Kittens are very fragile animals, which must be cared for and protected. Their mother takes care of that normally, but it can also happen (and in fact it does) that she cannot take care of them for some reason (that she is ill or very stressed, does not recognize them as hers or because she is not present).
In these situations we must be the ones to take care of them. But how to avoid constipation in kittens? To be well, they need to urinate and defecate after each meal, otherwise their health would deteriorate. Let us know what to do so that your life is not in danger.
We will give them replacement milk
My kitten Sasha drinking her milk, on September 3, 2016.
During the first month of life, kittens have to eat (or rather, drink) only milk. If their mother is not there or cannot take care of them, they must be given replacement milk for kittens that we will find for sale in pet stores, as well as in veterinary clinics. We will give them 4 to 6 daily intakes, always at a warm temperature (36ºC more or less).
If we don't get it, we can make a homemade one for them. The ingredients are:
- 250ml lactose-free whole milk
- 150ml of heavy cream (if possible it contains 40% fat)
- 1 egg yolk (without any white)
- 1 tablespoon of honey
You have to give them until they are completely satisfied, and you always have to put them as seen in the photo: standing on their legs.
We will encourage them to relieve themselves
After each intake, the ano-genital area must be stimulated, since until they start to eat solids (5-6 or 7 weeks) they do not learn to do it alone. For it, what we will do will be the following:
For them to urinate:
- We will take a clean gauze and moisten it in a glass with warm water.
- Then, we pass it over the genital area, making gentle movements up and down, or very, very gentle strokes on the sides of the urine outlet.
- Afterwards, we will take another one because most likely one will not be enough for us .
- Finally, we will clean them well simply with a gauze.
For them to defecate:
- The first thing we will do is massage them with our fingers, drawing clockwise circles on their tummy, from top to bottom.
- Then, more or less 15 minutes after having taken his milk, we will take a gauze and we will pass it through his anus (which is the hole that is just below the tail).
- Finally, we are taking new gauze to leave the area as clean as possible.
We will keep them warm
Kittens that young cannot regulate their body temperature. To avoid problems, it is extremely important that we have them in a crib or similar -I had my cat Sasha in a box (obviously without a lid) of those big plastic ones with blankets and a thermal bottle-.
The room where they are has to be protected from drafts, bright, and above all quiet. You have to think that they are animals that sleep many hours a day (20-22h); if they are not allowed to rest they will become ill.
I hope this article has been useful to you.