A 3 week old (orphaned) kitten has lost the desire to suckle during normal feedings. What do we do?

Question

She has been eating well up to this point. She is about 30 grams underweight, but again, up to this point she has been fine.

She used to suckle on the bottle (with nipple) no problem. She would typically eat about 10 grams per feeding (every 3.5 hours). Now she just avoids it and/or flicks her paw at the bottle. I'm pretty sure she is hungry but I'm not sure if she is frustrated with the nipple or what. It's extremely frustrating and we want her to eat.

We tried giving her a weening formula in bowl and spoon with no success.

We can only force about 3 grams per feeding, and I'd really like if we could stop forcing her to eat and she would take it on her own. Any ideas why she suddenly isn't interested in suckling?

Answer 1

Your Answer:

i truly commend u on taking in an orphaned kitten. if only there were more peple like urself in the world, then maybe there would be more hope for this generation.

well im not quite sure what to tell u. maybe try giving her some dry kitten food? thats what we give 4 week old kittens at the animal shelter. or, you can try giving a totally different formula because the cat is growing and needs some ones with diefferent vitamins.

if nothing works, please take it to an animal hospital or get some kind of professional help beacause i would be truly heartbroken if something bad happened to the poor thing.

again... im truly gratified that u took in a homeless cat :) u are a hero