Raising a Kitten in the Early Stages There are three stages in the early development of the kitten that the new owner must be cognizant of to ensure that your little bundle of fur can develop healthy and eventually grow into a confident and energetic cat. The three stages are protection from diseases, the birth weight, and weight management.
Immediately after birth kittens are very susceptible to developing diseases due to their weak immune system. Kittens are often times absent of the antibodies because they do not get them directly from the mother while in the womb. Rather the antibodies are transferred to the kitten through their mother's first milk. The antibodies are contained in this substance found in the mother's milk called colostrum. It is so imperative for the kitten's survival that it must nurse within the first couple hours after birth in order to take in these important antibodies to ensure the kitten's future survival. If too much time has elapsed, the colostrum in the mother's milk will begin to deplete and after 12 hours there will be virtually zero levels of colostrum in the milk. Denying the kittens the necessary antibodies will make their immune systems weak and they will be more susceptible to viral and bacterial diseases and will require more care.
Raising a Kitten in the Early Stages The kitten's birth weight is also important for the kitten's early development. If the kitten is born from a very large litter for example with more than 6 other siblings then each kitten will be very small and will need more care at the beginning to ensure they will have no further complications. The seriousness is compounded if the mother was not very healthy to begin with because and some of those traits will most likely be passed to the litter. The ideal scenario is if the mother is healthy and the kittens are born after a 65 day gestation period. This will allow the kitten more time to fully develop in the womb. Also if the litter is smaller with only 3-4 kittens then it allows a larger distribution of nutrients to each kitten. Therefore, you will have a larger and healthier litter.
Raising a Kitten in the Early Stages The final stage to ensure healthy development of your kitten is proper weight management. An ideal scenario is for the kitten to gain about 2 to 4 ounces a week. This will closely depend on how healthy the kitten is to start with and how the remaining two stages are working out. The mother also has to maintain her health as well and ideally give birth to a smaller litter. This allows her milk to contain more nutrients essential for her litter's development.
