I need tips on how to raise 3 week old kittens!?

Question

So I found a litter of 5 3 week old kittens that were abandoned. I tried feeding them through a baby bottle but they wont drink the milk from it. Its soy milk and I even tried warming it up just a touch thinking that it'd remind them of their mother but the problem is that they wont take it! So what do I do? If you have any other tips besides just feeding them that'd be most helpful and I really appreciate it.

Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

Yes go to your local grocery store and buy kitten formula.If they dont do the bottle just take your fingure and kind of dip there noses in it.They will lik it off and start drinking the formula on there own.Put the formula on a saucer and be sure to warm it up some.That is what I have been doing because we have 3 feral female cats that keep having kittens.Over the past 4 months I have caught 17 kittens,which was a litter of 4 a litter of 8 a litter of 1 a litter of 3 and a kitten that had been living under a dumpster by my hubbys work.I always get the kittens when they are about 3-4 weeks old while they still dont know ant better.Can you imagine how many cats I would have around my house if we had not caught them?Also they would all be feral.I have found them all homes except for 3 cuz I just got them a couple days ago..Anyway that is how I always feed the kittens that I get and they all turned out very healthy and happy

Answer 2

Pet stores have a formula specifically for nursing kittens and bottles.

Keep them warm, their body temperature can drop quickly.

Kittens this young can't go to the bathroom by themselves. You have to stimulate them to get them to go to the bathroom by using cotton balls, very soft tissue or very soft wash cloth dipped in lukewarm water and very gently rubbing their genitals with it. ( Mom cats do this with their tongues. )  

Answer 3

Pet stores sell kitten replacement milk.  You should give them this as it is closest to mom's milk.  They also have small feeling bottle adapted for cats.  Good luck.

Answer 4

Most pet stores have supplements like baby formula that are a good replacment for mother's milk.  Also i  have heard that goats milk is better than cows milk. Good Luck and i hope they can grow to be healthy.

Answer 5

Hey, I'm raising baby kittens too, only we've been raising them from 1 week old. There mom, which was my cat, she passed away a week after having them (she got sick, something to do with her calcium level in her blood was low from trying to feed 5 kittens, shes small herself).. so since the mother is gone, we have to give the babies a chance!

Well we use KMR, you can find it in pet stores and maybe at the supermarket in the animal section (some dnt carry it though), you can get powder or liquid, liquid spoils within 3days of opening, so i'd say the powder lasts longer.. we've used both, you DO need to run the bottle under hot water, to warm it to body temp. It may take them a few trys to get use to it, and you MAY have to force the nipple in there mouths cuz they WILL reject it, they're not use to the way it feels. Make sure you keep them clean around there genitals, cuz they can kind of p**p on their own, which will leave a mess back there, but for a little while you'll have to potty them yourself, by using a lukewarm paper towel, by rubbing down there, be sure to clean it up good to avoid any bacterial infections. In about a week, or half a week, depending on how fast they grow, you can start trying to feed them kitten food... make sure when you feed them tehy are NOT on their back, that can cause their lungs to fill up and they will drown, be careful on that, if they seem like their choking tip them upside down, face towards the ground, til they stop.. just incase.

My kittens will be 3 weeks old on friday, and we have been feeding them for almost 2 weeks, we lost one lastnight though:(, he was the smallest.