How do I introduce an orphaned kitten to a nursing mother cat?

Question

I have a nursing mother cat with 4 kittens, and I now I been brought an unrelated kitten that needs to nurse.

How can I get the nursing mother to accept the orphan, and nurse it? Is the age difference of the orphan and natural kittens important for a successful adoption?

I hope someone can answer this. I have no experience with this myself, but I recall from some really old reading that getting the orphan to smell as much like the mother's kittens as possible helps. — Kate Paulk, May 23 '14 at 11:31

score 2 · Answer 1 · answered May 23 '14 at 21:54

There are a number of blogs by cat fosterers that have more experience, but from what I understand you don't have to do much more than plonk new kitten X down with the other kittens at feeding time. Mother mammals have most of their stranger danger flags down at this time, hence the stories of them feeding most anything.

If you want a slightly better chance, you could rub a cloth on the mother and the other kittens to pick up smells, then apply the scent to the new kitten.

How do I introduce an orphaned kitten to a nursing mother cat?

1 Answers1