How to Take Care for a Kitten Week by Week — A Complete Guide

Don’t you now know how to raise a healthy and happy kitten? You must need to take care of kittens week by week.

But how to do it? First, be sure that bringing up a kitten is entirely different than any other pet — introverts are sensitive. A little negligence can put your kitten into horrible behavior — you won’t want to live in a nightmare for years.

Second, read this quick kittens’ care guide that will let you know how you can raise a newly born kitten whether you’ve got it as abandoned or orphan.

How to raise your kitten week by week?

Upbringing a kitten from birth needs a lot of care. So, you spend hours in the day and night to let him survive.

When your cat has got a kitten, it isn’t of much worry. Yet, you need to bother about everything from food to sleep for an orphan or abandoned kitten.

So, I’ll be letting you know to help your kitten grow safely and healthily through my week-by-week kitten care guide.

Kitten Raising Week 1│The most critical stage!

For your gifted child, the time is hard, and you also know very well. Good precautions and care will surely pay with a smiling kitten.

• It starts from examining the health of your kitten. If your kitten is weak or shows some signs of suffering or trauma, take it to the veteran first.
• Similarly, vaccinate your kitten if it hasn’t been yet.
• Check for the body temperature of your kitten. If it’s cold, see the doctor. Yet, for a normal kitten, try to maintain a temperature of 38 degrees Celsius in the nest.

Heating your kitten through external sources can be tricky in case the queen cat isn’t available. So, while using a warmer, spread a blanket, for it will disperse the heat.

• Humidity is another need for healthy kitten raising. So, maintain the humidity by 55–66%.
• To feed your kitten, check for suckling reflux. If it is, feed your kitten with a 3-ml syringe of a mixture of dextrose and water 50% formula because it’ll ease the movement of the intestines.

Then you can feed the kitten with the kitten milk replacer formula every 2 hours. To feed the kitten, you can use the instructions as given on the formula kitten milk packaging. Here, I’ll advise you to clean the bottle or syringe regularly.

The nipple hole should be wide enough to let your kitten suck through it. However, if facing towards the ground, the milk should not drop.

• Give a human touch to your kitten after every feed. It’ll help it socialize later.
• To clean your kitten, use a wet cloth to wipe its body. Then dehumidify using a towel or dyer. In the same way, clean the area of the genitals using cotton balls with some mineral oil on them. Till the age of 3 weeks, you must continue cleaning the genitals of your kitten after every poop or urination.
• For the healthy skin of your kitten, brush its body with a super soft brush.
• Your kittens’ eyes are sensitive to infection. So, clean them daily using a wet tissue. Any colorless fluid is OK. However, greenish fluid is a warning sign to visit a veteran.

You might wonder how to know your kitten is growing healthy. I’ll tell you a single formula here. Check its weight daily and note it. Every healthy kitten gains a weight of 10–15 grams a day. Yet, if you find it less, it’s time to see a veteran because no weight gain means sickness.

Kitten Raising Week 2–3│Period of Some Relaxation

Congratulations!!! By now, you’ve got confidence that you can help your kitten survive.

It’s the time when your kitten has begun slow paddling and raising its body. The eyes and ears will also start opening now. To continue the further care of your dashing kitten, follow the guidelines.

• Keep on feeding your kitten on the kitten milk replacer formula. However, now you can extend the feeding period by 3 hours in the daytime and 4 hours at night.
• Time is crucial for the social development of your kitten as well. It will start moving around to feel and smell its environment. So, you can provide it with human touch after washing your hands. At the same time, the visual development will happen by the sixth week.
• For body care, and cleanliness you can carry on the previous routine.

Kitten Raising Week 4–5│First Step Towards Happy Kitten

With a little fur, an era of cuteness starts here. You’ll love your kitten for it’s responding now. The major development you’ll see will be:

• It will use its visual sense and avoid hazards.
• Your kitten will start standing properly and look for playing like prey. So, you can help your kitten develop its motor skills by providing it with toys.
• At 5 weeks, your kitten will start running properly.
• Weaning will also begin at the age of 4 weeks.

So, it is what you need to do at this age of your kitten:

• According to the prescription, feed the kitten every 4–6 hours according to the size and weight of your kitten.
• It’s the perfect time to start poop training. So, familiarize the kitten with its litter box.
• As the weaning has begun, you can start introducing your kitten with its dish. However, do it only if your kitten is willing for it. It’s so because any compulsion will cause an unhealthy early age experience.

How can you know exactly about the weaning period? Your kitten will act like biting the nipple of the bottle instead of sucking it.

To help your kitten with the new feeding process, you can use a milk saucer at the time of hunger. Again, don’t push the kitten, but offer a reward if it follows you.

You can also place kitten feed with a mix of milk in the dish. To help it feed, just do a kind nudging. Your kitten will itself taste the food or milk.

• Since it’s the age of advanced socializing, let your kitten interact with other animals and humans.
• At this stage, your kitten is a skillful runner. So, keep on helping it with natural hunting learning by giving it toys.

Though you’ll quite relax now, don’t forget the hygienic and safety needs of your kitten.

Kitten Raising Week 6–8│A jolly Kitten is all you have.

You’ll wonder how successfully you’ve raised your loving kitten. It’s so because you’ve been following our kitten guide all the time.

• From age 6–8, your kitten will develop socially. It’s the peak of sensory and motor development as well. So, it’s the ideal time to let it connect with other living beings and explore the environment on its own.
• Your kitten will now land on its feet, jumping all around. It’s a sign of its healthy development. Therefore, allow it enough space to move around.
• For the feeding, your kitten will start begging when it’s hungry. You can feed your kitten with solid food now.

However, over-feeding can cause digestion issues. So be moderate.

By 4–6 months, the kitten’s development will be continuous, like at 8 weeks. So, take care of all the kitten care basics, including food, safety, hygiene, resting, etc.

Tips for Raising a Kitten

Do you think it’s all done now? No, it isn’t!!!

Here are some more tips for how to raise a kitten. These tips will focus on the individual needs of different kittens besides some basic needs. So, let’s explore more about how to take care of a kitten.

1. Don’t feed your kitten with cold food. It can cause infection or digestion problems.
2. Your kitten might be less cooperative. Why? Breeds and genetics play a role here.
3. It’s necessary not to force your kitten to follow you to raise a happy kitten. Instead, use rewards if it shows pleasant behavior.
4. At an early age, you might find the kitten crawling around anxiously. It can be because of its need for connection, in case the queen is not available. Hunger or moisture can also be a problem.
5. If your kitten has got its queen to take care of, raising will be less problematic.
6. Discipline is essential to pet parenting. Otherwise, your kitten will abandon you to cry. So, maintain a routine, and make your kitten follow the discipline by rewarding every friendly behavior.
7. Love your kitten. Yet do this after washing your hands properly.

By following these tips for raising a kitten, you’ll further find your kitten raising easier.

In short,

You parent a kid or a kitten; both are alike. To take care of a kitten without a mother can be more difficult. Yet, by following this guide and getting in touch with veterans, you can surely enjoy happy cuddling with your kittens in the future.

You can also share this guide with your friend who might need to take care of their kittens.