Newborn kitten will not nurse

Question

My cat had 6 kittens and i have a 'runt' who is a lot smaller, and the only boy. They were born tuesday early hours of the morning. The boy struggled to nurse and now refused to nurse; he just gets pushed off by the others. I got kitten formula on advice and bottle etc and he had 3 or 4 hearty sucks on it, then it bubbled out his nose and he has no interest in it , he was nursing on mummycat if i helped him but now he has become weaker (i think) and doesnt show interest even if i show him the teat. I am concerned he will die but i cannot 'force' the milk in. The vet was unhelpful; she just said he needed feeding (obviously!) and that he looked otherwise good. Wasn't worth visiting the vet at all. So i thought i would look here for help. I recently attempted hand rearing a litter or prematures but it was useless they also couldnt suck and i watched them die one at a time; i really dont want anymore deaths this month! thanks

Answer 1

I have bottle fed a lot of small kittens and puppies and it is common for them not to take to the bottle right away. I got syringes (take off the needle) fill it up with formula then squirt it into the kittens mouth very slowly. Soon he will start sucking on it, and you can go back to the bottle or mom.

Try to call your local humane society for help if you feel you are ovrwhelmed. Please try something though, it will worry me all day just thinking about this one.

Answer 2

Keep trying to give him kitten formula slightly warmer than room temp.

Tiny newborn kittens can't drink a lot at once.  Make sure the hole in the bottle is not too small so he has to struggle to get the milk out, or too big so too much comes out and too much is swallowed causing it to run out his nose.

Feeding has to be very often and in small amounts at a time.  You may want to call your local animal shelter and see if there are any people who foster and care for special needs kittens as they may have more time and experience to care for the kitten.

Answer 3

What I do for runts is keep all the kittens away until the little one gets to nurse by himself for a while 5-6 min.  then put the other ones in there.

Then you can also  keep that one on a bottle to suplement... but mom is better.

the bottles nipple might be too big for it

the best ones I found were long and skinny  not the U shaped ones.

also the kitten MUST BE STIMULATED TO pee / poo or it will die.  So put it in with mom and let her do it or wipe the bottom with a wet rag.

good luck  

Answer 4

This is unusual, as kittens usually have a very strong urge to suckle. If the kittens are premature, or weak as this one seems to be, they sometimes have a very weak sucking reflex. In that case, they need to be tube fed, Try putting some of the formula on your finger and drip it into his mouth - it's very time-consuming but at least he'll get some nutrition, and hopefully get the idea. Stroking a kitten's mouth on either side of the nose, and stroking the throat can stimulate feeding reflexes too. Don't forget to burp them after they're done.

If he won't feed, please take him to the vet and request that he be tube-fed. The vet should be happy to do this for you. Good luck!

Answer 5

a vet would probably be your best bet if you have tried the bottle feeding method... but maybe try from a bowl & putting the mouth to the kittens mouth & let him l**k it... or are they too small?

Answer 6

A petstore will have the proper feeding tubes if your vet won't give you some.  Keep stimulating the kitten by firmly rubbing him with a soft blanket, and then when feeding softly rub with your forefinger and  thumb the edges of his mouth (near the jaw) while squeezing a little newborn formula in his mouth.  If you are getting milk bubbling out of the nose, you are feeding him too fast.  I would have thought the vet would be more helpful and willing to help - maybe you should check on getting a new vet?  Good luck and I hope all goes well - but sometimes "natural selection" takes the toll on those animals we love...I hope "natural selection" walks past this one and the kitten gets healthy.

Answer 7

Get a small eye dropper and force feed him you will need to give him a few dropper fulls every hour or two for several days until he gets some of his strength back. Don't give up, you can do this!