A complete step-by-step guide to raising newborn puppies and kittens with proper health, feeding, and care routines.
If a newborn puppy or kitten is cold to the touch, not nursing, crying constantly, or showing signs of distress, contact your veterinarian immediately. Newborns can deteriorate quickly without proper care.
Raising puppies and kittens requires specialized knowledge and care to ensure they develop into healthy, well-adjusted adult pets. This comprehensive guide covers everything from newborn care to important developmental milestones.
Whether you're caring for an orphaned newborn or supporting a mother with her litter, understanding proper feeding, temperature regulation, and developmental stages is crucial for their survival and wellbeing.
Understanding the critical phases of puppy and kitten development
Newborns are completely dependent, cannot regulate body temperature, and need stimulation for elimination.
Eyes and ears open, teeth begin to emerge, and they start to stand and take first wobbly steps.
Critical period for social development, learning bite inhibition, and forming attachments.
Rapid growth, increased independence, and important training period for lifelong behaviors.
Newborns cannot regulate body temperature. Maintain environment at 85-90°F for first week, gradually reducing to 75°F by week 4.
Feed every 2-3 hours, including overnight. Use species-specific milk replacer and proper feeding equipment.
Mother normally licks genital area to stimulate elimination. Orphans need gentle wiping with warm, damp cloth after each feeding.
Weigh daily to ensure proper growth. Newborns should gain 10-15% of birth weight daily.
Keep bedding clean and dry. Gently clean newborns with warm, damp cloth as needed.
Proper nutrition for growing puppies and kittens
Nutritional requirements for canine development
Key Nutrients: High protein, DHA for brain development, balanced calcium-phosphorus ratio
Feline-specific nutritional needs
Key Nutrients: High protein, taurine, arachidonic acid, vitamin A
Preventive care for lifelong health
First vaccines at 6-8 weeks, with boosters every 3-4 weeks until 16 weeks old.
Deworming begins at 2 weeks, with regular prevention for fleas, ticks, and heartworm.
First vet visit within first week, then regular checkups at vaccination intervals.
Begin dental hygiene early with appropriate chew toys and gradual tooth brushing introduction.
Answers to common questions about raising newborn pets
Newborns need frequent feeding: every 2-3 hours for the first two weeks, including overnight. Puppies and kittens should consume about 8ml of formula per ounce of body weight daily, divided into multiple feedings. As they grow, feeding frequency decreases while portion sizes increase.
Newborn puppies and kittens cannot regulate their body temperature. Maintain environmental temperature at 85-90°F (29-32°C) for the first week, gradually reducing to 80°F (27°C) by week 3, and 75°F (24°C) by week 4. Use heating pads (set on low with protective covering) or heat lamps, ensuring part of the area remains unheated so they can move away if too warm.
Puppies typically open their eyes between 10-14 days, while kittens open theirs between 7-14 days. Ear canals begin to open around the same time, with full hearing developing by 3-4 weeks. Never force eyelids open - this happens naturally when ready.
Well-fed newborns are generally quiet and sleep between feedings. They should gain weight steadily (about 10% of birth weight daily), feel firm and rounded (not bony), and have regular elimination after feeding. Signs of inadequate nutrition include constant crying, lethargy, failure to gain weight, and wrinkled skin.
The first vaccination series typically begins at 6-8 weeks of age, with boosters every 3-4 weeks until 16 weeks old. Core vaccines protect against serious diseases like distemper, parvovirus (puppies), panleukopenia (kittens), and rabies (given once, usually at 12-16 weeks). Your veterinarian will create a specific schedule based on local disease risks and the pet's health status.