Newborn kittens, like young children, need breast milk. But, sometimes, a mother cat abandons her children or she does not have milk. In such a situation, you will have to resort to artificial feeding. Bottle feeding a newborn kitten is not an easy task, the number of feedings depends on the physical condition of the animal.
It is necessary
Pipette, baby bottle and nipple, liquid thermometer, cotton wool, heating pad or plastic bottle, woolen cloth, infant formula or milk, patience
Instructions
Step 1
A substitute for cat milk for a newborn kitten can serve as formula for babies, which are abundantly presented on supermarket shelves or, diluted with water, cow's milk.
The first days, when the food ration is very small and the kittens are completely helpless, you can use an ordinary pipette for feeding, later replacing it with a baby bottle with a nipple. To avoid infection, each item must be carefully washed and boiled.
The food temperature should be close to the body temperature of the animal - 38 degrees. Check the temperature by putting a few drops of milk on your hand.
Gently taking the kitten by the neck, you need to insert the pacifier into your mouth, trying not to scare the baby. While pressing lightly on the bottle, make sure that the liquid does not come out too hard.
Approximate amounts of food that should be given to a kitten, depending on age:
Up to 7 days - 3-6 g every two hours;
7-14 days - 6-8 g every two hours during the day, every four hours at night;
14-21 days - 8-10 g every two hours during the day, once at night.
Step 2
Between feedings, the kitten is kept in a warm place, preferably with a heating pad or plastic bottle of warm water wrapped in a woolen cloth. A suitable temperature is 25-30 degrees. In the sixth week, it is lowered to 20 degrees.
To remove digestive products, it is necessary to give the kitten a light massage of the anal area with a soft cloth or cotton wool. Litter should be yellow and soft. If it is solid or very liquid, it means that the composition of the milk or its temperature is incorrect, and you need to urgently take care of replacing it.
Step 3
From three to four weeks of age, the kitten can be introduced to complementary foods.
Four weeks. Milk with vegetables, vegetable purees, fish and meat purees mixed with milk. Pour into a shallow dish 4 times a day at any dose.
Five weeks. Meat finely scrolled in a meat grinder, boiled fish - 1 time for three milk lunches. Pour into a saucer, not too much.
Six to eight weeks. Increase the dose of scrolled food. Milk and water in any dose, gradually replace solid milk food.
Eight weeks or more. Two or three solid meals a day and a saucer of milk that can be replaced with fresh water starting at six months old.
If everything is normal, the kitten should gain 10-15 grams per day, about 100 grams per week. But even less weight gain is not dangerous, provided that your pet is cheerful, playful and cheerful.
