by Catie

Created on: September 11, 2008   Last Updated: August 23, 2009

Raising an orphan/rescue kitten is a full time job, depending on the age. I have been raising newborn orphan kittens off and on for about 10 years. I learn something new with every kitten who comes to live with me.

When I first began, I was surprised to learn that cats are actually lactose intolerant. Cows milk not only upsets their stomachs, it causes extreme diarrhea and damage to the intestinal wall. To feed a nursing orphan requires either Kitten milk replacement or the international replacement-Condensed Goats Milk. Any animal infant can tolerate this very well and in fact they grow like weeds and turn out very healthy.

It is true that tiny kittens cannot elinimate on their own. A damp cotton ball wiped across their little place will stimulate them to go potty. This is necessary before and after each bottle.

As they age they will begin to eliminate on their own and you will notice them crawling to 1 corner of their cage to do so. Keep the area clean and dry. I will put shredded newspaper in the corner and then when they start to really dig in it, I move them to a bigger cage with a litter box and some of their own soiled paper. Slowly replace the paper with litter and your kitten will train himself. It is instinct! They will do this on their own. If not, an occasional reminder-put them in the box after eating once or twice and your problem will be solved. Personally, I've never had a kitten that did not use the box. Mother nature is a wonderful thing.

Be sure to use a container that your little kitten can get into. Depending on kitty size, I have glass baking dishes I use for the tiny ones as they begin to learn. The sides are low and easy for them to get in and out of. As they grow you can increase the size of the box until you are using a regular litter box. But please,Do Not use litter that clumps until they are 6 to 8 weeks old. Small kittens tend to eat small amounts of litter. The reason has always eluded me, but they do. This type of litter can cause some extremely serious stomach and intestinal problems for a small kitten if ingested. Cheap clay litter works fine and is safer until they quite eating it.

Kittens also need to be fed from either steel or ceramic bowls. I had a "bug" that the they kept passing to each other. I could not figure out why they kept getting the same sickness and why I could not get rid of it. Reason, the germs were hiding in the porous plastic food bowls and everybody kept catching the same bug over and over.

Their bowls needs to be shallow until they get bigger. Personally, I go to a local thrift shop and buy mismatched saucers to begin with. Once they get bigger and get the idea of bowl eating then you can get fancy cats bowls.

Your kitten is going to also need a bath as soon as you get him home. Not only will he probably be dirty but it is a sure bet he also has fleas. The best, safest and most effective thing to use-Original Dawn Dish Washing Liquid. It kills fleas on contact and is pesticide free. Follow with baby shampoo to make them soft and smell good. Towel dry the kitten briefly to soak up the water and then use a hair dryer to be sure your kitten is completely dry. You don't want your kitten to catch cold.

Taking on a orphan kitten IS a lot of work, but following these simple rules will produce a fantastic bond between the 2 of you that will last a lifetime. Good luck and kiss your kitty for me.

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