If you found a motherless kitten, you're going to need to know how to bottle feed them
But for newborn kittens under 10 days old
Bottle feeding can be a real challenge and you might want to try syringe feeding
In this video I'm going to show you how to safely feed a newborn orphan kitten using a syringe
There are several different strategies for feeding orphan kittens
But my preference is to feed the tiniest kittens under 10 days old with a syringe
Boomba is less than a week old and you can tell because his eyes are closed
His ears are folded and very small, and he still has an umbilical cord
So for kittens like these, when their eyes are still closed
I prefer to feed them by syringe
As they get a little bit older, I prefer to feed them with a bottle
When you're using a bottle like this
It's a little harder to measure exactly how much the kittens eating if they're tiny
Because the quantities are so large on the bottle
This is more appropriate for a bigger kitten
This is a 3cc oral syringe, you can see that there's no needle on the end of it
Just a tip that can slip into their mouth
My strong preference is to use a 3cc syringe with a miracle nipple
Reason that I love this product is because it's really comfortable for their tiny mouths
You can see the difference
So this is much more comfortable when they're a really small neonate
And it just pops right on the end of your syringe
The other great thing about this product is that it has a tiny hole in the end of it
So you know exactly how fast the flow is going to come out
versus these nipples that don't have a hole in them that you have to cut
So this is a much safer bet for getting a nice slow and steady flow
Into a very tiny kitten and for being able to measure it
You can see on here the quantities are so much easier to measure, this is only 3cc
So this is a good meal for a kitten under a week old
So make sure that you keep a feeding chart handy. Keeping a feeding chart is going to help you understand
What their weight should be for their age and about how much they should be eating
Of course it's going to vary kitten to kitten, and it's also going to vary meal to meal
So you just want to make sure that they're at least getting the minimum quantity
That they should be getting for their age
For a teeny teeny tiny kitten, that's going to be only 2 milliliters
so not even a full 3 CC syringe
As they get closer to a week old it could actually be more like 6 milliliters of feeding
Which would be two of these syringes
At every week kittens are going to need a different quantity in a different interval
So before they reach one week old, you're going to be feeding them every two hours including overnight
As they get older the frequency decreases
So you're able to get a little bit more sleep get a little bit more done in between
And they eat more and more each time
You're going to need to purchase a kitten formula such as one of the formulas pictured here
You can buy these at a pet supply store, a feed store or online
They come in Powders and liquids, and I personally recommend the powders
Make sure that you do not feed kittens anything that you just have in your fridge
So don't feed them cow's milk
condensed milk
almond milk
human baby formula
I hear all the time people feeding kittens whatever they can find at home
Or special recipes they found online
This is so dangerous for them because if it goes through their body
And they can't digest it, t's going to come out as diarrhea
It's going to manifest in all sorts of horrible ways that can actually kill the kitten
So rather than put your kitten at risk by making a home remedy or using something you have in your fridge
You really do want to use a kitten formula
You also want to be careful not to buy something that says "cat milk"
If something says "cat milk" on it, it is meant as a supplemental treat for an adult cat
That's not the same thing as kitten formula
Make sure you pick up something that says "Kitten formula" on it
So you can get formula and a powder or in a liquid
I really prefer the powder because it lasts a really long time, you just pop it in your fridge
Or you can even store it in your freezer and it'll last a really long time
Follow the instructions on the back of it. For this it's going to be a ratio of
Two parts water to one part powder
What I prefer to do is to mix it in a blender bottle. A blender bottle is a smoothy bottle
That is actually made for people who do like protein shakes and stuff like that
I certainly am not one of those people, but I do own a lot of blender bottle
It makes it so that you can make a really smooth mix of formula that has no clumps at all
If it has clumps it's going to clog the nipple and make it so
that it's very frustrating for them and they can't get it out
Make sure you're using really warm water
You don't want it to be too hot and you don't want it to be too cold
Just something that's very comfortable to the touch
All right, make sure it's nice and tight and then shake it up
You're going to end up with a formula that is nice and warm, it's made fresh and it is clump free
What you don't want to do is mix a whole jug of this stuff
and say; "Great now I can use it over and over again for the next month"
You want to make it fresh at least every one to two feedings
Take your syringe and dip it into your fresh formula and
And pull up the formula so that is 3cc of warm fresh kitten formula
Anytime that I make formula
I just test a little drop of it on my wrist to make sure that it's comfortable for me
if it makes you go: "Ah!"
Because it's too cold or too hot, that it's not the right temperature
When you're preparing to feed these guys you want to make sure
That their bodies are the right temperature
These guys are living in this little container with a heating Pad
So they are nice and warm
If the kitten is too cold or is too hot it can actually be dangerous to feed them
So if you suspect that a kitten is too cold or too hot
You want to gently and slowly get their body to a comfortably warm temperature before you feed them
So I've got 3cc of formula pulled up in a syringe
And I'm going to gently introduce the miracle nipple into his mouth
Make sure that when you're feeding kittens, you're feeding them in the correct posture
One thing that you want to make sure you do, is that you feed them in a position that's natural to them
A natural position for a kitten eating from their mother
Would be with their belly down either laying down or sitting up like this
But with their belly facing the ground
When human babies eat, we often feed them on their back like this
But for a kitten that's extremely dangerous, so you would never ever want to feed them in that manner
When a kittens suckling their tongue is going to kind of form a little taco shape around the nipple
And they'll be actively engaged in swallowing the formula
I can feel that with my finger on his throat, and I can watch him swallowing
So you want to feed with your dominant hand
So that you can be very intentional
About how slowly you're compressing the syringe and your non-dominant hand will be holding them in place
With the Belly down their head up
And you can actually hold their head where you want them, put your finger on their throat
And this is a really safe and comfortable way to feed
And even if you have to do it one drop at a time that's better than filling them, too quickly
So this is a team effort
He is swallowing, he's actively engaged
And I'm also helping apply just a little bit of pressure
Equal to how quickly he's swallowing
Be very careful when your syringe feeding a kitten
Especially if they are under a week old
These little guys are more vulnerable than any kitten you'll ever meet
Because they don't have a gag reflex yet
They can't control their body temperature
So it's really important to you to get this right if you're working with them at this age
So you want to go really slowly with these guys
You can see how slowly I'm compressing this
And I'm doing it at her speed
So my fingers on her throat I can feel that she's swallowing
I can watch to see that she's suckling
I'm an active participant in her eating
I'm watching her, I'm feeling for her swallowing
So sometimes you're going to introduce the nipple to the kittens mouth
And they're going to have no idea what you're trying to do
And that's pretty normal
You know, this might be the first time they've ever bottle fed
So you want to be patient with them you have got to exercise patience
This is absolutely a labor of love
So one issue I see with people who are new to bottle feeding
Is that they're kind of afraid to really hold the kitten in position
You can see this kitten is so young he really isn't even holding his head up yet
What I recommend is putting your hands on either side of their head
And really helping direct them where you want them to go
So if you're not able to get these kittens to latch
That's okay
The most important thing is that they are swallowing and that you're doing it really slowly
So even if you can't get that nice latch the first time
You still want to get a meal in them as long as they are swallowing
So put your finger on their throat nd then just
Very, very slowly drop by drop
Give them a little bit of formula and see if they're swallowing it
If they're not swallowing
There's probably something more severe going on, you're going to want to get them to a veterinarian
You never want to feed a kitten that cannot swallow
Some kittens might prefer to eat out of the side of their mouth
This is not ideal, but if that's the way you can get some food in them
Just make sure that they are actually swallowing it
And do it super super slowly
You absolutely cannot go slowly enough while syringe feeding
Another thing that can happen is that your kitten can be really squirmy
Or not sure what to do
So one thing you can do is barbershop them or purrito them
To help keep their head really steady when you're feeding them
Kittens will often tell you if they're done eating
So you can try to offer them more
But you never want to forcefully shove formula into their mouths
So if she starts to turn her head away, as long as she's had a proper meal
I'm okay with stopping
So she had two and a half milliliters
Which is on the small side for a meal, but for her, she's a pretty small kitten so it's okay
And in two hours she'll have a chance to eat more
If they get a lot of formula on their face
You're going to want to make sure that you wipe their face down with a baby wipe
Kittens can very easily get formula crusted all around their mouth
And what happens is it's really uncomfortable for them
If it dries it can actually cause their hair to fall out around their face
So you want to make sure you help keep them nice and clean
Wiping down their face also helps teach them some of those good grooming behaviors
That they would usually get from their mom licking them
As soon as they [are] done eating you want to put them immediately back into their warm space
When they're this young you're not really playing with them. You're not letting them run around
They really should just be sleeping, eating and peeing and pooping and that's about it
Good luck and don't give up!
Syringe feeding is an art form and it does take practice
But be patient and you'll be a pro in no time
You can learn more about orphaned kittens care by subscribing to my YouTube channel
Or checking out my website kittenlady.org
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