What Do I Feed Orphaned Kittens

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.

What do i feed orphaned kittens. 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. A newborn kitten can only digest milk and more specifically the milk from a female cat. After feeding the kittens you ll need to wipe their genitals with a damp cotton swab to encourage them to urinate. But not everybody keeps such a product in the pantry.

Young cats need more frequent feeding bough says but as they get older they can go to twice a day feeding larsen agrees that it s fine for young kittens to free feed by making unlimited kitten food available to them all day long and then to transition to meal eating around four to six months of age. Queen s milk is highly digestible and very calorie dense. Kittens that are bottle fed should consume about a tablespoon or 15 ml of special kitten formula at each feeding. Many veterinarians have incubators to warm a chilled kitten.

When the orphaned kittens reach about 3 weeks of age you can start providing watered down meat based kitten food for them to nibble on. Kittens need a kitten milk replacement specifically formulated to contain the proper balance of proteins and nutrients they need to support healthy growth. This is very time consuming for someone who is bottle feeding a newborn kitten so if at all possible you will want to try to keep the kitten with its mother or a surrogate lactating cat who can nurse it. Make sure you keep a fresh supply and not too much at one time.

Compared to cow s milk queen s milk contains more than twice as much protein which helps explain why cow s milk is not ideal for feeding orphaned kittens. Do not feed a kitten until it is warm since it can t properly digest when cold. Consult with local veterinarians and shelters to find out if there is a nursing mother cat who may be. It is specifically formulated for kittens to provide all the nutrients they need.

Commercial kitten milk replacers are recommended as they are superior to cow s milk and home made mixtures. Kittens under three weeks old can t control their body temperature. Kmr the canned cat milk replacer is available at most vet clinics in either a premixed or dry form. 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.

Try to find a nursing mother feline queen. Suppose you find orphaned kittens after all the pet stores in your area have closed. How to feed a newborn kitten. To care for orphaned kittens less than 3 weeks of age feed them every 2 3 hours with powdered cat milk replacer heated to 95 degrees f.