What Should I Feed An Orphaned Kitten

Feeding orphaned kittens can feel like a full time job especially in the beginning when they need to be fed the most.

What should i feed an orphaned kitten. Orphaned kittens should be fed on a strict schedule preferably every 2 4 hours. Fresh water is very important although for a newborn kitten you buy kitten milk in a can to be feed by eye dropper or syringe. By six weeks of age a kitten should be eating the gruel four times a day and nursing less. Hold the bottle at a 45 angle.

As they get older say more then 12 weeks they love a treat of a whole sardine that you can mash with a fork they also love fresh grown cat grass which is good for they digestion and hair balls. A kitten aged between six to 10 weeks old needs to be fed six to eight meals a day while a kitten aged 10 weeks to six or seven months needs four meals a day and a kitten up to nine months needs three meals a day. 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. Small breed kittens should be limited to 10 15ml per feeding during the first week of life in order to prevent diarrhea.

Use the feeding guidelines on the food label as a starting point to determine how much to feed your kitten. You can stop the feeding when the kitten begins to slow down the consumption or becomes disinterested. Remember to keep the kitty on his tummy while you feed him. The gruel should become less and less watery and dry kitten food should be introduced along with a bowl of water.

But it s also incredibly rewarding and before you know it your kittens will be eating on their own and soon ready to find homes. Feeds should be every 2 3 hours around the clock. At the end of week six decrease meal times to only three times a day. After feeding your kitten formula you may need to burp him.

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. Feed the kitty approximately 8cc or 1 4 ounce of formula per ounce of his weight every 24 hours. Many veterinarians have incubators to warm a chilled kitten. Note that it s not until adulthood that two meals a day for a cat is acceptable.

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. To encourage suckling gently stroke the kitten s throat in a downward motion. Split up the daily portion into three equal parts and feed 1 3 at each feeding.

The feeding protocols below are provided by the kitten nursery of salt lake county animal services in partnership with best friends animal. Kittens up to two weeks old can generally consume their daily intake in 4 5 meals per day.