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My cat abandoned her newborn kittens. What do I feed them now?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | American Shorthair | Female | unspayed

Our cat gave birth yesterday to 5 kittens but she abandoned them. She’s somewhere in our house but we can’t find her. And the kittens are crying. What could we feed them?

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1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on March 14th, 2018

Newborn kittens are very fragile and cannot last long without food. You need to get to a pet store or grocery store immediately to get kitten formula. The brand I recommend is KMR, and you will need to get bottles as well to feed them. Raising orphan kittens is very time consuming, and you need to be prepared to feed them throughout the day and night, every two to three hours. I will put a link below on how to care for orphan kittens. I'd also recommend getting Zushi spayed. If she has abandoned her kittens, she simply may not be a good mother and if she is allowed to have kittens again, there is a likelihood this behavior will be repeated. Because of that, spaying her is best to prevent her from having any future litters and potentially leading you to have to take care of them. I hope this helps! http://www.2ndchance.info/orphankitten.htm

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