Bottle fed kitten has descreased appetite.

JayLaw

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So my first set of bottle fed kittens. One of the females is 2 weeks old and whas doing great. All the sudden she stopped eating as much. She'll drink a few ML then absolutely refuse the bottle. She is still alert and playful with litter mates but she is refusing to take the bottle anymore. Idk what happened. Clinic said if she won't eat more by tomorrow steel have to be taken to tube fed. Any ideas how to get this little one going? Mind you I've tried all the obvious trust me I've been trying everything. There are no other symptoms poor thing!
 

StefanZ

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A good thing is the clinic do knows how to do tube feeding, and is willing to do it. Not all vets are....
Pity, because tube feeding is not easy for a new be (that is why we dont recommend it everywhere) but its gold worth in difficult cases..


Are you sure she is refusing? it may be so she get tired? If so, you can either give her a droplet of white caro sugar before the feeding. put in on the gum inside of her lip.
Or try with giving her kmr more often....

A third try is to change the kmr, hoping a different taste will befell her better.
Try perhaps with goats milk?
 

Sarthur2

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She’s eating what she wants. Try feeding her less but more often. Is she gaining weight? Are you weighing daily in grams? Is she peeing and pooping regularly?

She may be the runt. Kittens also can plateau for a day or two and eat less, then get a growth spurt and eat more. These are things we don’t see when they nurse mom; then we expect each kitten to eat the same amount all the time as the others when bottle feeding.

If she eats the amount she wants and is active and not losing, she is probably doing fine and does not need tube feeding.

Keep us posted!

J JayLaw
 
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