Bottle Feeding Kittens

[Alicia88]

My neighbor found a couple kittens abandoned at a work site. Their mama didn't show up at all by the time he left so he took them home. I told him to get kitten formula and not to feed them on their backs and to use a q-tip to stimulate them to poop. I gave him a can of soft food I had lying around to see if they would be interested. I think they're around 3 or 4 weeks old. Any other advice?

 

[kashmir64]

At 3-4 weeks, they still need formula. KMR powder is best IMO, but there are others. You are correct, on their tummies, head up. If they have teeth and are starting to eat solids, I would mix in some goats milk with either the dry kitten food or the wet, or both. I personally have never used a q-tip to stimulate. A warm wet wash rag always worked best for me.
On the KMR, my personal favorite is 1 part KMR to 3 parts goats milk. The goats milk has a major boost for the little ones. Raw is best, but store bought is fine also. How often and how much are they feeding them?

Could you post pictures so that we can judge more accurately the age and what they may need to do?
Good for them to help out these helpless kittens

 

[Ariel2611]

Hi there,
Well done for raising these little babies!
I 100% agree with kashmir64
I would use a soft cloth/cotton pad,tissue paper even to slowly rub them to stimulate them to go the toilet.
You can watch a whole load of videos on this topics especially hand-reared kittens on YouTube ( type in the: Kitten Lady - she hand-rears foster kittens and if you go to her channel you will hopefully find some very good videos to help you out!)
Also, if possible keep an account of their weights too as they are very young and will lose weight much faster than they gain sometimes and if you don't weigh them you won't even know.
Also a visit to the vet should be done just so that they can see if the kittens are healthy and do some other checks too...
Regularly monitor their weights, dosages and timings so you can keep them for reference later on...
keep them in an large/open carrier/enclosure/part of the room with access to a CAT/PET hot water bottle with a soft cover on it (NOT human hot water bottle... very different) and place it in the carrier leaving enough room for them to go off it and around to the other side if need be.
Once they turn 5-6 weeks of age then that will be the time when you should start introducing them to wet kitten food (canned wet kitten food-one that has a high meat content and especially made for kittens). This should be mixed with their kitten formula at every feeding (don't know exact amount so if you want i can check that out - let me know
Alicia88 )
This is also on the Kitten lady's channel!
Also, that is the time when their mother starts to 'Wean' them onto proper food... so that will be your job! If you need more information on this just message me back and i will gladly be of assistance alternatively you could again watch some more of the kitten lady or do some internet research.

Please post pictures of the little babies! We would love to see them!

Keep us updated!
Good Luck!

 

[Alicia88]

I'll ask if I can get a picture the next time I see him. I don't know how often he's feeding them but I doubt he has the money to get them to a vet and I know he doesn't have a way to weigh them. The 3-4 weeks is just a guess on my part; that's why I suggested he offer them soft food - to see if they might be a little older than that. Their eyes are completely open and they seem nice and healthy. They must not have been on their own very long. I wonder if their mother just stayed away because she was scared of the people working, but what's done is done. I would have suggesting staying a little while after everyone else had left to see if she showed up, but he was trying to do the right thing. I'll talk to him and pass on the advice and suggestions next time I see him. Thanks.