How can I feed a new born kitten?

Question

Hi..I was wondering, if a kitten was abit smaller than all the other new borns, does that mean it won't survive? and how can I tell if a kitten is really having enough milk from her mama?
What do kittens do all day when they're still babies? like, are they supposed to just drink milk 24 hrs a day or what?

& when will the "danger zone" pass? like, how many days should a kitten survive to make sure they'll grow up healthy? how many days/weeks.

thnx alot in advance.

Answer 1

It does not mean that the kitten wont survive, but out of the kittens it will have the hardest time. Lots of times there is what we call the "runt" of the litter, I have raised sooooo many kittens (friends, neighbors, familily bring to me when they find sick or very young kittens that arent doing so well) Sometimes if the litter is big (usually 7+) there will be one or two that are weaker and have a harder time latching on to the mothers nipple or get pushed away by the stronger ones. It is a good idea to keep a close eye on things. Also sometimes if there is something wrong with the kitten the mother will sometimes separate the kitten from the rest, and yes unfortuneately sometimes will not allow it to feed, and in extreme cases, even kill the kitten herself. When the kittens are still very young the basically sleep and eat, later they start moving around more, exploring. How young is this kitten? is its eyes open yet? Compared to the other kittens, is it as active? If you are really worried and the kitten seems to be doing poorly with no improvement (dont wait to long if the are under 2 weeks of age a day or two can mean the difference between life and death) there are things that you can do to help the poor thing out..

1) Go to local grocery/department store in the pet section they have formula made for small kittens, "mothers helper" is a common one. You can get this in liquid form or powder, I always use the powder because its easier for me and lasts longer and I usually end up with a few kittens every year to nurse back to health. There is directions on the carton/can of how to mix it with water

2) Buy the bottle for kittens and put the formula in that to feed it, do not feed it upside down just put it on your lap or area that is safe and have it be on all four legs or basically in that position, raise its head a lil to be able to get the bottle in its mouth (sometimes they dont want to open so you go in from the side of the mouth until it gets a grip on the nipple, it may take a few tries because at first some kittens doesnt really realize what the bottle is. When feeding it (depending on the amount of suction the kitten has) if the nipple or bottle starts to collapse, sort of tilt the nipple to the side for a second to release suction pressure then put back in its mouth)

If the kitten is real young (under 2 weeks) It is a good thing to feed it every 2 hours (if the mother isnt feeding it at all) Or if the mother is feeding it but it is not getting as much milk as the others you can offer it a bottle a couple times a day and see how it goes.

Sometimes you come across kittens that are to weak to reallly get ahold of the nipple and suck, in that case an eyedropper worked wonders for me. Make sure you give the right amount of formula, on the back of the can mothers helper or whatever brand of formula you choose there will be directions to how much to give the kitten.

If the mother refused to care for the kitten at all, and the kitten is very young, feed every 2 hours, and also (I know this sounds gross but it helps the poor little thing) after every feeding get a cottonball or tissue damp with warm water and wipe its private area, this stimulates the kitten to go to the bathroom, the mother does this naturally by licking her kittens down there) So if the mother is refusing, just wipe gently down there for about 10-20 seconds to help stimulate it to use the bathroom. The first time the vet told me to do this I couldnt believe it, but it worked!

After about 4-5 weeks the kittens chances improve a good deal, each week adds greatly to its chances, the first 7-8 weeks is the tough time, if it survives after that it has a really great chance

*NOTE* if you ever see any kitten have this yellowish thin diarrea take to the vet immediately it has a viral infection and or parasite and they usually prescribe amoxicil for kittens in liquid form, left untreated, they usually die.

Hope this helps, it has worked for me for over 85 kittens (I have been doing this every since I was 10 =)

Answer 2

It's pretty normal to have a smaller kitten in a litter. I you are really worried about it though you can go to walmart or a petstore or a vet and buy those little bottles and formula they make for baby animals. The kittens won't drink 24 hours a day, because the mother needs to go eat and use the litterbox, etc. but they do spend a lot of time nursing.

Answer 3

If the litter is 8 or less, and the kitten is feeding, it should be OK. If you want to try supplemental feeding, a pet store can sell you formula and a bottle, but in most cases, this is not necessary.

Kittens sleep more than anything else for the first few weeks. They will wake up and feed, play for a few minutes, then go back to sleep. This is normal. It is also normal for one to be a bit smaller than the others. Just provide a clean, warm "nest" for them, and feed the mother well. She will take care of the kittens.

Answer 4

They need to drink from the mother it is not a good idea to feed a newborn kitten fake milk because the kittens get essitals from the mother cat. There is no really way to know if it is getting enough milk but the mother will know because she will get up and walk away from the kittens.

Answer 5

While the following link is aimed at caring for very young orphaned kittens, it gives you all the information you need to know about feeding kittens and more. Take a look and I think this will really help you with the question.

Answer 6

Hello- You can use an eyedropper to feed with. Most stores have milk for kittens in the cat food aisle. When I got Moonie he weighed 1oz. Then you can feed your kitty baby food with a spoon until theyre about 6 weeks old. I had to put him to sleep yesterday,after 11 years of faithful devotion. Warm the milk a little bit & feed every 4-6 hours. I wish you the best of times. Elayne-

Answer 7

Its probably just the runt of the litter and they usually do ok and survive , but if you dont see it drinking at all, then step in and bottle feed it, you can get special cat formula from vets etc...

Answer 8

This website should help - check it out:
http://www.sniksnak.com/cathealth/howto10.html

Scroll down about 3/4 on the page to get to the newborn feeding section - good info.

Answer 9

you should just keep an eye on the poor little thing, maybe get a vet and make sure the kitten finds a productive teat

Answer 10

there's special milk in almost every grocery store that you can buy. You'll also probably want to buy a special bottle.