What To Feed Newborn Kittens By Hand

Feeding your newborn kittens what to feed your kittens.

What to feed newborn kittens by hand. To feed a baby kitten without a mother feed it a kitten milk replacement formula using a sterilized feeding bottle. To feed the kitten place them in the same position that they would have if their mother gave them milk. Squirrel teats available from the usa are particularly good for small kittens and attach easily to a 5 or 10 ml syringe. Kittens up to two weeks old can generally consume their daily intake in 4 5 meals per day.

For a particularly small kitten you may want to use a syringe or dropper to feed it instead. You must be quiet when they eat so that they feel confident and let them take their time to breastfeed to avoid digestion problems or that you eat too much food. Bottle syringe feeding ideally a bottle and teat designed specifically for kittens is the best form of feeding however a syringe can also be used. Gently depress the plunger with the palm to give drip by drip.

Small breed kittens should be limited to 10 15ml per feeding during the first week of life in order to prevent diarrhea. Watch my youtube video on how to bottle feed a kitten for tips on proper preparation and feeding posture. 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. Cow s milk is also unsuitable.

If a litter is too large for the queen to support and as long as the kittens are gaining some milk from their mother they may only need supplementary feeding. As the very best thing to make use of to feed them is really a syringe with no needle. Newborn kittens need artificial milk formula specifically for kittens. Instead you will.

You can do it but you ll want to know some tricks so you don t hurt them. If possible kittens should remain with their queen and litter mates because orphaned kittens may develop behavioural issues. Orphaned kittens should be fed on a strict schedule preferably every 2 4 hours. The teat is long and narrow which is ideal to fit inside the mouth of a newborn kitten.

When the kitten is basically newborn with eyes closed the very first meal is a little complicated since the sucking habit has not been formed and also the condition is extremely weak particularly if orphaned or malnourished before. Kitten puppy milk from the supermarket is not suitable. To feed your newborn kitten you will need some sort of feeding device. Fill a 10 ml syringe place the index and middle finger each side of barrel wings and the plunger head into the palm of your hand.

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. And please never feed cow s milk to a kitten as this is extremely dangerous to their health and can lead to death. This is available from most vets and reputable pet shops. If it s your first time bottle feeding don t panic.

It is good practice always to check the smooth running of a syringe this way. Hold the kitten with their head high and belly on a towel let them suck over and over again but do not give him too much. If a queen is only temporarily ill kittens may only need to be hand fed for a few days while in other situations kittens will need to fed by hand until they are weaned.