If a newborn kitten appears in your home, then immediately the question arises as to what to feed him, because the mother cat is not always there or the cats do not always have enough milk to feed the baby. Is it possible to feed the kitten baby food? Does it harm the fragile health of the baby?
Feeding features
First you need to learn about some of the features of the body of kittens, as well as the intricacies of feeding. Everyone knows that newborn kittens in the first month of their life should be fed exclusively on milk. Of course, ideally, the cat itself should feed the kitten, but it is not always possible. Therefore, the first thing that comes to mind is to feed the newborn kitten with baby food.
You need to choose only the mixture that is intended for newborns.
After the first feeding of such food, it is imperative to follow the reaction of the body of the kitten and its behavior. If after the first feeding the pet feels well, does not worry, falls asleep normally and wakes up, shows activity, then this is good. It is also important to follow his chair: it must be normal, without sharp smells. If everything is in order, then you can continue to feed the kitten with the selected mixture.
In the event that the animal becomes sluggish, it is constantly tormented by abdominal pain, the stool has a pungent smell, there is mucus or even blood streaks, then you need to choose another food.
You can not choose to feed a small pet mixture with various additives. For example, there are infant formulas designed for three to four month old babies that contain cereal supplements. There are also compounds with the addition of honey or even sugar. Such food is absolutely not suitable for a kitten.
How to feed?
Before giving baby food to the kitten, it should be remembered that such milk mixtures are much richer and fatter than cat's milk. For this reason, be sure to observe the recommended proportions and properly dilute the mixture.
Look at the ratios that are shown on the box and double the amount of water required.. In the case of non-compliance with the proportions, you can harm the still weak body of a small cat. It is recommended to dilute the mixture only with boiled water. You can also use purified water for children. This bottled liquid will need to be heated to 37 °.
It is necessary to dilute the baby mixture as carefully as possible so that there are no lumps.
Since the little kitten has not developed sucking reflex, it must be fed properly. To do this, you can use a syringe (without a needle), a pipette, or purchase a special feeding bottle at the pet store for feeding newborn kittens. Before each meal, all this must be sterilized, so as not to harm the health of the kitten.
Remember that during feeding the baby should make efforts and independently try to suck milk from the container. In the event that you pour a mixture into it drop by drop, then the sucking reflex will not develop, which will negatively affect his health in the future.
While feeding a little kitten you need to keep it right. Do not lay the animal on his back, as this may harm his health during feeding. The container with the mixture should be kept comfortable, slightly at an angle. If the kitten is already full and refuses from the mixture, then it can not be supplemented with feeding residues by force.After feeding, be sure to wipe the pet's tummy with a wet sponge, slightly massaging it. Usually, after feeding, the cat mom licks the kittens, which helps the crumbs to go to the toilet in a timely manner.
The remaining food can be stored in the refrigerator until the next feed.. Before use, it will have to reheat. It is important to remember that a mixture that has been stored in the refrigerator for more than a day cannot be used for feeding.
How often to give food?
The frequency of feeding a kitten depends directly on its age. If the baby lives in the world only the first week, then he will have to give the mixture every two to three hours. At the same time, remember that you will have to feed him even at night. The two-week-old kitten will eat a little more, but not so often anymore: you will need to feed it every four hours. At night, the baby will not wake up so often, so the frequency of night feeds will decrease.
Three-week kittens are already stronger and more independent. They will need to be fed every five to six hours. It is also important to remember that kittens, whose age is already more than twenty days, should be gradually taught to varnish from the bowl. In addition, you can enter the lure for a kitten older than one month. During this period, it is important to monitor the digestive system of a small cat and its reaction to complementary foods.
Tips and tricks
As soon as the kitten gets stronger and starts to lap up baby food, you can start thinking about the first feeding. As it can also use a variety of baby food. For example, it will be possible to feed a pet with meat puree.
It is only important to remember that you need to choose the most suitable food, that is, in such a puree there should not be sugar, salt and various vegetables, otherwise it may adversely affect the digestive system of a small kitten. A small content of carrots in mashed potatoes is allowed, but it is better to refuse from meals with potatoes or broccoli.
Choosing meat puree, it is important to remember that not everyone is suitable for the daily nutrition of a kitten.
For example, the liver is recommended to give the kittens no more than twice a month. Beef can be consumed daily. But from such fatty meat as pork and goose, it is better to completely give up. If you choose meat puree from poultry meat, then it should not contain skin.
As soon as the baby is one and a half months old, you can enter a small amount of cottage cheese as a complementary food. Choose a low-fat product. In addition, there should be no additives in the dairy product. When the kitten is 2 months old, it will already be completely independent, and it will be possible to diversify its diet.
You can learn more about feeding kittens with baby food in the following video.
