Bottle-Feeding & Care of Orphaned Kittens: Part 2 - Feeding & Weaning

Last night I attended a class by the Mayor's Alliance for NYC Animals called Bottle-Feeding & Care of Orphaned Kittens. It was hosted at the ASPCA's lovely midtown offices. I learned so much in those 2 hours, this will require a couple posts to cover the topics. Click here to read my previous post on Kitten Supplies.  

This topic: Feeding and Weaning!

The first step after finding a young kitten is to determine its age.  Kittens develop at their own speed based on environmental and genetic factors. These photos and descriptions should help you determine how old your kitten is:

First Week

When kittens are born they are blind and deaf. They cannot urinate or defecate on their own (until 4 weeks). The umbilical cord may still be attached (up to 4 days).  A one week old a kitten's eyes are still closed, ears are folded over. It cannot walk. It sleeps 90% of the time, nurses 10% of the time.

Feeding 1-2 Weeks:

• 1 part KMR Formula + 2 parts Pedialyte (or water).
• If kitten gets diarrhea increase the Pedialyte. If diarrhea persists more than 2 days, contact the vet!
• Kittens can be fed every 4 hrs but schedules vary. Keep them on a steady schedule.
• Burp and stimulate after every feeding. Sometimes they'll eat more after that.
• Always test warmed formula on your wrist before feeding!

Second Week

Kittens gradually become more aware of their surroundings and interact with each other. Their eyes will open around 10 days. By the end of the second week their sense of smell is developing, they will hiss at unfamiliar scents, and interact with each other. Their ears will uncurl during this time, and they will begin to crawl and knead.

Feeding 2-3 Weeks:

• 1 part KMR + 1 part Pedialyte (or water)
• Same as above but kittens may go longer between feedings.
• Note: Kittens will be much more active at this stage and climb out of everything. Their claws cannot retract.  Make sure your box has a cover, or better yet use a carrier.

Third Week

By now you can clearly determine if kittens are boys or girls. The teeth start coming in, and their walking becomes more confident.  They are just beginning to play and develop fine motor skills, and their eyesight improves.  By the end of the third week formula can be supplemented with solid food.

All kittens have blue eyes for at least the first few weeks.

Feeding 3-4 Weeks:

• Time to start weaning and litter training!
• Continue bottle feeding, but supplement with baby food - chicken or turkey baby food mixed with formula can be spoon fed to kittens 2 or 3 times a day. Baby spoons are great for this.
• Place kitten in litter after each feeding and move their paws to demonstrate digging. Soon they will use the box on their own.
• Kitten's stool will start to get more solid after a few days of baby food. Continue to stimulate if kitten does not use the litter.
• Tip: Once a kitten starts chewing a bottle rather than suckling, it's time to give up the bottle.

Fourth and Fifth Weeks

By now most kittens will eat and use the litter on their own, although you should still place them in the litter box after each feeding. They will play with their littermates, explore, learn to dig, and can roll over and get back up.

Feeding 4-5 Weeks:

• Some kittens may still want the bottle, but most will be eating and using the litter on their own.
• This is a good time to start regular pate cat/kitten food.
• If you have more than one kitten a Frisbee is great for feeding since it is low, easy for them to access, won't spill, and keeps most of the food off the floor. They will crawl through it though!

Important Tips

• NEVER feed a kitten that is too cold. Temperature should be 98-101 degrees. Warm a cold kitten immediately using a heating pad wrapped in a blanket, or wrap and hold against your chest.
• Never feed a kitten cow's milk.
• Never feed a kitten on its back, like you would a human baby. Kitten should be upright or on its stomach and leaning forward. 
• If you pull the bottle away a tiny bit, this may encourage suckling.
• Resist the urge to overfeed at one sitting to avoid diarrhea.
• Any lack of eagerness to suckle and failure to gain weight require IMMEDIATE veterinary attention!
• Track your kitten's weight: a 4 week old kitten should weigh around 1 pound. A 12 week kitten should weigh around 3 pounds.

In the NYC area and want to attend the next Bottle Feeding workshop? 

Click here to sign up! (next one is on 10/7/14): http://bit.ly/BFK1410

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Sergeant Frank Praytor looks after a 2 week old kitten (named "Miss Hap") during the height of the Korean War in 1952.

Calling all Photographers! Shelter pets need your help

One of the most important things you can do to help your local shelter and rescue animals is to photograph them.  Yes, shelters absolutely need volunteers that are willing to clean cages, walk dogs, socialize cats, and so much more, but if you have an eye for photography and can work your way around a camera, then your skills are in HIGH demand across the country!

Check out these Before And After photos to see what a difference a good photo can make:

You can't even really see him in the top photo! 

Great example of the difference appropriate lighting and a better angle can do!

Such a sad intake photo, the one on the bottom shows what a charmer this dog is!

See what I mean?! Powerful stuff. It really is the difference between life and death, particularly at high-intake kill shelters.

You don't even have to be a professional to help homeless pets.  Here are some shots my boyfriend and I took of 2 kittens (Bobby and Joey) that we were fostering last year with NYC animal rescue Zani's Furry Friends.  They were adopted together shortly after we published the photos! 

You can see they're not fancy like the ones above, but they're still 1,000% more flattering than their intake photos from the NYC ACC.  I don't have those photos to show you unfortunately, sorry (but they were not good).

Joey lounging on a suitcase. I love his "come hither" eyes in this one.

Bobby at a Zani's Furry Friends adoption event at Petco.
"I'm so cute and such a good boy! Adopt me please!"

Joey hanging out at a Petco adoption event.
Joey and Bobby were adopted together at one of these events!

We took photos of all the cats at the adoption event that day, and they came out beautifully. Again, we are not professional photographers, but do have a nice camera and a pretty good eye.  Zani's was so appreciative, our photos were featured in their newsletter and really helped their cats get noticed.

All this reward for just a couple of hours of work.  We did it, so could you!!

Here's an idea: See if there's an adoption event in your area, show up with your camera, chat with a volunteer about your plan to help, and start shooting! Get an email address for the rescue or shelter, and email them your photos.  I promise you that good photos will NOT go to waste.

Good photos that capture the gleam in the animal's eye and love in their heart are gold for these animals and their rescuers, and can be shared on Facebook, Twitter, Petfinder, or the rescue's own site to help them find homes.


Tips, Tricks, and Related Links:

How to Take Great Photos of Shelter Pets Step-by-Step

The Power of a Good Photo for Shelter Dogs

This Photographer Is Giving Her All To Save Shelter Dogs

PAWSITIVE SHELTER PHOTOGRAPHY -- Saving Good Pets Through Better Photography

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