What To Feed Newborn Kittens Without Mom
Newborn kittens need round the clock care and monitoring but can be raised by a human caregiver.
What to feed newborn kittens without mom. At 3 to 4 weeks old they may need to eat between four and six times a day. That means you will be caring for them eight times a day for example at midnight 3 00 a m 6 00 a m etc. The teat is long and narrow which is ideal to fit inside the mouth of a newborn kitten. To feed your newborn kitten you will need some sort of feeding device.
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. For a particularly small kitten you may want to use a syringe or dropper to feed it instead. The cat bottle may have an inferior nipple which the kittens can drink. While you ve been an attentive cat owner meeting the needs of your pregnant cat after she has the kittens you need to know your next steps during this delicate time your observational skills are essential.
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. For example if you have kittens less than one week old they will need to be fed and stimulated every three hours. You should feed the kitten for 5 10 minutes every 2 hours and never go longer than 4 hours in between feedings. 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.
If possible you should use bottle and teat set specifically designed for use with kittens such as the catac bottle and teat set. We walked with the dog and went to the dump. This is the cat equivalent of infant formula with the same composition milk from the kittens mother. And this how to feed a newborn kitten with a bottle choose the best kitten feeding bottle rather than the regular baby bottle.
They might be able to find a foster mother cat to feed the kitten. Don t give a kitten cow s milk which can cause gastrointestinal upset. Newborn kittens typically nurse every one to two hours. To feed a baby kitten without a mother feed it a kitten milk replacement formula using a sterilized feeding bottle.
Take a look at some guidance on how to handle the mother cat and her kittens as well as warning signs of health issues and kitten developmental milestones. If for some reason a newborn kitten has come to your home and if the mother is not around this little defenseless. Always sterilize bottles and nipples after each use. You will need to mimic this behavior by stimulating the kittens with a warm wet cloth at each feeding.
Kittens need constant feeding to stay nourished. Buy powdered cat milk replacer like cimicat from the vet clinic major pet stores or the internet. Stimulate the kittens to go to the bathroom. Watch my video on.
Before attempting this however take the kitten to a veterinarian for a thorough examination and to enlist his advice to create a plan of care. We were surprised by strange things that were hung on branches. 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. Do not feed cow s milk since the sugar or lactose will likely upset the kittens stomachs.
Instead you will need to purchase kitten milk replacer sold at most pet stores or feed stores. Buy powdered cat milk replacer. If you can t find a foster buy a milk replacer designed specifically for kittens. Before hand raising a kitten contact local veterinarians animal shelters and rescue groups.
And then we heard a faint meow.