Expert: Ali - 5/8/2009

Question
the mom cat ran a way there 4 babies 3 are eat can food on there  own the other is not how my kitten milk should i be give and how long before feed the next time and how many time a day and how much wet for the others

Answer
Deedee,

I'd recommend that you try a different tactic with these kittens, it might be more successful. It's important to realize that young kittens are in need of high quality nutritious foods that are high in calcium, calories and fat because they're energy needs at such a young age are pretty high. Since cats are substantially different than dogs or people in terms of their nutritional needs it's important to understand them so that you can provide your kittens with the healthiest possible start in life. I can send you an article on the pet food industry that provides you with more information if you're interested in learning more.

Many foods sold in general pet supply stores, grocery stores and discount stores are pretty low quality and sometimes the main protein sources aren't even accessible to the cat who's eating the food. Cats are true carnivores, that means that they need to eat high quality meat based diets. When Menu Foods recalled most pet foods on store shelves when pets started to get sick and die as a result of the contaminated ingredients from China I lost a lot of faith in the pet food industry. My eldest resident cat almost lost her life as a result of eating contaminated food, a food that I really believed was the highest quality most nutritious food on the market. I wasn't sure that I'd ever feel comfortable feeding the majority of commercially produced cat food to any of my cats again, so my vet recommended that I check out the information at catinfo.org. This site was created by a veterinarian who wanted to educate cat caregivers about the unique nutritional needs of cats and the medical problems commonly associated with improper nutrition. If you aren't comfortable feeding the kittens a diet like the one described at this site there are a few other reasonably priced, high quality alternatives to consider.

The two brands that I recommend most frequently are Wellness and Spot's Stew by Halo, they're high quality, holistic cat foods made from human grade ingredients and I can say for sure that Spot's Stew by Halo isn't nearly as expensive as some of the premium foods that are widely available. Since these kittens are without their mom when they'd normally still be nursing at different times throughout the day it's probably a good idea to pick up a commercially available kitten weaning formula, KMR makes a decent one. The weaning formula will help the kittens out by providing them with some extra calcium, vitamins, fat and protein than canned food alone.

At 5 weeks of age these babies should be willing to eat solids like canned cat food, but in a situation like this it's better if you serve the canned food mixed with weaning formula (made according to the directions) so their food is kind of a thick, soupy texture. It's best if you warm meals for the kittens to body temperature so that they're more likely to be interested and eat enough to meet their needs, if you do this in the microwave be sure to stir the food thoroughly and check for any hot spots because kittens can end up with some serious burns on the inside of their mouths if their food is too hot. The 3 babies who are already comfortable with the solid food won't have any trouble with this arrangement and it just might make the other kitten consider trying the new food.

For the 4th baby who isn't comfortable with trying solids I'd suggest that you take the time to serve up a separate plate of food for him and take some time to work with him. Sometimes young kittens who lose their mom before they're weaned for whatever reason have a tough time accepting solids when all they want to do is nurse. If you dip your finger into the canned food/weaning formula mix and touch the kitten's nose with it he'll instinctively lick it off. Some kittens take longer than others to get the idea, but once they understand the concept the rest is fairly simple. When the kitten learns that he can lick food off of your finger then you can make him come to your finger for his food while you gradually move your finger closer to the food until the kitten's eating off the plate on his own. In some cases this might have to be repeated a few times, but overall it's likely to work well.

It's possible that your kittens may get a case of diarrhea because they're not used to eating only solid food. If this happens then I'd suggest adding two tablespoons of plain, organic, unsweetened yogurt to each meal and mixing it together well. The yogurt should help reduce the severity of diarrhea because it contains good bacteria that are typically found in the digestive tracts of mammals. If you have any trouble convincing the kitten who isn't eating yet to switch over to solids I have a few more tricks that I can share with you. Another important thing to remember is that once you've mixed the weaning formula according to the package directions it's only going to be good for about 24 hours. A way to get around wasting excessive amounts of kitten formula is to make a large batch according to package directions and freeze it in ice cube trays, once the weaning formula is frozen it should keep for about 3 months if you store the cubes in ziploc bags.