Kittens and cow's milk?

tabbytail

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Sorry if this has been discussed before but I tried to search and nothing came up. My cousin who lives way out in the country just called (she's got no internet) to say she is frantic because her mother cat has rejected one of her newborns, but it sounds more to me like that one is just not getting his share of the nipple and is getting too weak to fight for it. There is no way she can get to the store tonight to find formula so the question is yes or no will it kill him to have warmed cow's milk from an eyedropper just tonight? It could save his life if he's not getting anything, or will it make him worse? Is there a homemade formula recipe? Please help.
 

skewch

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There are homemade recipes for kitten milk. This one:

Ingredients:
12 oz. boiling water
1 envelope Knox unflavored gelatin

Dissolve the gelatin in the boiling water
1-12 oz. can evaporated canned milk
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons plain yogurt
1 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 egg yolk
Preparation & Cooking

Mix well in mixer. Place in covered bowl and store in refrigerator. Warm a small amount for feedings. This will keep for about 7 days


heres another, but I know there is one that is more simple...try a search


13 ounces unflavored Pedialyte
12 ounces evaporated milk
8 ounces plain yogurt (1% milkfat NOT light)
2-1/2 ounces lamb baby food
2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons Karo white corn syrup
Cat Food Recipe Directions:

Put all ingredients into a blender and mix well. Put milk into Nurse-Maid pet nursing bottle (found at Wal-Mart) and heat to lukewarm. Test on the inside of your wrist. Be sure to stir the milk in the container each time before you refill the bottle.

Put remaining milk into 8 ounce containers and freeze until needed. Two-week-old kittens will drink about 1/2 ounce every 4 hours. Four-week-old kittens will drink about 1 to 1-1/2 ounces every five hours.
 

mrblanche

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Those recipes are good, but if it's a choice between getting the best stuff and keeping the kitten alive overnight, I'd make a baby-type formula with the cow's milk. This will involve warmed milk, some sort of sugar (usually something like Karo Syrup), etc.

Remember...cow's milk isn't the ideal baby food, either, but both kittens and babies have lived on it for millennia.

Also, it is crucial to be sure the kitten is warm before it is fed, and to feed it with it's belly toward the floor, not the ceiling.
 
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tabbytail

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Originally Posted by mrblanche

Those recipes are good, but if it's a choice between getting the best stuff and keeping the kitten alive overnight, I'd make a baby-type formula with the cow's milk. This will involve warmed milk, some sort of sugar (usually something like Karo Syrup), etc.

Remember...cow's milk isn't the ideal baby food, either, but both kittens and babies have lived on it for millennia.

Also, it is crucial to be sure the kitten is warm before it is fed, and to feed it with it's belly toward the floor, not the ceiling.
Thanks, that's her best chance for tonight, since she doesn't have gelatin for evaporated milk either (evaporated milk was my first suggestion)

I'll save all these recipes for future reference, thanks everyone for trying to help.
 

mrblanche

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There are some really excellent articles on this site about what and how to feed kittens, how to be sure they eliminate properly, etc.
 

goldenkitty45

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Its probably ok for a very limited time. I agree that many barn cats have drank cow's milk for centuries and were none the worse. Of course they were drinking RAW cow's milk and maybe that's the difference.

As soon as they can get to the store for Kitten Milk Replacer the better.
 
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