What Do I Feed Orphaned Kittens

You should also wash your hands before and after handling the kittens so you don t get them sick.

What do i feed orphaned kittens. 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. Orphaned kittens will need extra care for survival to compensate for the loss of their mother. It s also important to monitor the kittens while they are eating as they are unsteady and can fall head first into the food. Kittens need a kitten milk replacement specifically formulated to contain the proper balance of proteins and nutrients they need to support healthy growth.

Make sure you keep a fresh supply and not too much at one time. Kittens under three weeks old can t control their body temperature. If possible you should use bottle and teat set specifically designed for use with kittens such as the catac bottle and teat set. Once they start eating food as it comes.

How often should you feed him. From time to time use a warm wet washcloth to wipe off the formula but be careful not to get the kittens too wet or it will be hard for them to stay warm. To feed your newborn kitten you will need some sort of feeding device. Keep them on a heating pad set on low wrapped in towels at least two layers of towels or one towel folded over should cover the pad.

To ensure nutrition is adequate daily weight checks should be performed for the first 4 weeks then weekly thereafter. Most stores are closed at this time i don t live in the us i only have cow milk at home. Provide a litter pan when they re four weeks old. Kittens must be stimulated to urinate and defecate.

Young kittens also do not know how to groom themselves and after a day or two of eating kitten formula they become sticky from the formula that inevitably dribbles down their chins. Panic never helped anyone but you do need to treat this as a situation that cannot wait. Gather the kittens and quickly make a plan for the next 24 hours of care you can always change your plans later on but right now you just need to think about their immediate needs. Do not feed a kitten until it is warm since it can t properly digest when cold.

When the orphaned kittens reach about 3 weeks of age you can start providing watered down meat based kitten food for them to nibble on. You can mix up an emergency formula to feed the little ones for a short period. So i have 2 orphaned kittens at home. Many veterinarians have incubators to warm a chilled kitten.

When it comes to orphaned kittens time is of the essence. The teat is long and narrow which is ideal to fit inside the mouth of a newborn kitten. Mix the wet food with water until it achieves a soupy consistency and consider warming the mixture before serving. How do you know if the nipple flow is too fast or too slow.

To care for orphaned kittens less than 3 weeks of age feed them every 2 3 hours with powdered cat milk replacer heated to 95 degrees f. If you observe any serious health concerns such as gasping. Environment feeding instruments and the kitten must be kept meticulously clean as. Thier mother hasn t returned in days.

Kittens must be kept warm very clean and fed frequently using an appropriate amount and type of formula by bottle or less often tube feeding. You ll know if. After feeding the kittens you ll need to wipe their genitals with a damp cotton swab to encourage them to urinate. 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.

But not everybody keeps such a product in the pantry. Additionally clean the kittens fur in short strokes with a damp cloth when they ve finished eating.