What To Feed Kitten Without Mother

Kittens under three weeks old can t control their body temperature.

What to feed kitten without mother. 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. Never hold a kitten and feed it like a human baby. Naturally their mother will nurse and feeding on their children during this time. Instead keep the kitten s feet down and it s head straight as though she s nursing from her mother.

Before hand raising a kitten contact local veterinarians animal shelters and rescue groups. Don t try to introduce solids until the kitten is over 4 weeks old. Many veterinarians have incubators to warm a chilled kitten. Kittens who are not weaned need a milk only diet.

The teat is long and narrow which is ideal to fit inside the mouth of a newborn. Do not feed a kitten until it is warm since it can t properly digest when cold. Weeks two and three feeding schedules. Hold her by the scruff of her neck and place the nipple into the side then center of her mouth.

A 2 to 3 week old kitten will still need to be fed every 2 3 hours and it should consume at least 1 2 tablespoon of formula or milk during each meal. Kittens need constant feeding to stay nourished. Don t give a kitten cow s milk which can cause gastrointestinal upset. And this how to feed a newborn kitten with a bottle choose the best kitten feeding bottle rather than the regular baby bottle.

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. If possible you should use bottle and teat set specifically designed for use with kittens such as the catac bottle and teat set. 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. For example if you want to know how much to feed a kitten 3 weeks age then you should give them milk.

For a particularly small kitten you may want to use a syringe or dropper to feed it instead. They might be able to find a foster mother cat to feed the kitten. Newborn kittens typically nurse every one to two hours. Correctly position the kittens and bottles for feeding.

To feed your newborn kitten you will need some sort of feeding device. If the mother is not there you will need to bottle feed the kitten. If the kitten is still with its mother the mother will do everything necessary to make sure the kitten is getting the milk it needs. 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.

You should feed the kitten for 5 10 minutes every 2 hours and never go longer than 4 hours in between feedings. Always sterilize bottles and nipples after each use. If you can t find a foster buy a milk replacer designed specifically for kittens. If a kitten is nursing from its mother you ll have to depend on how much the kitten weighs to know whether or not it is consuming enough food.

If it s your first time bottle feeding don t panic. Unless the kittens are no longer with their mother or the mother refuse to nurse the kittens then you can hand feeding them with formula. 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. You ll know if.

The cat bottle may have an inferior nipple which the kittens can drink. You can do it but you ll want to know some tricks so you don t hurt them. And it will begin to crawl around shortly after its eyes open. To feed a baby kitten without a mother feed it a kitten milk replacement formula using a sterilized feeding bottle.