I have an orphaned 2 week old kitten and he is not taking well to the bottle, any tips or tricks? I have tried wrapping him up like a buritto, i have tried restraining him, no matter what I do he will not stay still and will not suckle. Other issue, in the last day or so his cry has become very soft, could this be a problem?
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2 week old kitten and need some advice
- Thread starter jcjenny
- Start Date
Ok here are some basic questions. Is the kitten warm? Is the food warm? Do you know how much the kitten weighs?
Kittens cannot regulate their body heat until they are 3 weeks old. They also cannot digest cold food or digest food if they are cold.
You should be feeding the kitten every 2 hours around the clock. See if you can get 3 - 4 mls into him at each feeding. If he won't take a bottle use a small needleless syringe. Put one or two drops in the kittens cheek, wait for it to swallow and take a breath, then repeat. If the kitten is lethargic from not eating smear a tiny bit of glucose, light karo syrup or watered down honey on the kittens gums or lips. The sugar will go right to the kitten's blood stream and give it the energy to eat.
After feeding the kitten you need to burp it and help it to pee and poop.
I hope this helps until others come along with more ideas.
Kittens cannot regulate their body heat until they are 3 weeks old. They also cannot digest cold food or digest food if they are cold.
You should be feeding the kitten every 2 hours around the clock. See if you can get 3 - 4 mls into him at each feeding. If he won't take a bottle use a small needleless syringe. Put one or two drops in the kittens cheek, wait for it to swallow and take a breath, then repeat. If the kitten is lethargic from not eating smear a tiny bit of glucose, light karo syrup or watered down honey on the kittens gums or lips. The sugar will go right to the kitten's blood stream and give it the energy to eat.
After feeding the kitten you need to burp it and help it to pee and poop.
I hope this helps until others come along with more ideas.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #3
The kitten is warm and the food is warm, he is currently at 140 grams, he started yesterday at 122 and ended the day at 130, i have been using a bottle and as he chews on the nipple he gets a little amount, he eats consistantly 3-4 oz every 2 hours. He sure is not lathargic, when its feeding time he would be happy to get away.
It might be time to start feeding him every 3-4 hours.
