During the first few weeks of life, baby primary activities are feeding, keeping warm and developing social skills. In most cases, humans will simply watch the mother dog/cat provide all necessary care for her babies.
However, if the puppy/kitten in your care has been separated from his mother, or if the mother has rejected her young or cannot produce enough milk, caring for the pup is up to you.
The following steps are only for those babies that the mother is not caring for properly. Always let the mother try first.
1-Tear a whole in sac Covering baby and slide baby out (Leave the sac attached for now).
2- Wipe nose.
3- Place baby in a towel between your hands and with the head at the end of your fingers, swing your hands from the chest height to between your legs (elephant trunk-like swing) for 4-5 swings to clear windpipe.
4- Rub baby briskly with towel for 10-15 seconds to stimulate breathing (mother usually does this by licking).
5- If not breathing, place your mouth over baby’s nose and mouth, gently blow for 1 second, stop for 2 seconds, and repeat until breathing starts (Artificial Respiration), give baby back to the mother and let her take over now.
6- Tie the thread or string on umbilical cord, ½ inch from the baby’s skin surface. CUT the cord off leaving the knotted end attached to the baby.
7- Apply Povidone Iodine (Pyodine) solution on the remaining knotted cord remnant.
8- Keep babies warm. The greatest cause for baby deaths is loss of body heat. If mother is not keeping them warm, fill plastic milk containers with hot water and place them in a cardboard box.
Cover with a towel, put baby on the towel and it will snuggle next to the warmth. Cover the top if room is drafty or cold. Change the water when it cools off.
Note: Keep trying to get mother to care for babies. She can take care of them batter than you.
9- Bottle of tube feed if the mother is not or cannot breast feed. Allow at least 4 hours the after 2last baby is born before you decide to give baby a food supplement.
Tube Feeding Newborn
Purpose:
To feed the puppy or kitten whose mother is sick or does not make enough milk, until it can eat on its own (3-4 week).
Symptoms:
Babies cry all the time even after trying to nurse –They become weak and wander away from mother in search of food.
Material Needed:
- Plastic Syringe – (12 or 20 ml)
- Infant feeding catheter or flexible plastic tubing (‘’Tygon” PVC or I.V set tubing-size 1/10 inside diameter & 1/32 inch wall). Available from Veterinary Hospital, human hospital or Plastic store.
Food:
- Commercial milk replacers for both puppies and kittens are available at veterinary store.
- Temporary homemade formula, mix together:
1 cup milk
3 egg yolk
1 tablespoon corn oil
2 drops of liquid vitamin
Procedure:
- Measure Plastic tubing from tip of nose to 2/3 body length (distance to stomach). Cut off the excess and tape to syringe.
- Warm formula to 100F (no hotter).
- Fill Syringe with proper amount of formula:
Kitten and Small Puppies 6-8ml
Medium Sized Puppies 10-12ml
Large Puppies 14-16ml
- Hold Head up and pulled forward slightly (See illustration), gently insert tube into mouth, passing the tube slowly so baby swallows it. Continue until tube is all the way in. if the tube will not go all the way down or if baby has trouble breathing, stop and remove, then start over again.
- Slowly squirt formula into the tube. When and if slight resistance occurs, Stop and removes tube.
- Repeat after every 6-8 hours.
- After feeding, rub under the tail area (Anus) with a warm, damp cloth to stimulate excretions.
- Rinse syringe and tubing with hot water after each use.
Authors: Sama Awais Akram*, Dr. Amar Nasir, Dr. Farah Ijaz, Dr. Ilyas Naveed, Imran Bashir, Inayat Ullah, Hafiz Muhammad Isamil.
College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences Jhang (Sub-Campus UVAS Lahore)