How can I get a reluctant 3-4 week old kitten to latch on and nurse from a bottle?

Question

Long story short.. Feral cat had kittens, dog dragged them out, tried to give them back to the mother and she rejected them. Now I am fostering them until they are old enough to be adopted out by a local rescue. I've bottle fed kittens before, and I have the KMR and everything. Well 2 of the kittens go nuts and nurse like crazy.. one doesn't even really seem interested. He will drink a bit then stop.. he's energetic he seems to want to explore more than eat. He also won't eat from a dish, the others are starting to. How can I get him to eat more? what can I do to get him to latch on properly? Like I said there is nothing wrong with him otherwise. It's almost like he doesn't like the KMR. I've tried just plain KMR, and mixed with wet/ground dry and he doesn't really seem to get excited about it. The other 2 practically rip me apart trying to get at itand they quickly eat their fill. I'm not sure what else I can try except startiing to offer straight dry and wet to see if he will pick at that. They are starting to go in the litter box, and on their own without stimulation.. but I really want this guy to eat!! How can I stimulate him to do so?

Answer 1

okay so I have done this before and at three to four weeks they can handle some turkey baby food or chicken and pea baby food. Just like a table spoon each kitten.

barn kittens tend to start eating solid foods at this point as well.

as for bottle feeding you can try the shallow dish method, again they are old enough that the dish is not a concept they can not learn.

make sure the kitten is hydrated and you should be fine.

Answer 2

Try it with an eye dropper until he catches on. He shouldn't get dehidrated. Also we used to put some baby cereal in our kittens milk when they got a little older, made them fat.

Answer 3

i had the same thing happen to me, i found that wrapping my kittens in a small towel so only their heads pop out makes feeding time a little easier. their feet are all tucked away. sometimes it works. if the kitten still continues not to eat, if you don't know how, you should contact your vet on teaching you how to tube feed the kitten. they will get the idea pretty quick! Good Luck!

Answer 4

If he gets hungry enough he will eat. There is a otc vitamin that will spark his appetite. In the mean time try a big eye dropper and just drop the milk in the corner of his mouth. Some kittens will just refuse the bottle. Also keep him on a schedule. Some times when they won't eat we end up trying to get them to eat. They will eat a little at a time because they know you will try again and again. If he is not dehydrated put him on a four hour feeding schedule. Feed them all and them pick up the food. It will take about  a day to straighten out his feeding schedule. Leave out plenty of fresh water.