What Do I Feed Orphaned Kittens
Kittens up to two weeks old can generally consume their daily intake in 4 5 meals per day.
What do i feed orphaned kittens. Hold the bottle at a 45 angle. Hold it very close to the kitten s mouth. Feed the kittens frequently. Just like human babies kittens do a lot of growing in the first year of their lives.
The kind of food and how much a kitten consumes directly affects their growth rate and development. Remember to keep the kitty on his tummy while you feed him. Caring for un weaned kittens kittens under 8 weeks old is a round the clock job just like with a newborn baby and depending on their age kittens must be bottle fed or syringe fed every 2 3 hours. This kitten now needs you to be their mother.
Feed the kitty approximately 8cc or 1 4 ounce of formula per ounce of his weight every 24 hours. To encourage suckling gently stroke the kitten s throat in a downward motion. After feeding your kitten formula you may need to burp him. Small breed kittens should be limited to 10 15ml per feeding during the first week of life in order to prevent diarrhea.
If using a teat at this point give her a bit of help by wriggling the teat into her open mouth. Do not feed a kitten until it is warm since it can t properly digest when cold. 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. Many veterinarians have incubators to warm a chilled kitten.
Kittens under three weeks old can t control their body temperature. Orphaned kittens should be fed on a strict schedule preferably every 2 4 hours. Her sense of smell is strong and she will likely smell the milk and try put her mouth against it. They will need to be fed kept warm and protected by you the human.
Once they get the hang of it the kittens should consume the milk replacer greedily. When attempting to feed your kitten for the first time get a drip of milk on the end of the syringe or teat. The kittens will feed every 2 3 hours around the clock during the first 2 weeks of life. Feeds should be every 2 3 hours around the clock.
You can also use a syringe without a needle to drop the formula into the little one s mouth a drop or two at a time. 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 ll be able to tell a kitten is hungry if she cries and wiggles around like she s hunting for a nipple. Two week old kittens need you to bottle feed them stimulate them to go to the bathroom and make sure they are gaining weight they need to.
You can stop the feeding when the kitten begins to slow down the consumption or becomes disinterested. If you find a kitten who has no mother nearby then you have just found an orphaned kitten.