Help with kitten, bottle nipple, and dog food?

Question

My 5 week old kitten is chewing on the nipple of her bottle... I've tried feeding her soggy kitten food, but she just won't eat it; yet when i put my 3 year old beagles food down, it's a straight bee-line for the dog food!!! What's up with that? She's obviously still on KMR, but gets bored of it after like 2 tbsps... my vet told me I should feed her 4 tbsps every 8 hours. What can I do to get her to either stop chewing on the nipple or to get her eating kitten food??? Please help! :)

Oh, and for those of you who are going to say that a 5 week old kitten is too young to be away from mom, she was abandoned when she was 3 weeks old and I took her in.

And a sidenote, if this has anything to do with ^^^ she started using the litterbox when she was 3 weeks.

Answer 1

I would space the feedings longer apart, so she'll be hungrier when you do feed her.  She is chewing because of her lack of a mother; they do this to bond with the mother.

You can also mix the KRM with the human baby food flakes in the box (gerber) and mix it to be a soppy paste and try feeding that to her on your finger.  If she's hungry, she'll eat it I'm sure.  It will be very messy at first, but it will prepare her for solid foods and she'll get the nutrients that she needs at this time.

Answer 2

what is "with ^^^ she" ?

she is ready to be weaned. try KMR in a saucer, or mixed into canned cat food.

or, remember you can use their strong sense of smell to your advantage, put small amount of dog food on top of the KMR/canned cat food. after a few weeks, slowly cut back on dog food.

also, be sure to put the KMR/cat food down the same time/ place/way as the dog food. they are predators, they learn where the food is. he might think anything in the dog dish is his food. he is going by the sight of the dog bowl and where it is placed.

Answer 3

This is a tough one. I know dog food isn't appropriate for cats because it doesn't have enough taurine, which is essential for cats. Unlike dogs, cats are true carnivores. I would suggest that you try small amounts of adult cat food and see if that helps. Your kitten may simply not like the kitten food and that's why she wants the dog food.

Answer 4

Check the nipple.  Every once in a while the hole(s) can seal shut.  The rubber gets soft when you use hot water to clean it and the holes melt shut.

Hold the bottle upside down.  It should drip slowly.  If not, put more holes in it until it does.

Kittens develop at different rates.  She could be one that matured quickly (she is a potty training genius, after all.  LOL!) and doesn't need that much formula anymore.  At 5 weeks, I usually have my babies down to 1 bottle a day before bed.

Try high quality canned cat food or meat baby food.  You want lots of soft, bitable protein.  The smellier the better.  You want it to really stink.

Let her chew the nipple.  Some cats need more "mouth time" than bottles allow for.  Sort of like a human baby sucking a pacifier.