When a mother cat has given birth to her new kittens, and has washed each one thoroughly, she should be given a warm, refreshing drink and offered some food. She may refuse both food and drink for a few hours, being reluctant to leave her young. You should never separate mother and kittens until the kittens are fully weaned.

Keep a clean litter tray close. While she is feeding her kittens the mother will need three times he normal intake of food, and must be given extra meals every day until the kittens are weaned.

Always leave a bowl of fresh, clean water for your kitten to drink. Although it it may seem natural, dont give him cows milk, as his tumm might be upset by the high lactose content.

Both mother and babies need to be kept in a warm room. It is a good idea to ask a vet to pop in within the first 24 hours, to check that all is well with mother and babies. The kittens should suckle readily from the first hours of life and, to start with, will feed every two hours.

A newborn kitten will stay close to their mother, as they are blind and are not yet able to walk. Once The kittens begin crawling away, they have to find their way back using their sense of smell, or by calling for mum to fetch them. It is better to discourage visitors from calling for the first weeks.

Kittens utter their first purrs when feeding around four days old and by the end of the first week their weight has doubled. When they are not suckling, kittens sleep, curled up close against their mother.

At ten days old his eyes will be open, and his ears will begin to perk up.

By week three he will be walking, all be it unsteady at first. He will still call to his mother when he wanders too far.

By week five your kitten can start to try solid food, canned food, fish, or fresh meat. Try him on small meals served at room temperature.

If for any reason your kitten needs to be hand reared, they need to be kept at a constant warm temperature and bottle fed, or if they are reluctant try using a dropper. This requires a lot of time and patience. It is also best to see a vet who will advise you on things like baby milks and feeding methods.

Increase the amount of food you give as your kitten grows. Give three small meals a day up to five months, then feed larger meals twice daily.

Start toilet training early, at around three weeks pop your kitten into the litter tray after meals.

Weaning can take a little time and is a gradual process and by twelve weeks of age, most kittens are weaned or nearly fully weaned. The kittens mother will eventually stop allowing kittens to nurse at around this age. Do not remove kittens from their mother too early as this causes stress and can result in illness for the kittens

Kittens love to play with and nibble houseplants so keep them out of reach. It is quite natural for cats to eat grass.

If your kitten starts to scratch furiously he may have picked up fleas. Treat with a spray or powder from your vet.