12 Week old Kitten refuses to be weaned from bottle

I'm new to this site, sorry if I'm posting in the wrong area.  I have a 12 week old kitten that had a kitty cold about a month ago.  He stopped eating when he became stuffed up and I had to start bottle feeding him to keep him nourished.  Before this, he was eating regular, dry cat food and would occassionally go to the momma to nurse.  After he got sick and I started bottle feeding, like I said; he stopped eating the cat food and also stopped nursing.  He's all better now but refuses to eat cat food.  He gets fed in the mornings and then goes all day without eating until I get home from work to feed him again.  He's starving by this time and follows me around meowing.  I've tried everything, put the KMR with the cat food, put it on his lips, gave him canned food.  I've started mixing the wet food with the KMR so he tastes that.  I've tried putting the wet food on my fingers.  This kitten is stubborn!  I've never experienced anything like this.  Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  Should I try letting him go without food in hopes he'll go to the cat food out of hungry?  I know he won't let me sleep at night or have any piece because he will follow me around meowing all the time.

N nejiwhopper

It's not healthy for a 12-week-old kitten to only drink formula from a bottle twice a day. A kitten this age needs far more nutrition than that.

It sounds like the kitten needs weaning all over again.

Is the cold completely gone now? Was he treated for it with antibiotics?

Are you leaving dry kitten chow down 24/7? That should always be an option. And water, of course.

I suggest that you buy Gerber turkey or chicken baby food and see if he will lap it from your finger, or a plate. If so, feed this to him for a few days in addition to his KMR. Most kittens love baby food.

If not, mix the baby food with his formula, and feed it to him in the bottle. You may have to cut the nipple hole larger. At least he will begin to get more nutrition immediately.

Then, what wet food are you using? Do you use a soft pate style that's easy to eat? What flavors?

Does the kitten still have mom and litter mates around? Is he using the litter box?

Let's go from here. We are approaching the weekend, so maybe you can work with him more.

Thanks...I'm mixing in the wet food into the KMR, also using the KMR 2nd step with it and adding a supplement paste/gel to the mixture. I have a variety of the fancy feast wet foods. I've also used my blender to pulsify the dry cat food and mix that in. It's a mixture on the thicker side and have cut the whole all the way down. Hes all better now, no antibiotics because it was a virus, not infection. He won't take anything from my fingers what so ever or a plate. I care for a cat colony registered with an organization that does TNR, so I currently have several cats in doors waiting to go get spayed/neutered, so food and water is down all day. He's using the litter box with no problems and has semi solid stools. He does have other litter mates that are weaned. I think he just is really stubborn. It's a long weekend and thinking of only doing one feeding in the morning and see if I can force my hand and get him hungry enough to eat on his own. I have a feeling he'll loose his voice before that happens though.

Is the cat colony vaccinated? If not, they should be kept separate from your unvaccinated kittens. I'm sure you know this.

Have you tried the baby food? It may appeal to him.

So do I understand that you are already giving him wet food and supplement paste through the bottle? Yet he will not lap this same mixture from a plate?

Perhaps close him in the bathroom with a dish of the mixture and a dish of KMR, and a litter box, and see if he will eat on his own. Or put one of his litter mates in with him who he can watch eating. Perhaps the smaller environment and a litter mate will get him eating.

This is a peculiar problem. I'm not so sure about starving him at his age. He already goes all day without food. That's a long time at 12 weeks.

I realize he's become spoiled to the bottle feedings and probably the attention, but surely he will outgrow this soon! He sounds very "needy" and bonded to you.

The colony is large, so I am in the middle of getting them all trapped, neutered/spayed and vaccinated.  

Yes, you did read that correctly, that I am putting wet food, paste, & KMR in the bottle but yet he won't lick from my finger or a plate.  I think it is a bonding/security thing with him.  I think this weekend I will get some baby food and try that and try locking him in the bathroom with two smaller kittens that are being weened as well.

Thanks for the suggestions.

I worked with a feral colony myself for five years, and understand that challenge well! Thank you for the work you are doing! My daughter's now 11-year-old cat is from that colony. We got her at 5 weeks old.

I hope the bathroom works this weekend. Please keep me posted. I agree that he's attached himself to you as surrogate mom! Bless his little heart!

Like @sarthur2  said, I sincerely hope you are keeping the kittens separated from the others, which I also am sure you know since you are involved with TNR.  I learned a hard lesson a very long time ago when I lost my dear companion because I brought an unvaccinated kitten in the house that had a disease.  A cat had kittens under our house, and we gave all of them away but one that I kept....one by one the kittens started dying, people were calling telling me, then the one I saved died.  My older baby got sick and I took him to the vet, and he became so ill so rapidly that we had to put him to sleep.  The vet suspected a retrovirus, but at that point, there wasn't any benefit to doing a test.  I remember him saying they would have to send out bloodwork to a lab and that he more than likely wouldn't make it until the results got back--I was devastated.  I lost my longtime dear baby because I made the stupid mistake of bringing that kitten in and not separating it from my old kitty.  At the time I did not know any better.  Whatever it was, it spread quickly and was fatal to all of them.