Questions from kids for school work about feeding newborn kittens

Anne

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I'm posting these questions for a group of nice kids who decided to focus their school project on feeding newborn kittens (isn't that nice?). They have a couple of questions for experienced rescuers - 
  • What do you do if a kitten does not want to take the milk from the bottle?
  • Was there a problem bottle feeding multiple kittens at a time? Was it too time consuming?
Would anyone care to share from their experience? 
 

teslas

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Thank you so much Anne for Starting this thread for us. We are trying to see what are the features people would like in a solution that can feed multiple kittens

1. How many kittens should be max to feed (because we need to provide those many nipples)

2. What else should kids know about this?

3. Any wishes regarding this solution anybody has? what features will you like? 

4. Help us design the tool that will help shelters and cat organizations.

Thank you

Coach 
 

jemleaj

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Khalifa, 8 weeks old found at 3 weeks. She had no idea what the bottle was at first, I had to hold her head and force the bottle into her mouth and slowly squeezed the formula into her mouth until naturally she began to suckle. Feel free to ask me any other questions that may be if help to you.
 
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jennyr

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It can be hard feeding multiple kittens, and when you think that newborns, until they are about 3 weeks old, need feeding at least every two hours, it is almost impossible for one person to take on more than two or three kittens at one time. At the beginning it can be a 24 hour job!

What you need -

A towel to put on your lap and fold over to keep the kitten warm. A cold kitten won't feed.
Kitten bottle with the smallest size teat
10cc needle-less syringe in case a kitten won't take the bottle
KMR (kitten replacement milk) from pharmacy, vet or petshop, made up and in a jug with an easy spout. If you use a syringe it is easier to fill than a bottle.
Paper towel to wipe up spills
Another towel to put over your shoulder to burp the kitten
Weighing scale that weighs in grams
Cotton wool to help stimulate the kitten to poo
Paper towels to clear up mess
Notebook and pencil

Very young kittens often have a problem with a bottle. I find that it is often much easier to use a syringe, with no needle in it of course, and the 10cc size is usually good for kittens. You put the kitten on your lap, rightway up, facing sideways and slightly away from you, and put the little end of the syringe very carefully into the side of the mouth nearest you. Squeeze slowly a little at a time, giving the kitten time to swallow. If you put the syringe into the front of the mouth, or if you put the milk in too quickly, the kitten will certainly panic and may choke as the milk can go straight down into the lungs instead of the stomach. It can take up to 20 minutes to get around 5cc of milk into a frightened and young kitten, so it is very time-consuming at the start.

When a kitten has had all you think it will take, place it over your shoulder on the second towel and pat it very gently on the back, or rub it gently, shoogling it to remove any air in its system. It should give a good burp. Then take a wad of cotton and touch it gently on its rear end to stimulate it to pee and poo. It must be gentle - the mother cat does this by licking it, so that gives you an idea of the pressure to use. It might not do anything every time it feeds, but several times a day it should pee and poo and you will need to have paper towels ready to clean up.

After feeding kittens should have fat round tummies and be sleepy. If a kitten is constantly crying or very restless it is almost certain it is not getting enough to eat, and you will have to pay special attention to giving it more and making sure it is swallowing.

It is a very good idea to weigh kittens regularly, usually I do it at the same time every day, in a kitchen bowl using a small weighing machine set to grams. Keep a written record with a page for each kitten, showing how much it has eaten and how much it weighs. Then you know immediately if a kitten is not eating or not gaining weight. Do not panic if occasionally a kitten takes less for a meal, or does not gain weight, but if this happens two days in a row you will need to seek advice quickly from an expert like your vet or shelter. And not all kittens are the same - some do grow faster than others, so again do not be surprised if some seem a lot bigger. But it is impossible to remember how each one is doing unless you write it down at the time. If you have two kittens that look very alike then mark them with coloured nail varnish on a claw or the tip of an ear, so you can tell them apart.

It is a complicated business, and not everyone succeeds. If you feel you are failing in any way do not be afraid to ask for help before it is too late. Vets and shelters should always be ready to help, even with a phone call. Kittens are very fragile, and in the wild more than half of them die. And some will die whatever we do. But by taking all the care I have mentioned, we can keep this to a minimum.
 

StefanZ

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Thank you so much Anne for Starting this thread for us. We are trying to see what are the features people would like in a solution that can feed multiple kittens

1. How many kittens should be max to feed (because we need to provide those many nipples)

2. What else should kids know about this?

3. Any wishes regarding this solution anybody has? what features will you like? 

4. Help us design the tool that will help shelters and cat organizations.

Thank you

Coach 
Its of course quite a lot of work, dedication and  love to put into it,  and multiple kittens makes it more difficult.  Although you do get hang of it after a while - you get more experience and experience helps.  So you must be prepared it itsnt easy.  Especielly in the beginning when they ARE newborn and fragile.  Later on after a couple of weeks you can allow yourself to sleep several hours at night...  Before that its essentially just napping now and then, if yo do take care of  multiple kittens.

To notice: its much easier to raise healthy kittens, whom are just abandoned but without being premature or having other complications.  Such kittens you may even leave alone a couple of hours (with a heat pad) and get yourself a good nap of almost 3 full hours.

Weak, sick or premature kittens are more difficult.  Its still worth to fight on - quite a few do make it, if you are fighting enough vigorously. (although they would die in nature).  Not all survive, but some do.  A very nice feeling when you succeed.  "He whom saves a life, is saving a whole world" no?   But the fight is much more intense, perhaps including feeding a few drops every hour.... The margins are much thinner.

And you must be prepared for defeat.  Not all such battles can be won, even if you are dedicated AND knowleable.

So, if there is nobody else, do your try if you can.  But if there IS somebody more experienced, an adult, preferably an adult rescuer - let the experienced one take this burden.

Helping healthy newborn is nice and good enough.

Max?  I have read about a Russian blue breeder, whom got two big litters almost simultaneously.  11(!) and 6 kittens.  The momma of 11 died at birth. So she fighted on with the help of momma of 6. but the second momma did also got sick. Eating up so much poo at once wasnt healthy for her.

So now the breeder had to handraise 17 infants, and had also a sick momma who too needed good care...   And this breeder did made it.  ALL 18 survived.

There was a stunning and adorable pic of 17 small RB kittens in a basket, being curious at the photographer

Edit. Some typos.
 
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teslas

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Thank you so much for replying. Kids visited the shelter here and the care taker volunteer talked to kids. Volunteers spend a lot of time feeding kittens. so kids are working to design a solution for feeding multiple kittens at a time. . I request Dr Rachel or anyone who can let kids know if they should be careful about some things. Any thing kids should be considerate about?
 

dimestorehalo

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Just my 2 cents--KMR is expensive, and I didn't have any kittens, ever, who didn't try to spit it up.  I've had much better luck with goat's milk.  In another thread, I read that kittens who don't poop will tolerate a few drops of olive oil in their formula to help the process along. 

I run an elementary-school level robotics program with a bunch of rural, farm kids.  They are incredibly creative, and thought of this project from a kid's perspective.  Many, if not most, have had to hand-raise a cow, pig, or another animal.  I ran this project by them.  The most exciting idea they came up with was

Could a stuffed animal be fitted with nipples and be put in with the babies as a mama (surrogate)?  The "mama" could be filled with milk or formula and left with the kitties for a few hours.  Another thought--could the babies be fitted with some kind of sensor around the belly to alert the caretaker that the baby needed to feed?  Even a motion sensor could help tell if the babies are waking up for another meal.  They also came up with an idea of a multi-nipple to feed multiple kittens at a time.  They were thinking of a milking machine, I think. :)

Sounds like a great school project!
 

StefanZ

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Thank you so much for replying. Kids visited the shelter here and the care taker volunteer talked to kids. Volunteers spend a lot of time feeding kittens. so kids are working to design a solution for feeding multiple kittens at a time. . I request Dr Rachel or anyone who can let kids know if they should be careful about some things. Any thing kids should be considerate about?
So its really THIS which is your project?  Not to be junior caretakers, but sooner constructors and sellers?   Nice if it succeeds!  

There are some commercial surrogate-mama figures for giving company and comfort.  They arent that common in practical use, though.  But the area is of course entirely free for more ideas, perhaps better ideas, perhaps having a nursing  function as well.

As mentioned by @dimestorehalo. goats milk is often nicely working in practice.  Raw goats milk is potentially very good for infants, and also with some stomach problems. But bottled or powdered are OK to use.  Its good to know this is no just an emergency solution when not having anything else, but its really a fully feasible food for kittens AND most other orphaned animals.

The great difficulty is with feeding machines for newborns.  But healthy newborns, whom do suckle well, its perhaps possible.  So I dont want to discourage.

With feeding machines for somewhat older  it should be possible.   I saw the other day a youtube film on three adorable kittens being bottle feed simultaneously by the same rescuer.

They were sitting propped up as humans,  and the caretaker held up with the other arm three bottles against their faces.  They being big enough helped with holding and steering - and eagerly suckling...

This would never work with newborns.  We dont even recommend such positions, its the tummy down, head up - MAY be propped up diagonally.

But never with the back down as a human baby...

Older healhy kittens whom ARE good and used sucklers, may manage such acrobatics, holding themselves the bottle even laying on the back - and vigorously suckling.
 

ashade1

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Just some of my experiences! in September I took in a mom and her 8, 4 day old kittens. Due to the size of her litter, they needed to be separated, rotated, and supplemented every two hours. They would not take to a bottle because they were also feeding on mom, but they did eat from a syringe. The bigger, fatter ones refused to eat sometimes. They all thrived and went/are going to their homes this week!




Then currently, Just yesterday I got four abandoned three week old kittens that we are syringe feeding every three hours and washing them with a cloth. Luckily Andy- my momma cat of the previously mentioned litter has accepted them and helps groom them and present a mother figure to them- even though they are 6 weeks younger than her bunch and she is no longer producing milk. They try to nurse off of her and she lets them try- I am hoping that her milk comes in!





 
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