Kitten’s eyes open at approximately 10-12 days of age, if you find a kitten this young it will need gentle nursing care for feeding and elimination.   We recommend purchasing a product called Kitten Milk Replacer and bottle or syringe feeding the kitten every 4-6 hours an appropriate amount as directed on the can based on body weight.  Do not use regular milk, as this will likely cause very severe diarrhea.  If the kitten is not passing any stool or urine you will need to stimulate it until it is able to do on its own.   Before and after feeding you should stimulate the kitten to see if it urinates or defecates.   This is done using a cotton ball moistened with warm water and gently rubbing the back end under the tail.   If the kitten does not pass both stool and urine after 24 hours of care, it should be examined by a veterinarian.  All kittens once their eyes are open should have a small litter box available to them.   If it is urinating/defecating on own you do not need to stimulate.

At 3 weeks you can offer canned food on it’s own or mixed with replacer, the kitten will wander through the food and most likely need to be bathed daily until it gets the hang of eating.  At this time you can also have dry food available at all times, the kitten will catch on and begin eating the hard food quickly.

Remember to check a newfound kitten for fleas before bringing into your house; it should also be tested for feline leukemia as soon as possible and before coming in contact with any other cats in your house.