Imagine tripling, even quadrupling, your body weight in less than six months. Yikes! But such rapid weight gain is a must for a kitten’s survival. Kittens weigh just a few ounces at birth and, by 6 months of age, should weigh between 5 to 6 pounds. By their first birthdays, they should tip the scales at around 8 pounds (depending on breed and frame). Hitting that mark in a healthy way depends on us.
Mother’s milk
For at least the first four weeks of life, kittens rely on their mother’s milk to provide all the nutrients they need to survive and thrive.“Science tells us that the body has different demands on it at different stages of life,” says Dr. Kathryn Primm, a veterinarian and owner of the Applebrook Animal Hospital in Ooltewah, Tennessee, and host of the Nine Lives with Dr. Kat podcast on Pet Life Radio. “When kittens are growing, they are building brains, bones, muscles — everything.”
“The ideal newborn kitten is to be with their mother, also known as a queen,” says Jackie Noble, director of the kitten nursery and placement services at the San Diego Humane Society. “The queen will provide nutrient-rich mother’s milk on demand, all while providing grooming, stimulating kittens to pass urine/feces and providing warmth and comfort.”
But for orphaned newborns, it quickly becomes a life-or-death situation. SDHS opened its 24-hours-a-day kitten nursery in 2009 to save the lives of more orphaned kittens. The kitten nursery is now a model program for other shelters in the nation.
“We identified underage kittens as the most ‘at risk’ group of animals in our county,” Jackie says. “Kittens were being euthanized simply because they were too young to eat and survive on their own. There weren’t enough foster homes available to help them grow, so the Kitten Nursery was developed to be a safety net for those kittens.”
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