In this instance, it's really good to go ahead and have the help of your veterinarian, so they know what's going on and can guide you. It is possible to bottle feed, but generally, newborn kittens need to teach you how to stimulate them and how to go to the bathroom. You can do this by taking a warm, damp paper towel and gently rubbing over their private area for their poops and their peas every two to three hours, and they should go ahead and go. That's how the mother cat stimulates them to go to the bathroom. I always recommend coming in to see your veterinarian, going through this, and talking about bottle feeding because sometimes bottle feeding isn't the easiest. You think that it would be, but it's not.

It's really important for kittens to stay warm. When they're just a few weeks old, they can't regulate their body temperatures. One way to help keep them warm is to use warm towels from the dryer. You can use a heating pad, but you need to ensure that the kitten can get off of the heating pad. That way, they don't overheat. Those are the two easiest ways. A third thing is you can actually put them skin-to-skin against your body to warm them up. You want them to be about 98 degrees. You don't want them to go above 99.5 until they're a few weeks old.

With newborn kittens, we obviously want to make sure that we're not putting them at risk for just infection, just like human babies. Yes, you can hold a newborn kitten. The recommendation's always to either wash your hands thoroughly or put some gloves on. That way, you don't inadvertently transmit diseases. If the mother is present, she may not want you to hold a newborn. So it's not something that I recommend right off the bat. But definitely, if you are going to handle them, you need to make sure your hands are clean or you're wearing gloves.

There are a couple of different ways to see if a kitten has been orphaned or not. One of the most classic signs is that it's clearly by itself. Sometimes you can find them wandering in the road, mud, or ditch, and there's no mother around. Typically, with kittens that are not orphaned, there's usually more than one. So if there's more than one kitten there, the mother may have just stepped out for a little bit. You can watch, but I think if you don't see the mother come back within two to three hours, then it's safe to assume that the kitten is orphaned. We were talking about how to tell if a kitten is orphaned. Another way that you can tell if a kitten's been orphaned is if it's wet, in the mud, and obviously not being taken care of. Mama cats and kittens are usually kept very clean. The mother's very good about cleaning them, so if the kitten's dirty or has eye goop or is obviously not doing well, you will know they've been orphaned. Sometimes they can be in the middle of nowhere with nothing around them. If that happens, then you know that they're orphaned.

There are different types of vaccines. Not all vaccines are created equal, so if you go to a low-cost or if you get your vaccines from a tractor supply, we can't guarantee that the vaccines are, number one, stored appropriately. If the vaccine sits out for any longer than about 10 to 15 minutes, the vaccine doesn't always have as much of a response because the particles can start to die, so you won't get an immune response at all. Low-cost vaccines do have their place, but your vaccines given by a veterinarian, even though they might be at a slightly higher price point, you are assured that they've been stored appropriately and they're given appropriately. Because when you give your cat vaccines at home, you really want to make sure you're giving it at an appropriate time, place, and position on the body, and you don't want to harm your kitten. So while there is a place for that, I am not a huge fan because we can see kittens that are not given appropriate vaccines, or if they're given a vaccine that hasn't been stored properly, and they may not have any protection at all.

Ideally not. We like our kittens and cats to be protected when they enter the environment. I can say that my cats are vaccinated for feline leukemia. They are indoor-only cats and don't go anywhere, but they come outdoors with me. I'm with them, and it's usually for short periods of time in my fenced yard. There's no chance for them to have any interaction. Is that best practice? I should probably vaccinate them. They only go outside maybe once every six months, but if you live in a highly populated kitty cat environment with a feral cat population, yes. Ideally, you need to have your cats vaccinated for both feline FVRCP, feline rabies, and feline leukemia.

If your kitten misses a vaccine, come in when you can, and we will start where we left off. So say you get your first vaccine at seven to eight weeks, and then you miss your 12-week vaccine, but you come in for 16 weeks. At 16 weeks, their immune system is considered an adult. What we usually do to make sure we've got enough protection is I will still give a booster one more time after that. So we kind of pick up where you left off. The only exception to this is with older kitties that are maybe one or two years of age. Their immune system is an adult; therefore, one vaccine should produce enough of an immune response to last for a year.

They're usually very low risks. The biggest side effect we can see is a little bit of pain when we're giving the vaccine. Nobody likes needles, and there is a little pinch. They can be sore in that area for a few days after. Sometimes you can even get some swelling. It's very rare to see a true vaccine reaction, but if it is seen, the first sign you're generally going to see is vomiting within about an hour or two after giving the vaccine. If that is seen, they need to return to the veterinary clinic. Other vaccine reactions we can see are facial swelling or hives. Once again, they're very rare, but in that event, you need to bring them back to your veterinarian. If your veterinarian's office is not open, please go to the nearest emergency veterinary clinic for care.