Expert: Ali - 8/29/2008

Question
Dear Ali;

I have adopted three orphaned kittens about two weeks ago. When I found them outside in the heat they were very close to giving up. Thank God now they are much more lively and have shown most of the signs that I have read about that kittens show. However there are some things that are worrying me.

When I adopted them, I took them to the vet and she told me that they should be close to three weeks old which means that they now are close to 5 weeks. However they still nurse from a bottle. I have tried mashing formula with a little bit of solid food and encouraging them to eat it by putting a little on my fingers and keeping them near the bowl. They have shown some interest in it but not much. How long do they usually take to make the transition completely because every article I read says they should be eating solid food by 4 weeks? Also should I be trying to get them used to drinking formula from a bowl first??

My next question is that I think one of them has a swollen abdomen. However, he still eliminates regularly and even has diarrhea so I don't know how to solve that. I have read about mixing a little yogurt with the formula but isn't it wrong to feed them cow milk products?? I also tried to solve it by diluting the formula I give them so that they won't be overfed but they could also get the liquids they need so that they do not become dehydrated. However, this has caused some slight constipation in one of them and I don't know what to do for that.

Another issue I am having is that they all have a habit of sucking on my fingers. I have not read about this habit anywhere so I don't know if it is a normal or acceptable habit for them to have. They have also grown teeth so it is becoming slightly painful when they clamp down. When I try to pull my fingers away from them they become extremely upset and persistent so I don't know if they are teething and it helps the pain of the teeth like human babies or if it is something else!

The cats are very active and happy as far as I can tell. From my experience with animals, if there was something wrong with them they wouldn't be, right? This is my first time with kittens this age so all and any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you for your help and consideration :)

Regards,
Sarah

Answer
Sarah,

Congratulations, you have saved three precious lives. I'm glad to hear that the kittens are better than they were when you first found them. Unfortunately when vets make an estimate of age it is just a guess, given that the babies were so young I would think that the estimate should have been fairly close to their age, but as is the case with guesses, everyone's guess is different.

Weaning formula fed kittens can be difficult, partially because of the fact that they suffer from attachment issues. Kittens that have been bottle fed often suck on fingers, blankets, clothing, each other, ear lobes or their own fur, this is completely normal. You will need to watch the kittens carefully for any sign that they are nursing on one another to the point that they are causing skin irritation as this can sometimes happen.

As for the diarrhea watering down the formula isn't the answer to this as it takes away from the nutrition that these babies so desperately need. I have routinely added about a half teaspoon of organic, unsweetened plain yogurt to bottles of many kittens without incident. Most kittens younger than 3 months or so aren't lactose intolerant because their mom's milk contains a bit of the natural milk sugars resembling cow's milk. Once you stop watering the formula down and are routinely adding yogurt as mentioned above the issues with constipation and diarrhea should begin to resolve themselves.

The are a number of reasons for a kitten's belly to be swollen. One may be that you aren't properly stimulating the little ones to urinate and defecate as their mother would. Kittens under 4 weeks of age may not necessarily be able to eliminate voluntarily and if they aren't stimulated to use the toilet as their mother would naturally do then they can become bloated and uncomfortable. The kitten would still pass urine and feces, but it would be as a result of an "overflow" effect. There are a couple of different ways to stimulate kittens to pass urine and feces, you can use a cotton ball moistened with warm water or you can pick up a hand towel that feels slightly rough at a dollar store and cut it into small squares to be thrown away once used. I have found that keeping things as close as possible to how mom would do things works best when hand raising kittens. Prior to a mom stimulating her kittens to use the toilet she will often wash the kittens from head to toe on their backs and bellies. You can try starting by wiping the kitten's face with the cotton ball/piece of terry cloth moistened with warm water. You will need to keep the "bath" water that you are using for this sponge bath fairly warm, the closer to body temperature the better (normal for a cat is between 100.5-102.5 Fahrenheit). Essentially whether you are cleaning the kittens backs or their bellies the idea is to start at the head and work your way down the body. While washing each kitten's tummy you will want to sort of massage the bellies very gently while you clean them and work your way down to their genitals. Once you reach the genitals you will want to wipe the kittens from their genitals to their anus repeatedly. Be patient, some kittens can take 5-10 minutes to pass stool while most kittens will urinate quite readily. Just like people some kittens have food allergies. It's possible that the kitten with the bloated belly is sensitive to the kitten formula you are feeding which can be remedied by getting him onto solid food, but in order to get him convinced that solid food is a good idea you will need to switch brands of formula for a short time. Sometimes early food sensitivities can manifest themselves in bloated, gassy bellies and slightly grouchy kittens. You may want to see if Mammalac for kittens is available at vet clinics in your area as this formula is supposedly closer to mom's milk than many commercially available kitten formulas.

I have a simple formula to help hand raised kittens transition to solid food. I would suggest that you start off by mixing the batches of formula with 1/2 of weaning formula to 1/2 of the current milk replacer you are using, you should still continue adding plain yogurt to the batches of formula as this helps to replace the natural beneficial bacteria in a kitten's digestive tract and as a result should reduce the risk of diarrhea becoming a serious health problem. I would recommend that you poach a boneless, skinless chicken breast and allow it to cool. Once the chicken is cool then you will need to dice it up, use a blender or food processor to puree the chicken using the 1/2 & 1/2 formula mixture and 1 tablespoon of plain yogurt. You will want to make sure that the pureed mixture is about the consistency of an average gravy or cooked cream of wheat that's on the runny side. You may find that you have better luck feeding this mix by syringe, but be careful as the tip can sometimes clog and too much pressure on the plunger can result in a face full of food for the kittens or too much food making it into their mouths which could cause them to choke. My preferred method to help get kittens used to the idea of solid food is to dip my finger into the food, gently place a small amount of food onto the little one's nose to stimulate interest and repeat. The idea is to teach your kittens what solid food is, make it something that they will enjoy and try to make the transition as positive as possible by gently teaching them how to eat it. I have found that the most effective way to have the kittens understand what I am trying to accomplish (once they have figured out that they like semi solid food and will take it voluntarily from your finger tips) is to gradually lower my finger so that the little ones have to come closer to the plate with each taste of food. You may have to repeat this exercise a few times, but kittens will usually get the idea in a few days at the most. Once the kittens have become comfortable with cooked chicken you can gradually begin adding a high quality canned food designed for kittens and over the space of about a week make sure that you slowly decrease the amount of chicken and increase the kitten food. Once the kittens are used to eating kitten food mixed with kitten milk replacer and weaning formula you can gradually reduce the amount of formula that you add to the canned food over the space of a week to ten days until you no longer add formula of any kind to their food. I would also suggest that you start keeping a bowl of kitten crunchies down for the kittens at all times as curiosity will lead them to try this once the have figured out that solid food is a good thing.