My cat had three kittens yesterday. The first two are nursing and moving around fine, but the last one is the runt of the litter and won't nurse. After trying to get him to latch onto the teats several times, I've realised he just isn't interested. I've started bottle-feeding him and he's taking that, but I don't understand it. I know they really need the mother's colostrum, especially for the first few days.
I'm not really sure what else I can do to help him.
Translated from French
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Thanks!!! At the moment he’s nursing, but the funny thing is he always latches onto the same teats (the top ones under his neck) and refuses the others.
@Boubie: I agree, they’re usually the best-looking ones (he’s a blue-grey tabby).
Just a quick message to wish you every success and all the best with the bottle-feeding. If you’re doing it yourself, I think for the first week it’s 7 feeds per kitten every 2 hours during the day... Best of luck! And some kitten dry food for the mum as well...
Thank you so much for your reply. I’ve been bottle-feeding the kittens as I don't think the mum had much milk on the first day, but the little one has managed to nurse with a bit of help.
Hi there,
You've definitely done the right thing by trying to get him onto the teats. If he's taking milk from a bottle, try putting him back on a teat (the ones furthest back usually have the most milk) while you’re handling the bottle; this should help him realise that there’s milk available from his mum too.
That first milk produced in the first 24 hours is rich in antibodies, which is crucial for a kitten’s immunity. It’s not quite as life-or-death as it is for a foal or a calf, where no antibodies pass through the placenta at all, but very few actually make it across in cats. Following strict hygiene rules is therefore vital, since a kitten who hasn't had any colostrum will be much more vulnerable. This is a huge factor in whether hand-rearing is successful. If she’ll let you, you could also try gently expressing some milk from the mother yourself to help the little one out.
Above all, keep up the bottle-feeding with a proper kitten milk replacer if you find that, despite your efforts, he’s still not nursing or seems weak. It quickly becomes a vicious cycle: the less he nurses, the weaker he gets, and the weaker he gets, the less he'll be able to nurse. It’s a lot of work because a newborn kitten who isn't nursing at all needs feeding every two hours. For the first week, five feeds a day is the absolute minimum, but a schedule of seven feeds is much better. For example, you could start early in the morning and finish late at night, ideally with at least one feed during the night. You can then reduce the frequency as the weeks go by. With a bit of persistence, he might start nursing from his mum again.
Make sure you follow the instructions on the kitten milk exactly; if it’s not diluted properly or is at the wrong temperature, it can quickly cause diarrhoea, which can be fatal for a tiny kitten.
Hope this helps.
Nadège
