How To Bottle Feed Orphaned Kittens
Gently slide the nipple into the kitten s mouth and invert the bottle to start the flow of formula.
How to bottle feed orphaned kittens. Place the bottle nipple in the kitten s mouth and gently move it back and forth holding the bottle at a 45 degree angle to keep air from getting into the kitten s stomach. This is very time consuming for someone who is bottle feeding a newborn kitten so if at all possible you will want to try to keep the kitten with its mother or a surrogate lactating cat who can nurse it. Feed the kitten lay the kitten in a natural belly down position never ever on her back. Hold the kitten s head stable with your non dominant hand.
How do you get a kitten to drink from a bottle. Mix the wet food with water until it achieves a soupy consistency and consider warming the mixture before serving. Make sure you keep a fresh supply and not too much at one time. Be sure the opening in the nipple restricts the outflow of fluid to one drop at a time in order to avoid a flow rate that is too rapid for the kitten.
Kittens that are bottle fed should consume about a tablespoon or 15 ml of special kitten formula at each feeding. You can wrap it in the towel to make sure the kitten stays warm while it eats. How do i feed orphaned kittens. Most kittens will suckle on small pet nursing bottles also known as pet nursers.
Never feed a kitten on her back like a human baby would eat as this can cause the kitten to inhale fluid into the lungs. Do not feed a kitten until it is warm since it can t properly digest when cold. Sterilize the bottle and nipple in boiling water then let them cool completely on a clean towel. Place the kitten face down on your lap.
Place it on a heating pad wrapped in towels and on the lowest setting or warm a hot water bottle to about 100 degrees wrapped in a towel and place it with the kitten. 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. Prepare to feed the kittens. Mix up the milk replacement formula using a little whisk to get the lumps out.
When bottle fed kittens will nurse until they are full and then reject the bottle. Many veterinarians have incubators to warm a chilled kitten. Bottle feed the kitten sit in the chair with a towel folded in your lap. Feed kittens using a safe posture always bottle feed in a natural belly down posture the kitten should be comfortably lying or seated with her belly toward the floor.
How do you know if the nipple flow is too fast or too slow.