Angry kittens?

I am currently fostering my second pair of bottle babies for a shelter. They are doing well, strong and healthy although they had to be taken from their mom when they were only one day old (she didn´t lactate and needed a surgery).

What I am just wondering is a certain behaviour I noticed in all my bottle kittens. Often they seem to get angry at the bottle and start scratching like mad, that it hurts my hands. I can hold their paws down during feeding, but I just wondered why they are doing this. it´s not the kneading they do on mother´s belly (although they do that too sometimes).

First I thought the hole in the nipple is too small and they are not getting enough. But they do it with the other nipple as well, which has a big hole and they get it out easily.

They really seem to be mad, making those crazy squeaks for a few seconds until they calm down and everything is good again.

I'm not sure because I've never experienced this. I am bumping this in case someone might have better advice who missed it.  @catwoman707  ? @StefanZ  ?

This is normal behavior, they all seem to di it, it is out of the unnaturalness of the bottle, rather than the natural warm momma and her soft nipples.

I often wonder why they haven't come up with a better and more lifelike way of feeding since there are always so many out there.

Why not have a soft, furry disk filled with rice or beans that can be heated,  that warms in the microwave, with sort of a hole in the center to stick the bottle in to feed?!

If you notice, put a fuzzy piece of clothing over your hand they can grab when feeding, the frantic grabbing stops

BTW....they WILL also do this when they are unable to get enough from a too small holed nipple.

Nipples should be filled, tipped upside down and a drop quickly forms on it but won't drip until it's shook gently downward.

ALWAYS feed tummy side down but it sounds like you know this

Thanks! I have the same thinking each time I feed. I am trying to figure out how to make feeding more pleasant for them. I should add another DIY project to my life...

Btw, I found a good way to mix the KMR and get it in the tiny bottles without mess.

I bought a condiment bottle with a wide neck and a narrow tip. It´s double handy: I mix the powder with the water in it by shaking hard, and then use the tip to fill it into the feeding bottle.

Usually I mix the amount for 24hrs and keep it in the fridge (in the condiment bottle). When it´s feeding time I fill the feeding bottle, warm a mug of water in the microwave and leave the bottle in there for about a minute. Works much better than using a funnel and a spoon.

Perfect

I do the same but with a gatorade bottle with the wide neck, then pour whatever amt is I need into the bottle.

Otherwise kmr powder is everywhere!