Bottle Feeding Kittens

Newborn kittens are so tiny and fragile. In this seemingly helpless stage with no mother cat around, many times we have to step up and be the surrogate mother. Then the big question arises- when to stop bottle feeding the kittens? Many owners have trouble bottle feeding their kittens but not for long, the following steps should make it easy for you.

Get the Mixture Ready
Bottle feeding newborn kittens can be quite tricky, one needs to be very careful while preparing the mixture. The procedure of feeding kittens is very similar to feeding babies, you begin by sterilizing the bottle and nipple by putting them in boiling water for roughly 5 to 7 minutes. As far as the mixture is concerned, you can buy the commercially available kitty feed replacement powders. In case your kitten is hungry and you don't have the mixture at home, you can prepare one at home with equal measures of egg yolk, condensed milk, water and yogurt. Heat the mixture before feeding the kitten, test the temperature by placing a drop of the mixture on your forearm, it should not be too warm or too cold.

Feed the Kitten
Before you start it is necessary that you are fully prepped for preparing the kitten, this is important for taking care of newborn kittens. Place him on your lap, face down, make sure that he is warm and then gently place the nipple in front of his mouth. Do not lift his head up to feed him, slowly he will start feeding. If you are having trouble, make sure that the nipple of the bottle functions properly. Remember to never raise the head of the kitten to feed him, this might choke him.

Burp the kitten
Just like human babies, a kitten too needs to be burped, do so by gently petting his back while your one hand is under his belly. After feeding her litters, a mother cat stimulates the kittens to help them excrete. You can do so by softly rubbing a damp cloth on his genital area and anus.

Dos and Don'ts of Bottle Feeding Kittens

Taking care of kittens can be quite a demanding task, one that will leave you with bags under your eyes but just a cute little show of affection from your kitten will make it all worth the trouble. Before you start bottle feeding the kittens, you must know that they need to be fed at least every 3 hours. In the first fourteen days of the kitten's life, his eyes are closed, therefore during this time only bottle feed the kitten. After he opens his eyes, you can give him canned food and bottle feed him three times a day. By the time the kitten is 5 to 6 weeks old, he would start feeding himself. By this age, he should be off milk and would be able to eat regular kitten food and later, you can start with cat food when he is old enough. You must remember that kittens need to be kept warm especially in the night, so keep the kitten warm by rubbing him with a cloth. You can feel the temperature of the kitten by placing your finger in his mouth. If your finger feels cold, the kitten needs to be warmed up. When you are bottle feeding the kitten and if he rejects the nipple, this means that his stomach is full, so remember to never force feed the kitten. Kitten's body weight within two weeks should ideally be 6 to 7 ounces and by the fourth week, he should weigh about 13 to 14 ounces. Kitten care is simple if you are through with the basic about the feeding process.

It is often said that these animals choose their masters. If your kitten shows you affection, consider yourself lucky that you have a loyal pet to look after. Cats are easy to look after as most of the time, they are pretty self sufficient. They may seem fragile but are extremely tough creatures.