My cat had kittens, but she stopped feeding them. they are a couple of weeks old. we are trying to get them to eat from a bottle but they wont. How can we get them to?
Answers:
You may have to tube feed them--I believe you can get the supplies from a good pet store or a local vet. Feel free to call a vet and ask for advice, most will happily give you some tips over the phone. But I would stop in and ask for a demonstration as to how to use a feeding tube. It sounds awful, but it is very safe. Kittens and other baby animals often have a hard time transitioning from mama's warm body to a nipple on a bottle, so by using a feeding tube you are putting the formula directly in their stomach. It also prevents them from accidently inhaling the formula which, obviously, can cause serious problems.
The downside is, just like bottle feeding, you must do it every 4 hours or so (again, ask the vet for advice), until the kittens are able to drink or eat from a dish. It's a lot of work but it's worth it in the long run--hand raised kitties are super friendly and sweet, and absolutely love people to the point of annoyance! :)
I wish you and the kittens the best.
p.s. don't forget to get mama spayed ASAP--I'm sure you don't want to have to go through this again!
Um, excuse me, I'm not an idiot. I specifically said to go to a vet for a demonstration on tube feeding. Bottle feeding is dangerous to, it is easy to, for example, make too big of holes in the nipple, the milk comes out to fast for the kitten to swallow it and therefore inhales it.
A conscious animal will cough and choke if anything goes down its trachea instead of its esophagus. It will swallow a feeding tube before it inhales it.
I'm a vet tech, for goodness sakes. I'm not advocating people to drown their kittens.
Oh, and another thing, don't feel bad. You are doing the responsible thing by caring for the kittens as best you can. Good job.
if their eyes are open you can try to get their chin fur wet from a bowl with the b!tches milk in it and see if they will drink from it. if not you will have to go to your local vet and ask for a feeding syringe or eye dropper and feed them by forceing them..
you are making them go to the bathroom right? poop and pee..
you have to encorage it like the momma would by rubbing their areas with a warm wet rag..
if you are not doing this you may have a bowel problem .. (backup) and that could be why they arent eating.
Try an eye dropper with a little warm kitten milk (available at any pet store or even Wal-Mart). Drip a little near their mouths, so they get a taste of it. You can also use one finger to help open their mouths slightly and insert the eye dropper in. You may even want to lock the mother cat into a small room (such as the bathroom or laundry room) with the kittens. Place her food, water, and litter box in the same room. She may go back to feeding them herself. Good luck.
You have to put holes in the rubber nipples. (some people don't realize that). Also, the holes can close, you have to check before each feeding.
Turn the bottle upside down. It should drip slowly without any squeezing. If it doesn't, put more holes in the nipple. Kittens don't have the strength to suck the milk out of the bottle, it has to drip for them.
The milk needs to be warm. A little warmer than your body temperature.
Medicine shooters they use for human babies and eyedroppers work better, you might try switching.
Kittens can't swallow if you have them on their backs like human babies. Don't hold them by the scruff either, again, can't swallow.
Wait until the baby opens it's mouth to cry, then drip a little into the open mouth.
They are used to mama, formula is a poor substitute to breastmilk. They need a little while to get used to it.
Don't forget to stimulate them to use the bathroom, rub their exits with a wet washcloth.
You can always turn them over to someone else, like the SPCA or other rescue group. Even your vet may know someone willing to take them on.
I hope this helps, good luck.
EDIT
The bottle has to be full for it to work properly. Even if you think the kittens won't eat it all, fill the bottle, and refill it after they eat (or dribble) about half of it.
Don't attempt tube feeding without training from a VET. It is not as easy as that idiot makes it sound. It is very easy to pass the tube into the cat's lungs and drown it.
if you would have been RESPONSIBLE and had her spayed then you wouldn't be asking this question!! would you??
why the hell are you asking random people over the internet when you should be asking a licensed VET!?
SPAY your cat!! I'm soooooo sick of people like you who aren't breeders but yet let their mixed breed cats popl out kittens all the time!!
don't you realize how many unwanted cats/kits are living in shelters? there are WAY to many in this world for you to be letting your cat produce MORE!
BE RESPONSIBLE! spayed/neutered cats live longer healthier lives anyway!! the most important and not mention nice thing to do for your pet is to FIX them!!
quit letting your cat reproduce!!
Ask your vet.
Make sure that you are using a milk replacement- regular milk is not good for kittens.
Make sure you warm up the 'milk' and make sure the nipple is warm. Make sure the nipple flows freely and does not clog. Make your holes small though- kittens can and will choke. You probably won't drown it but you might cause a respitory infection. If you cant get the kitten to take the nipple try feeding with an eye dropper or syringe. Tube feeding can be done but its a lot harder to do and some vets will not show you, the will take the animal in and do it themselves.
Another trick I've learned is to wrap the kitten in a towel and hold it like it would be if it is sitting down. It protects your hands and the kitten will feel more secure in the warmth.
Also- Make sure that you held them eliminate their bowels- all the hard work will be nothing if they can't go to the bathroom. Just take a warm wet towel and stimulate their parts to get it going. You don't have to be too rough. We always did it before and after.
You will be doing this every couple of hours. It' takes a lot of patience.
We have raise numerous kittens by hand feeding (oh, and these were feral barn/shop cats- trying catching a feral Mama cat to have it spayed HA!) and they turn out to be the most wonderful animals- Our Lion still nurses on my Mom's sleeve (and he's almost ten years old!).
Good luck!
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