What To Feed Baby Kittens Without Mother
If you re caring for a newborn orphan kitten syringe feeding might be a good option but you want to make sure you re doing so carefully.
What to feed baby kittens without mother. 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. 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. Hold her by the scruff of her neck and place the nipple into the side then center of her mouth. You ll know if.
Always sterilize bottles and nipples after each use. Do not feed a kitten until it is warm since it can t properly digest when cold. You must dilute formula milk before feeding a baby rabbit. Many veterinarians have incubators to warm a chilled kitten.
Kittens under three weeks old can t control their body temperature. The teat is long and narrow which is ideal to fit inside the mouth of a newborn. Don t squirt or force the milk into her mouth. 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. 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. You should make a diet chart according to the age of the baby rabbit. If it s your first time bottle feeding don t panic.
You can do it but you ll want to know some tricks so you don t hurt them. Here s how to safe. You should feed the kitten for 5 10 minutes every 2 hours and never go longer than 4 hours in between feedings. And this how to feed a newborn kitten with a bottle choose the best kitten feeding bottle rather than the regular baby bottle.
Never hold a kitten and feed it like a human baby. 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. 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. Before hand raising a kitten contact local veterinarians animal shelters and rescue groups.
They might be able to find a foster mother cat to feed the kitten. Kittens need constant feeding to stay nourished. Formula milk is the best option to feed baby rabbits without a mother. And it will begin to crawl around shortly after its eyes open.
The kitten will adjust it till it s comfortable for her let the kitten control the suction from the bottle. 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. For a particularly small kitten you may want to use a syringe or dropper to feed it instead. You can either save the life of your baby rabbit or can harm them.
Newborn kittens typically nurse every one to two hours. Don t give a kitten cow s milk which can cause gastrointestinal upset. Instead keep the kitten s feet down and it s head straight as though she s nursing from her mother. Weeks two and three feeding schedules.
If you can t find a foster buy a milk replacer designed specifically for kittens. To feed your newborn kitten you will need some sort of feeding device. Between days 8 through 18 its weight should increase to about 10 oz. To feed a baby kitten without a mother feed it a kitten milk replacement formula using a sterilized feeding bottle.