hand feeding kittens

wazzoraybelle

Hi, My cat had 4 kittens about 10 days ago, All was going really well when she vanished yesterday morning when she hadn't returned by evening we started feeding the kittens by hand with cimicat formula. we found the mother this morning in a terrible state , barely able to walk, unable to meow. It turns out she had spent the night under the floorboards of our living room not making a sound for 24 hrs. A visit to the vet revealed she has bad mastitis on two of her teats and has kept her in so we are looking at hand feeding the kittens for a while longer at least.

We are wondering if anyone has experience of mastitis in lactating cats and whether she will be able to continue feeding her kittens once it is under control.
and we would also appreciate any tips anyone might have on hand rearing kittens (4). They are 10 days old and have just opened their eyes. Any idea on how long it will be before they will be able to drink from a bowl instead of a syringe?
Thanks for any advise.

Our man in Havana

wazzoraybelle wrote: »

Hi, My cat had 4 kittens about 10 days ago, All was going really well when she vanished yesterday morning when she hadn't returned by evening we started feeding the kittens by hand with cimicat formula. we found the mother this morning in a terrible state , barely able to walk, unable to meow. It turns out she had spent the night under the floorboards of our living room not making a sound for 24 hrs. A visit to the vet revealed she has bad mastitis on two of her teats and has kept her in so we are looking at hand feeding the kittens for a while longer at least.

We are wondering if anyone has experience of mastitis in lactating cats and whether she will be able to continue feeding her kittens once it is under control.
and we would also appreciate any tips anyone might have on hand rearing kittens (4). They are 10 days old and have just opened their eyes. Any idea on how long it will be before they will be able to drink from a bowl instead of a syringe?
Thanks for any advise.

They should start to lap in the next week to 10 days - how is your female cat now?

Never had to hand rear kittens thankfully - but it sounds like you are doing a great job!

wazzoraybelle

There's been no real improvement in the mother, She is on a drip and staying at the vet's practice overnight. Good to hear there is an end in sight for the bottle feeding. Having no children myself the 2 hourly feeds are quite a shock to the system!!

Jules

Hey i have had lots of experience hand raising cats.. too much at times i think. It would be best for her to be spayed and kept away from the kittens. Kittens should lap about 3/4 weeks but some take a little long. It will be easier for you that they had time with there mum. The main thing is let them drink the amount they want to, every 4/6 hours durning the day but, in my experience they do sleep during the night. Most important thing is to make sure you are stimulating them to pee and poo. You need to get a lump of cotton wool and rub them around there pee hole and bum hole. and be careful taking the cotton wool away to check as if they are in mid pee it might hit ya in the face, especially with the boys.

You should start putting milk down in a dish. but do keep on bottle feeding them, and btwit will be messy when they start to feed!

Any more advice you can pm me!

BlackCat2008

It's never ending for me, wouldn't know what a nights sleep was if it came over me. Here's a run down.

From birth feed every two hours for the first two weeks and every four hours for the next two weeks and there after. You can get a bottle from most pet shops for about 7-10 euros if I remember correctly much hander. Put the kittens on a towel in an up right position (never on their backs and never by the scruff of the neck, they will kneed the towel as they feed)best to heat the milk in a cup of hot water than a micro, test the milk on your wrist it should be warm or room temperature, never hot !!!!, remember to make the teat hole a little bigger when the grow or the change from two hours to four hour feeds. Make sure you do not get any up their noses or squeeze the bottle, the last thing you want is for them to inhale the milk into their lungs. Top tip make sure you can see the line of the milk at it's lowest point when feeding , in other words there is no room for air in the teat keep a gentle tug on the bottle and you will feel and see when the kitten is finished. Try feeding them from a tea/dessert spoon when they are about three weeks old until they are lapping(some take to it quicker than others.

You can start to give them wet mashed kitten food at four weeks, I don't advise you to start feeding them solids before four weeks as this can cause them digestive problems for life. You can try and see if they will take some cooled boiled water from the kettle left to cool as the milk sub. can some times leave them thirsty, but remember that water flows faster than milk so take care.

After 15-25 minutes rub their bums with cotton wool and warm water, from pee hole to pooh hole, never the other way round as this can cause an infection, even better change the cotton for each, rub in circles and very gently as not to cause a rash. Keep a check that the eyes are clean as well with the cotton.

You must be 100% sure milk, drinking water and water for cotton is warm not hot!!!!! if in doubt add cold water or leave to cool to room temperature.

If kittiens are stressed with out mammy try putting them on your cheat to hear your heart beat you can even fed them there. Keep them warm and out of drafts but not to hot. If they get diarrhoea for more then two to three days seek advise from your vet, it may just be the change in diet, but young animals should always be watched for it and brought to a vet if it continue's, diarrhoea in young animals can be a sign of many problems and young animals can go down hill at lightening speed if not caught in time, it is also quiet common but do seek advise.

Grooming them can both help you's bond and shift trapped wind, you should be able to get hold of a soft or baby brush almost any were.

If you have any questions unanswered just post or pm.

Good luck !!!!

BlackCat2008

Hay, how is mammy and babies doing. I'm sure your seeing double at the minute with lack of sleep.