How do I get my kitten to eat food from a bowl?

Question

How do I get my kitten to eat from the food in a bowl? She was ill, and we had to feed her from a bottle (formula) and she had to have antibotics because she was ill. Now that she is recovering she won' teat food from a bowl, we still have to feed her from the bottle. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

You dont say how long she's been recovering, she could still be weak, and it might be easier for her to swallow from a bottle.

It also usually takes some time for an ill cat to recover its appetite, and you're lucky the cat is willing to bottlefeed. More often, the problem with sick cats and kittens, is trying to get them to eat anything at all as they recover!

You cannot stop feeding her to try to get her to eat on her own, such a tactic is more likely to make her become ill again than it is to make her eat on her own.

To start weaning a kitten, first you want a shallow bowl. The mix I like to use for weaning kittens is to mix vanilla yogurt, canned cat food,(ground up kind,, not chunks! and tuna flavor or a strong fish mix is best, strong smelling foods like the tuna canned food will entice a sick cat to eat more quickly than foods that dont have as much smell to them) and a little warm water. I mix only a small amt at a time and mix it to the consistency of pudding. Then I would lightly dip the kitten's head down til its mouth touches the food and it tastes it. Often a kitten will start lapping when it realizes its tasting something good. If it doesnt lap, you might have to put a tiny bit of the food in the kitten's mouth to get the kitten to taste the food.

My favorite formula for raising both kittens and puppies who had to be handfed, is to mix 8 oz vanilla yogurt, 4 oz evaporated milk, 4 oz water, and a teaspoon of karo syrup together. I take a little of the mix out of the refrigerator and carefully! microwave it til its warm but not hot (stirred up and checked to be sure its not too hot in any one place!) I raised many kittens and puppies on that formula.

Answer 2

You kitten enjoyed the loving care and attention she was getting. And you can't really blame her for enjoying it. Basically my suggestion is simple. Sit down on the ground with the kitten when it is feeding time and scoop up food in your finders to get her to eat while petting and soothing her. This is the first step eventually (after a few time) just bring the food up to the side of the bowl with you finger always keeping at petting and soothing the cat. The have her eat on her own but sit there and pet and soothe her. This might take a while since she has gotten use to the extra care. Some cats are actually like that for no reason beside the fact that they like to be petted while they eat. Kinda like sitting at a kitchen table alone to eat ...pretty boring so we sit in front of the TV to not feel so alone. You cat needs a bit of company. Eventually she will get over it and her hunger will probably prevail and she will not wait on you to be there to eat. Remember she is a kitten and obviously being sick has made her a bit uneasy and she needs to feel close to you still. Take is as a compliment!
Good luck and good patience!

Answer 3

Try starting off by putting the formula into the bowl. The smell and taste will be familiar to her. Slowly go up to wet food and then to dry. You may want to even let her see you squeeze the formula from the bottle into the bowl so she knows it's the same thing. Also, every time she wants food, be sure to put her in front of the bowl and to not give in. She will get the hint.

Good luck! I love kitty cats.

Answer 4

I had the same problem with a kitten I was given. She was just a week old when we got her and we bottle fed her. I put one of my other cats in the pen with her, with a small double pet bowl (like the ones you would put food in one side and water in the other) and put food in both sides. Put her in front of the bowl while the other one eats next to her. You may have to do this a couple times. Mine learned by example and it only took her two times watching. That is really the only way to do it. She has to "learn" to eat. It won't matter how hungry she gets, if she's not taught. Good luck.

Answer 5

Make sure he's old enough to eat from a bowl. Try putting can cat food in a bowl. pour a little milk over the cat food.

Answer 6

yeah, basically just dont feed it, but put its food in a bowl, same thing with its water/milk, and eventually it will get the hang of it. she could just be too young to eay dry food, try giving her wet catfood sometime, if that works then you can wait a while, and start to combine the two, and then just eventually switch to all dry

Answer 7

it rather is between the reason that nevertheless my cats get uncooked in addition they get a form of severe-high quality canned meals too. each and every meal is a few thing diverse so as that they don't get a raffle to style solid meals conduct. you're fortunate you have a kitten who eats a uncooked meals habitual. you're feeding a balanced meat/bones/organs meals habitual, i'm hoping? nicely, besides, i'm questioning this concern only isn't solved very at as quickly as. it would go slightly swifter with a mature cat when you consider which you are able to motivate them to purpose new meals via reducing the parts of their prevalent meals and allowing them to get hungry. Kittens might desire to have a lot to consume nevertheless! For the canned i might attempt smearing some pate-form meals on the products of the uncooked in the different case mixing slightly in. possibly only 10% of the completed quantity the 1st few meals. Then strengthen to fifteen% for yet another few meals. Then attempt it with a diverse canned meals, exposing her to the two better quantities of canned and categories. i might go away many of the uncooked meals user-friendly without canned further when you consider which you do choose her to proceed to consume her user-friendly uncooked meals. With the dry, attempt taking individual products and throwing them for the time of a non-carpeted floor. optimistically, she would be able to get so into this "hunt the kibble" activity that her prey instincts will kick in and he or she would be able to venture to consume a number of them.

Answer 8

Try being next to her while she is eating my yorkie won't eat out of a bowl she grabs her food from brings it to where we are drops it then eats it.

Answer 9

if they are 3-4 weeks old, keep a bowl of food near them and keep their mother away so they can be independant.

Answer 10

when she wants food she will find it out for herself