Expert: Ali - 6/2/2009

Question
Hi, My cat just had 8 kittens this past saturday (its her third litter) and one of the kittens isn't able to suck. I've tried putting her mouth towards the nipple incase she just couldn't find it, but she couldn't grip it, she would shift elsewhere and loose it. I bought her kitten replacement milk formula, again she cant suck from the bottle so i have to use the cyringe. The instructions says to feed her 6-8 times a day, i'm just not sure how much of the cyringe i should be feeding her and after maybe about 1 or so she starts to really fight me and screams for her mother, and her mother ultimately comes to take her back to the bed, there are times when its even hard to feed her the one cyringe. Am i feeding her too much? whats going on? Her mother cleans her all the time, she's always with mom but feeding is a huge problem, will she be able to eat by herself soon? whats roughly the time frame? how often should i be feeding her daily? and how much out of the cyringe should i be feeding her? if she's fighting me and using her paws to move away the cyringe does it mean i should stop? or is she's full? etc.. When she's in a comfortable position (eg warm) she tends to warm up to the cyringe every now and then (before she starts shoving it away) but i have to have someone else to help me, unfortunately there are times when i'm home by myself so i dont have that help what do i do? There are a lot of questions sorry, but i just really love this kitten and want her to survive. Please answer a.s.a.p. Thanks so much Ali!

~Kaydeen~

Answer
Kaydeen,

I think that it would be prudent to take mom and the kittens to the vet for a check up. It's quite possible that this kitten's feeding difficulties may be related to a congenital defect such as a cleft palate. The reason that I recommend bringing the entire family to the vet is so that you reduce the risk of accidentally severing the maternal bond which would mean you'd face having to provide all the care that this kitten needs including stimulating him to use the toilet, keeping him clean, warm and comfortable. I recommend feeding newborn kittens small meals (1-2 tsps per feeding at minimum, more if the kitten will take it) every 1 1/2-2 hours until they're old enough to be started on solids. In this case you will need to supplement the entire litter of kittens with 2-3 feedings of formula per day to minimize the stress on mom's system caused by trying to feed 8 hungry kittens and maintain a decent body weight. It's possible that this kitten could be getting some nursing in with mom -a full belly could certainly explain why she's not screaming to be fed. I realize that she has some difficulty latching on and nursing but it's quite possible that she's managing to do so from time to time which is good for her. Kittens who are hand reared should start on solid food gradually when they're 3 1/2-4 weeks old. I recommend feeding a high quality, well balanced homemade cat food or a high quality, holistic cat food made from human grade ingredients like Wellness or Spot's Stew by Halo. If you're interested in learning about homemade cat food you can check out catinfo.org. Canned cat foods like Wellness/Spot's Stew can be mixed with kitten formula until you have a gruel that's slightly thinner than pea soup. Kittens instinctively knead when they're nursing, it's possible that the kitten is using her paws the same way she normally would if she was nursing from mom. A kitten pushing the syringe away doesn't necessarily mean that they aren't hungry or they don't want what you're offering - it really depends on that kitten's personality. I'd suggest keeping a close eye on this baby's weight by weighing her with a kitchen scale that measures in grams up to two pounds so that you have an idea how she's doing and whether she needs to be eating more. Newborn kittens should gain weight quite rapidly, they normally double their weight in the first week of life. The next time you go to get this baby to feed her check to see if her tummy looks full, the other kittens should have full bellies, if this baby does too she's probably managing to nurse on her own and all that's left to do is weigh her regularly to ensure she's getting enough to eat. If the kitten actually does need formula because she's not gaining weight and growing properly and she has an empty belly when you bring her to be fed then there are ways of dealing with a difficult kitten. First I recommend making sure that the formula is warm enough, don't microwave it because that can cause nasty hot spots in the formula that can burn the inside of the kitten's mouth -I recommend warming the formula by placing the appropriate portion into a ziploc bag, sealing it and floating it in hot water until it's warm enough for the kitten. You can towel wrap the kitten using a hand towel - the idea is to keep the paws away from the syringe if she's trying to knock it out of your hands. When a kitten that needs formula is difficult to feed it might be easier for you if you towel wrap her firmly so that only their head sticks out, place them belly down in your lap or on a table use one hand to control the kitten's head and the other to gently place the syringe into the corner of the kitten's mouth and slowly press the plunger in so that the kitten has time to swallow her formula.