the clock and is of course totally dependent on the care giver for everything. You are very lucky if the mother cat is there to take care of the little kitten. If not you will need to provide a dry, warm place. You do not have to worry about being all fancy, just some clean rags or towels in a cardboard box will work fine. There is milk replacement if you need it. Available at most pet stores or veterinarians, you may need supplies like a eye dropper, syringe or even a small bottle may be found. Just follow the manufactures instructions and the kitten will begin to blossom.

Week one will see the growth of the kitten in a incredible rate. The birth weight will almost double. It is believed that the first few weeks of development does determine the personality traits of the kitten. While still growing in week two, the kitten will also start to begin opening the eyes. Most of the eyes of the kittens will stay blue for several weeks. But the vision will be blurred due to the fact that the pupils will not dilate and contract at first. It is a good idea to try and keep the kitten out of bright lights during this time. Their sense of smell is developing and it is common for the little kittens to hiss at smells that a new to them. The *** of the kitten is still hard to determine at this point. By week three the ear canals are open. This is the time that the kittens will start being social with humans and other kittens that are in their litter.

If the mother cat is not there, you will be responsible for the other parts of the care of the kitten. It is very important to bath the kitten after each feeding. Use a warm cloth and stimulate the urogenital reflex of the kitten. For the first three weeks the kitten can not voluntary eliminate the urine or the *****. The warm cloth will help to stimulate and also feel more like the mother cat. After the three weeks you can also start weaning a bottle fed kitten. It is suggested to take some can food and mix with the milk replacement to the consistency of a milkshake to begin the weaning process and start the kitten to eat from dishes.

By: Debra Atkins

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