Just wondering if anyone can help with trying to get the kittens to get an even amount of feeds from mum. We know that the dominant kitten will claim the best nipple, but our dominant kitten seems to be claiming all the nipples, even knocking his brothers off in his pursuit of prime position no matter where they are.
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Feeding Frenzy....HELP
- Thread starter mischeif
- Start Date
You have to watch that. My last fosters were mom and 4 kits, and the smallest could never get in there at first. I really thought she was going to die, so I started giving her KMR with a syringe. (she had gotten too weak to even nurse). That really helped, plus I took the big ones out so she had extra time with mom all to herself. She did great, and even figured out to nurse while the others napped! She caught up just fine, and of course, guess what, we are keeping her. We are suckers for the underdog, er, I mean underkitten!
The best thing is to weigh the kittens daily. Their weight gain should average around 0.3 oz per day. As long as everyone is gaining somewhere around that amount, then they are probably okay. The nest can look pretty chaotic but mostly they work it out in the end. If the biggest kittens seems to be really hogging the nipples, though, then it would be best to separate him for half an hour or so a couple of times a day so the others can get their fair share. Just make sure he continues to thrive as well. If at all possible, it is much better if all the kitten's calorie needs can be met by mother's milk instead of formula.
