Expert: Jessica - 1/5/2010

Question
Can I feed 2 day old kittens goats milk

I found a mother cat who does not look older then 6 months about a week ago. I took her in and she gave birth to 3 kittens which are now 2 days old. She was a trooper during birth and did it all herself, she even fed that night and the next day but has since stopped. I have tried to force her to lay down %26 feed them but is not working so well. I have called several shelters to see if they will take them and I have been told no. I have experience with new born puppies %26 bottle feeding but do not know much about cats. The puppies had goats milk mixture. Can I give the kittens goats milk or do I have to purchase the formula? Or do you have another suggestion for feeding the babies. I would greatly appreciate any help that I can get. Thank you so so much in advance.

Answer
Hi Amberly.  Thanks for stepping in to help out this kitty and her babies!  

Goat's milk should only be fed to kittens on an emergency basis, very temporarily, since it doesn't contain enough sugar or fat to adequately nourish the kittens.  Some people do make their own kitten formulas out of a combination of evaporated milk, gelatin, mayonnaise or yogurt, eggs, corn syrup and several other ingredients.  However, this is still not as complete and balanced as commercially available kitten formula is.  So I do strongly recommend to purchase formula already made.

The brand I prefer is KMR, and I personally like the powdered version better than the canned version, but different people have different experiences.  My own kittens seem to eat the powdered formula more eagerly, and it keeps longer in the refrigerator.  There are also some other brands like Hartz and Just Born that are okay to use.

The most difficult part of raising the kittens is that they really need to be fed every two hours, day and night, for the first two weeks.  Then you can drop down to every three hours for week three, four hours for weeks four, and 6 hours thereafter.  Formula labels say to feed newborns every 3-4 hours, but this is only about half as often as mom would feed them.  This results in gobbling, a subsequent belly upset, and then refusal to eat their next meal eventually.  I was losing about half of my kittens on this feeding schedule, until a veterinary technician who raises dozens of litters a year opened my eyes.  Since I've been feeding every two hours, I haven't lost a single kitten.

While the babies are tiny, you may need to start feeding them with a syringe or eye dropper.  The nipples on the bottles can be a little big for them sometimes.

As long as mom is still taking care of grooming, bathroom duty and keeping them warm, that's all you have to do!  If she's neglecting them altogether, you will also have to stimulate them to move their bowels and bladders, as you would with puppies.  Kittens take a little longer to mature than puppies, and some need this stimulation until they are as old as four weeks.  

The newborns also need to be kept in a 90-degree environment for week one, 85 degrees for week two, and 80 degrees for week three (then household temperature thereafter), if mom is completely neglecting them.  Or, you can keep them in a box with a heating pad that is wrapped in a towel and set on low heat.  Just be sure the babies have room to move off the heating pad if they get too warm.

Wishing you all the best!

Jessica