What To Give Newborn Kittens To Drink

A newborn kitten can only digest milk and more specifically the milk from a female cat.

What to give newborn kittens to drink. If you re unsure what to feed your little one consider feeding the kitty some goat s milk. Young kittens those under 4 or 5 weeks old need to nurse from their mom to get nutrients and hydration. The stomach capacity of a newborn is about 50 ml kg usually a single kitten absorbes about 10 20 ml of milk so the concentration of the replacement milk is essential to meet the kitten s needs. Provide your kitten with milk in such a way that the experience is as similar to natural nursing as possible.

Whole cow s milk isn t the best idea for nursing kittens because they are lactose intolerant. Feeding the wrong sort of milk such as cow s milk can have short term and long term effects including diarrhea dehydration nutritional deficiencies and long term health problems due to poor growth. Older already weaned kittens just need water to stay hydrated. Kittens that are bottle fed should consume about a tablespoon or 15 ml of special kitten formula at each feeding.

Goat s milk has less lactose than cow milk. Diarrhea s a likely result. Although water is essential to keep cats healthy and strong they don t need it straight out of the womb. Newborn kittens are able to get all of the nutrition that they need from their mother s milk.

Purchase a nursing bottle with a small niple and fill the bottle with milk or formula at body temperature never cold. If she s not available or able to feed them you can feed orphaned kittens kitten milk replacement formula by a bottle. Failing that you may also give your kittens goat s milk.