Yet another weaning situation

Hi, I'm VERY new to the board (as you can tell), and I'm going to tell you a little about myself first. I work as a pharmacy technician in a veterinary hospital, and I've been there for 6 years. I work with a great group of doctors, but none of them have ever bottle-raised kittens before. They can only give me medical advice, but not a voice of experience.

So..my situation is this. I was given 4 foster kittens to bottle feed and as of Monday, 10-2-06, I was told they were 2 weeks old. Their eyes had just opened and their weights were on average, 10 ounces. They've been bottle feeding very well for the past week and a half, up until about two days ago. They're all fighting the bottle more and more, and drinking less. They were drinking about 30 mls a piece of kitten formula mixed with a/d (a fatty diet supplement that one of the doctors recommended to help them poop). One of them especially is most interested in trying to eat and drink water on her own. But when I give her the plate of food, she doesn't seem to want it. And she won't take more than 5-10 mls from the bottle anymore. The other three still like the bottle, but again...won't eat as much as they had been. But if I show them the canned food first, they seem somewhat interested and will lap from the plate. Their weights are holding steady, but they're not gaining. And they all have diarrhea on and off.

My questions are....what advice do you all have for someone in this situation? Have any of you been here before? And what works best to entice these kittens to try to eat on their own?

Thanks for your patience everyone. I really appreciate it.

My questions are....what advice do you all have for someone in this situation? Have any of you been here before? And what works best to entice these kittens to try to eat on their own?

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These kittens are only 4 weeks of age....they have just begun the weaning process. So give them some more time since they do not have their mom to teach them what to do.

Katie

BTW...if you haven't visited this site, it's a good one to bookmark:

www.kitten-rescue.com

Originally Posted by TNR1

These kittens are only 4 weeks of age....they have just begun the weaning process. So give them some more time since they do not have their mom to teach them what to do.

Katie

BTW...if you haven't visited this site, it's a good one to bookmark:

www.kitten-rescue.com

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Thank you very much for your reply... but what do I do about the fact that they're not taking as much formula and they're fighting the bottle now?

You can try introducing a little pate-style (very soft and mushy) canned kitten food (Nutro Natural Choice Kitten in the small cans is perfect for this) mixed with a little of the warmed formula now if you like. Baby food (for humans) is always a good choice when trying to wean babies too. However, with these kittens being bottle-babies, you really do need to allow them a lot more latitude when it comes to reaching milestones. As Katie accurately pointed out, without Momma-cat there to teach them what to do, we make really poor substitutes.

Try mushing up the canned kitten food/formula mix in a small, flat saucer type dish and scoop some up on your fingers. With the kitten on the floor nearby the dish, offer your fingers to baby and see if he will lap it from you that way. If so, gradually lower your fingers into the dish until you are completely IN the food, then remove your hand. Baby should continue lapping from the dish at that point.

The key here is a lot of patience. Remember that they might not get the hang of it on the first or even second tries ... be consistant, don't get discouraged and allow them a lot of "wiggle room" when it comes to your expectations of them.

Thanks so much for your input guys. Much apprerciated.