What To Feed Kitten Without Mother

You should never feed a kitten on its back because this can cause them to aspirate or inhale fluid into their lungs.

What to feed kitten without mother. If the kitten is less than 15 days old it should eat every three hours if it is between 15 days and one month every 4 hours if it is between one month and one month and a half every 4 6 hours by this point it can already drink milk in a bowl older than 1 month and a half you can incorporate solid food mixed with milk or water to the diet like baby food. Inside the emergency calf colostrum could be fed although not the most suitable. When you feed the kitten hold it horizontally with the belly facing downwards and the head tilted slightly upwards. You can start to transition your kitten away from the bottle at 3 or 4 weeks of age.

Begin by offering formula in a shallow bowl that s easy for her to drink from. Never hold a kitten and feed it like a human baby. Think of how a kitten would eat from its mother. Kittens cannot control their body temperature so help them regulate their body temperature before trying to feed them especially if they have been exposed to cold temperatures.

Hold her by the scruff of her neck and place the nipple into the side then center of her mouth. When your kitten is around 6 or 7 weeks of age you can switch her to a dry diet. Many veterinarians have incubators to warm a chilled kitten. Correctly position the kittens and bottles for feeding.

Do not feed a kitten until it is warm since it can t properly digest when cold. Then start the shift to an adult diet by mixing canned or dry cat food with warmed formula. Hold the kitten correctly while feeding. When the kitten has breastfed from its mother it ll have colostrum otherwise the colostrum ought to be obtained elsewhere.

Be aware that even if you find a cat able to nurse the young kitten she may not accept the kitten. Kittens under three weeks old can t control their body temperature. 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. Instead keep the kitten s feet down and it s head straight as though she s nursing from her mother.

Most kittens do just fine without human intervention but if a kitten needs to be bottle fed either because the mother cat is absent ill or rejects the kitten you ll want to weigh the kitten regularly to make sure its weight reflects a healthy and normal growth rate of a kitten.