What To Feed Baby Kittens Without Mother

No human food for kittens.

What to feed baby kittens without mother. You can do it but you ll want to know some tricks so you don t hurt them. Each week increase the amount of formula you re using and after 4 and a half weeks gradually wean the kitten by introducing it to moist food. The cat bottle may have an inferior nipple which the kittens can drink. Don t give a kitten cow s milk which can cause gastrointestinal upset.

To feed your newborn kitten you will need some sort of feeding device. Depending on it s age the kitten may need to be stimulated to urinate and defecate will need an alternate heat. The teat is long and narrow which is ideal to fit inside the mouth of a newborn kitten. Don t squirt or force the milk into her mouth.

At 3 to 4 weeks old they may need to eat between four and six times a day. Many veterinarians have incubators to warm a chilled kitten. A few cattle feed shops sell nipples hooked up along with plastic material beverage bottles which may be utilized whenever there s the litter associated with kittens. Kittens need constant feeding to stay nourished.

Always sterilize bottles and nipples after each use. Kmr is the best food for 4 weeks and under. A heating pad on low a warm water bottle or even a sock filled with rice and put in the microwave can all provide a steady but mild heat source to a cold kitten. Do not feed a kitten until it is warm since it can t properly digest when cold.

It is okay though to syringe feed a few drops of 5 sugar water or to rub a little bit of karo syrup on the kitten s lips. Be aware that there is far more to raising a kitten than feeding it. Newborn kittens typically nurse every one to two hours. The bottle itself is very small and it has an open end at the top so the you can place a thumb over it to control the flow of milk if it is dripping too fast from the teat and overwhelming the kitten.

Before hand raising a kitten contact local veterinarians animal shelters and rescue groups. The kitten will adjust it till it s comfortable for her let the kitten control the suction from the bottle. If it s your first time bottle feeding don t panic. Over 4 weeks need a combination of kitten chow and kmr until they are at least 8 weeks.

They might be able to find a foster mother cat to feed the kitten. If possible you should use bottle and teat set specifically designed for use with kittens such as the catac bottle and teat set. You should feed the kitten for 5 10 minutes every 2 hours and never go longer than 4 hours in between feedings. Neonatal kittens under four weeks of age cannot eat solid food not canned not dry and cannot urinate or defecate on their own so you must bottle feed them around the clock and stimulate their genitals after every feeding so they can eliminate.

Instead keep the kitten s feet down and it s head straight as though she s nursing from her mother. And this how to feed a newborn kitten with a bottle choose the best kitten feeding bottle rather than the regular baby bottle. Hold her by the scruff of her neck and place the nipple into the side then center of her mouth. To feed a baby kitten without a mother feed it a kitten milk replacement formula using a sterilized feeding bottle.

Kittens under three weeks old can t control their body temperature. For example if you have kittens less than one week old they will need to be fed and stimulated every three hours.