Goat's Milk for 1 month old kittens, is it ok?

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wera

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I have 5 weeks old kittens. I am giving them unpasteurized goat's milk once a day and they like it. Is it ok to give them wet food in the morning then goat's milk in the evening. They are 6 kittens who have good appetite. Their mother is also taking good care of them and I am feeding the mother high quality food like Orijen and wellness. Is it necessary to give them goat's milk like once a day, And if Yes, should I give them unpasteurized or pasteurized goat's milk? 
 
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jennyr

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Goats milk, pasteurised or not, is fine for kittens - I have saved several orphans on it when nothing else was available. But at 5 weeks, as you have discovered, kittens are beginning to enjoy more solid food. Is the mother still feeding them? If she is, then you probably do not need to feed extra mikl. Or you could add it to their food and make it more soupy, if they like it like that. Ift he kittens are gaining weight and are active and pooping/peeing properly, then they are getting enough nutrition from whstever sources. Kittens often also enjoy natural yoghurt and unsalted cream cheese (fromage frais).
 
rosti

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jennyranson said:
Goats milk, pasteurised or not, is fine for kittens - I have saved several orphans on it when nothing else was available. But at 5 weeks, as you have discovered, kittens are beginning to enjoy more solid food. Is the mother still feeding them? If she is, then you probably do not need to feed extra mikl. Or you could add it to their food and make it more soupy, if they like it like that. Ift he kittens are gaining weight and are active and pooping/peeing properly, then they are getting enough nutrition from whstever sources. Kittens often also enjoy natural yoghurt and unsalted cream cheese (fromage frais).
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I agree with all that was said.

Whenever I have a kitten that isn't growing well or is a little thin, I start feeding them milk directly out of our goats. They quickly fatten up and have a much softer coat then normal.
 
StefanZ

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wera said:
. Their mother is also taking good care of them and I am feeding the mother high quality food like Orijen and wellness. Is it necessary to give them goat's milk
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Nay, if the mom is still  nursing them with mother milk, and they had began with wet food, it is not necessary to give them  other milk forms.

But Goat milk by itself is excellent food for kittens and cats. Useful as emergency kmr and otherwise too.   :)

So you are doing nothing wrong, quite the opposite - you do it excellently and exemplary.   :)

You are almost overdoing this a trifle.   :)

Welcome to our Forums!

Good luck!
 
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Thank you for the replies. The mother is nursing them really well I just notice that they are fighting with each other when the mother is there since they are 6 kittens so not all of them can nurse together at the same time. That is why I started to give them wet food. All of them are gaining weight. I will just give the goat's milk occasionally to avoid overfeeding them thanks..
 
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You could of course give the mom some of the goat milk too!

6 kittens do take a heavy toll on her calcium.  She does gets first rate food, so it should be OK, but if you want to be double secured, you can give her some of this goat milk.   :)

 youghurt or  cream cheese as JennyRansom mentioned are other possible alternatives for extra calcium..
 
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StefanZ said:
You could of course give the mom some of the goat milk too!

6 kittens do take a heavy toll on her calcium.  She does gets first rate food, so it should be OK, but if you want to be double secured, you can give her some of this goat milk.   :)

 youghurt or  cream cheese as JennyRansom mentioned are other possible alternatives for extra calcium..
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Ok thank you, and yes I am giving her unpasteurized goat's milk too.. My vet gave me pet calcium vitamins I am giving it to her everyday. Is it ok to give them unpasteurized? Is it ok to give for kittens? I can also be able to get them pasteurized milk but I read that unpasteurized is much more nutritious for cats. For kittens, it is ok if I give them either pasteurized or unpasteurized? 
 
orientalslave

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It can look horrible when kittens are fighting at the milk bar, but so long as they are well and putting on weight there is no need to worry.  A cat usually has 8 nipples so 6 kittens can feed at the same time when they are fairly small.  The cat I fostered had no problem feeding 5 well-grown kittens for the 8 weeks she had them.
 
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OrientalSlave said:
It can look horrible when kittens are fighting at the milk bar, but so long as they are well and putting on weight there is no need to worry.  A cat usually has 8 nipples so 6 kittens can feed at the same time when they are fairly small.  The cat I fostered had no problem feeding 5 well-grown kittens for the 8 weeks she had them.
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Yes, that is why I am starting to feed them wet food so that they are not too hungry when all of them are nursing at the same time. :)
 
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jennyranson said:
Goats milk, pasteurised or not, is fine for kittens - I have saved several orphans on it when nothing else was available. But at 5 weeks, as you have discovered, kittens are beginning to enjoy more solid food. Is the mother still feeding them? If she is, then you probably do not need to feed extra mikl. Or you could add it to their food and make it more soupy, if they like it like that. Ift he kittens are gaining weight and are active and pooping/peeing properly, then they are getting enough nutrition from whstever sources. Kittens often also enjoy natural yoghurt and unsalted cream cheese (fromage frais).
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When it says natural yougurt, is it Plain yogurt? How many tsp per kitten should I give and how many times a day?
 
orientalslave

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Personally I wouldn't give them goats milk, yoghurt or anything similar.  Mother's milk plus wet and/or dry food is just fine. 
 
StefanZ

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wera said:
When it says natural yougurt, is it Plain yogurt? How many tsp per kitten should I give and how many times a day?
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Yes, plain, unflavored, without sugar, that should be the natural, I presume.

.  They wont die if they happen to eat some youghurt with fruit (and surely some sugar), but processed sugar not good in the long run.  So use some natural, plain variation.  :)

How many and often you should? Here as it is extra, so you dont need to plan the exact amount. It is mostly so they get feel of some other flavors, get used to eat different types food.

These extra arent dangerous, so if you happen to give "too much", it doesnt hurt.

Do as is convenient for you.  Unless you see someone clearly needs extras.

But if they were orphans, you would get to plan more carefully yes.   :)

Good luck!
 
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StefanZ said:
Yes, plain, unflavored, without sugar, that should be the natural, I presume.

.  They wont die if they happen to eat some youghurt with fruit (and surely some sugar), but processed sugar not good in the long run.  So use some natural, plain variation.  :)

How many and often you should? Here as it is extra, so you dont need to plan the exact amount. It is mostly so they get feel of some other flavors, get used to eat different types food.

These extra arent dangerous, so if you happen to give "too much", it doesnt hurt.

Do as is convenient for you.  Unless you see someone clearly needs extras.

But if they were orphans, you would get to plan more carefully yes.   :)

Good luck!
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Thanks for the help. I am going to try the plain yogurt :)
 
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OrientalSlave said:
It can look horrible when kittens are fighting at the milk bar, but so long as they are well and putting on weight there is no need to worry.  A cat usually has 8 nipples so 6 kittens can feed at the same time when they are fairly small.  The cat I fostered had no problem feeding 5 well-grown kittens for the 8 weeks she had them.
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Agree, my girls never have any issue feeding litters of 6 or 7 for twelve weeks. 
wera said:
Yes, that is why I am starting to feed them wet food so that they are not too hungry when all of them are nursing at the same time. :)
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They're eating wet food because they're old enough now, it has nothing to do with mums milk bar. Kittens start on solid food at around 4 weeks but continue to nurse for the 12 weeks they're with their mother. They don't need to have added goats milk.
 
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