what if you find stray kittens?

Mother cats take care of their kittens beyond just feeding them. So if kittens are orphaned, they need human intervention to survive, otherwise they’ll die. Chances are it’s the cold that kills them before they die of starvation. So if you find stray kittens, you need to bring them indoors. Then you need to have some idea of how old the kittens are, because you may be in the position, regardless if you’re a man or a woman, of suddenly becoming mama cat.

photo by Shari Smith Dunaif © 2018

kittens are born with their ear canals closed

• kitten’s ears open about 17 days
• kitten’s ears stand up by 3 weeks

• • • Kittens can’t retain their own body temperature until they’re 3 weeks old.

  They need to be kept cozy and warm. A fleecy blanket works well. Holding and cuddling them is lovely too, for you and the kittens.

  

  photo by Shari Smith Dunaif © 2018

  Kittens are born with their eyes sealed closed

  • • • • kitten’s open their eyes somewhere between 10 – 14 days
        • kitten’s eyes start to change color in 4 weeks, but takes about 9 months for their eye color to be complete
        • kitten’s are born with blue eyes because their eyes aren’t developed; as kittens mature, most cats eye color changes

        If your little kitten isn’t ready to play, don’t worry

        • kittens become interested in play by 3 weeks old.
      

      photo by shari smith dunaif
      © 2018

An indication that a kitten is younger than 4 weeks is to notice their claws

• Kittens claws can’t retract until about 4 weeks old.

Vets often determine any cat’s age based on their teeth, including kittens.

• Kitten’s teeth start coming in by 3 weeks; their permanent adult teeth come in around 3 – 4 months.

The ASPCA.org explains how to tell the age of kittens:

The middle incisors are the first to come in around 14 weeks, with the second and third incisors following shortly after at about 15 and 16 weeks, respectively. Kitten teeth are tiny, which makes it tricky to tell if the incisors are baby teeth or the permanent adult teeth. It’s easiest when you have some of both to serve as a comparison…the baby teeth are a little smaller with pointed tips, while the permanent teeth are a little wider with flat edges.

 

Another reason why having an idea of the kitten’s age is to know what they need. Until about 5 weeks old, kittens need mama cat to lick them to stimulate them to go to the bathroom. Get a soft cloth and gently rub the anus and urinary area to simulate mama cat’s tongue, until the kitten does pee and/or poop.

• • • kittens will pee and poop on their own at around 5 weeks

So at about 5 weeks, kittens are able to start using kitty litter. You can introduce kittens to a litter box by 4 weeks. Begin by providing them with a small shallow one so they can climb in and out easily. You can place them in the box to get them use to it. They might instinctively start digging around. That’s good. Give them a treat. If they don’t, gently guide their paws to dig. They may actually use the box. If they don’t, whatever you used to stimulate them to go to be bathroom, like a soft cloth which they peed on, put it in the box. That let’s them smell their own scent and tells them to eliminate HERE. One more thing, watch them, but don’t be too intrusive, cats require some degree of privacy.

Young kittens need a mama cat – and it might be lucky you!

watch for a future post about feeding young kittens…