My newborn kitten is cold and crying. What should I do at home?

Crying can be because he’s hungry, cold, or has to go potty. Make sure you are feeding him often enough with kitten milk replacer if he is not nursing his mother. Stimulating him to pee and poop with a warm damp cloth around his tail should be done several times a day to keep him regular. Kittens can die quickly if they get cold so make sure he is snuggled in a warm place or with another animal. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Kawola.

You need to keep her warm inside your home 27/7, a carton box with fleece or other warm cloths would be a good option, you can also use warm bottles under the cloths. it's important to feed her kitten milk replacer only, normal milk is not good enough for kittens, she can't survive on it. you can buy kitten milk replacer in any pet shop.

Keep an eye on this newborn kitten. The mother should clean him off, but make sure that he is warm, dry, and eating. If you have any concerns about him, take him into a vet immediately. Newborn kittens are extremely fragile, and any problem with them should be examined by a vet right away.

It sounds like you are doing all the right things. She should be bottle fed every 3 hours or so. Keep her nice and warm, environmental temperature should be around 80 if she isn’t snuggling with mom or with the other kittens. I would try to encourage her to nurse first, and then offer the bottle. Weigh her on a gram scale daily to make sure she is gaining weight daily. Best of luck and I hope she improves soon. Thank you for using Pet Coach.

Unfortunately this is really hard to do. You want to make sure the kitten is warm and body temperature never gets cold. I would recommend taking the kitten to a vet so they can show you how to place a feeding tube and start feeding a kitten milk supplement. It is very important that the kitten gets colostrum with in 24 hours. Colostrum has antibodies in it to help support the kitten.

Has she pooped? Mothers lick their rear ends to stimulate them to defecate. You may want to take a warm damp wash cloth and try to gently wash her rear end. Also kittens at that age are used to snuggling with their warm litter mates. Snuggling her up close to you it with a stuffed animal may help as well. Good luck to both of you!

I recommend using a bottle with a small nipple - you can find kits for newborns at most pet supply stores. A commercial milk replacer like KMR is best, and you should feed the kitten every 2-3 hours. The kitten should be taking about 25 ml of milk per day and you should offer the bottle with the kitten laying on its stomach, not held on its back like a baby. You will also need to stimulate the kitten to urinate and defecate after eating by rubbing a warm washcloth on the genital and anal openings - neonatal kittens cannot urinate or defecate on their own. If the kitten is not interested in the bottle you may need to tube feed and should see your veterinarian for a demonstration.