Taking care of a kitten might be challenging before her mother fully weans it. You’ll have to get your hands dirty in the kitchen since your 4-week-old kitten is just starting the weaning process and switching to kitten food.
How to feed kittens
If the kittens are gaining weight every day, the diet meets their nutritional needs. Kittens should be weighed daily at the same time to track their weight gain and determine how much food to give them at each meal. Preferably, your kitten will gain about half an ounce (14 grams) daily or 4 ounces (113 grams) per week.
It’s important to remember that kittens of a younger age are more accustomed to remaining hooked onto their mother’s nipple at all times and nursing only briefly at intervals. Feeding your kitten several times a day is ideal since it helps her digestive system become used to breaking down smaller portions. Nursing also helps digestion since it physically moves food around in the stomach. Increase the frequency of feedings or return to the kitten after the others have finished eating if you see that it is not consuming enough food during that feeding.
Bottle-Feeding Kittens: Guidelines
- Kittens need to be kept warm because they cannot digest food if their body temperature is too low.
- Mix the KMR powder with two parts water. (Always use the same formula, and never introduce cow’s milk.)
- The formula for kittens should be fed at a rate of 2 tablespoons per 4 ounces of body weight per 24-hour period.
- Kittens younger than 2 weeks old should be fed at least every 2 hours.
- Kittens between the ages of two and four weeks old need to eat every three to four hours. Do not rouse them up to feed if they sleep for long stretches at night.
- Kittens that are sickly or aren’t eating enough should be fed more often.
- Every kitten may have some variance in the timing and quantity of its symptoms.
General Feeding Instructions
- The formula should be warm (about 100 degrees Fahrenheit or 38 degrees Celsius) but not hot before you feed it to the baby. The bottle can be heated in hot water or the microwave until it is at the ideal temperature. Because hot spots can form in the microwave, it’s important to thoroughly combine the ingredients before testing.
- Keep the kitten in the correct position at all times. Do not put a kitten to sleep on its back to feed it. If the kitten does not swallow the formula completely, it may aspirate it into its respiratory tract. Reactive pneumonia caused by aspiration can be lethal. While eating, kittens should lean forward or lie flat on their bellies. When placed in a position similar to that of a breastfeeding infant, they feel most at ease. Place the kitten on its stomach on a towel or cloth so it may adhere to the material and knead naturally.
- Wrap the kitten in a towel as you feed it if it becomes very anxious. The kitten’s mouth should be opened slightly with a fingertip before the nipple is slipped in. Once the kitten realizes what’s going to happen, it will actively seek out the nipple. Once the cat starts sucking, you’ll experience a suction effect. Watch for bubbles in the bottle during sucking and ears wiggling. As long as the kitten makes these motions, it is successfully nursing. If you hold the bottle at a 45-degree angle and maintain a mild pull, you can prevent air from entering the animal’s stomach. Allow kittens to suck at their rate.
- If a kitten won’t take the nipple or suckle, try petting it like a mother would be vigorously caressing its forehead or stroking its back. Using a toothbrush to stroke the kitten can imitate the feeling it would experience from the queen’s tongue. Even if you get the kitten to take the bottle, you may need to resort to syringe feeding to ensure it receives enough food. It’s important to have a strategy for who foster parents should contact if a kitten needs to be fed by a syringe.
- You can get more done in a shorter time if you feed each kitten more than once during the session if you’re feeding more than one. To accomplish this, feed the first kitten until it stops nursing, feed the second, and so on. The order of giving the bottle to each person is repeated after the first person has taken a turn. Typically, a kitten will have eaten enough to eat after two or three nursing turns. There will be bubbles around the kitten’s mouth, and its abdomen will be round, nearly pear-shaped when it has had enough formula.
- Give the kittens a quick once over with a warm, slightly damp washcloth after each meal. Try using short, quick strokes, much like a mother would. Grooming has multiple purposes for kittens: it keeps their fur clean, teaches them how to groom, and provides them with much-needed sociability. Before putting the kitten back in its cage, ensure it is thoroughly dry.
- Kittens naturally lick one other and people’s fingers, even after they’ve eaten. If you notice your kittens suckling excessively, it may be time to increase their feeding frequency. Kittens should be separated if suckling from other kittens in the litter becomes a concern, especially in the genital region.
Weaning Kittens
When a kitten is ready for weaning, it will bite the nipple often and gently lick formula off your fingers. Ensuring that kittens have enough to eat and don’t get too freaked out during the weaning process requires keeping the bottle going the whole time. First, you’ll need to get the kitten used to licking your finger and then a spoon full of formula as you begin the weaning process. Place the formula in a flat dish once it has mastered the talent. Blend some warm canned food and ready-to-use kitten formula to make a thin gruel for the kitten’s first solid food. As the kitten ages, you can gradually wean it off the formula and onto solid food.
Use a wide, shallow dish for the food. Some kittens start lapping immediately, and others would rather suck the gruel off your fingers. Let them, and lower your finger to the plate gradually. Kittens are notorious for scoffing down their food or nibbling on the edge of their dishes. For some people, it takes two or more meals before they finally understand. Open the kitten’s mouth and rub some of the food on its tongue or teeth if it isn’t interested in eating. The weaning process will take some time, so please be patient. Thicken the gruel as the kittens learn to eat it. Keeping a low, spill-resistant basin of clean water on hand is essential while feeding kittens gruel.
Kittens have a bad habit of treading on their food. Before rehoming the kittens, please give them a thorough bath and pat them dry. If you’re trying to wean a kitten, you might not want to leave any food or drink in its cage because it is likely to be filthy. Kittens’ body temperature drops quickly if they get wet.
Kitten Feeding Schedule
| AGE | 0-1 Weeks | 1-2 Weeks | 2-3 Weeks | 3-4 Weeks | 4-5 Weeks | 5-8 Weeks |
| WHAT | Kitten formula | Kitten formula | Kitten formula | Kitten formula | Mix of formula/ solid | Offer formula mixed with solid |
| AMOUNT | 2-6 ml | 6-10 ml | 10-14 ml | 14-18 ml | 18-22 ml | |
| HOW OFTEN | Bottle feed every 2 hours | Bottle feed every 2-3 hours | Bottle feed every 3-4 hours | Bottle feed every 4-5 hours | Bottle feed every 5-6 hours | Feed every 6 hours |
Kittens, especially in their initial weeks of life, require regular feedings to ensure they get the proper amount of food for their developing bodies. Kittens should be fed the recommended commercial kitten milk replacer according to age.
When a kitten is still dependent on its mother for sustenance, the mother will wean it off her milk, often after around four weeks. Bottle-fed kittens have the same time frame. Mix a little amount of wet kitten food with the milk substitute to create a gruel and introduce it to their diets. Kittens will still require bottle feeding even after they have begun the weaning process because it is highly improbable that they will consume enough of the special slurry to meet their nutritional needs. Over the fifth week, gradually reduce the formula in the gruel and replace it with dry kitten food and a water bowl.
Increase the kitten diet while decreasing milk substitutes for the next two weeks. Kittens should be completely weaned from their mother’s milk by the time they are 8 weeks old. As recommended by veterinarians, kittens should also start their vaccine routine at this time. Feed the kitten twice daily with ordinary kitten food once it reaches 2 months of age. To be safe, you can move to an adult cat diet after the first year but check with your vet first.