As soon as kittens, like any other children, are born, they need to feed on their mother's milk. On the first day after birth, the kitten eats colostrum.
But the cat does not always produce milk afterwards. In this case, feeding the kittens falls on the shoulders of the owners.
Making cat milk replacer at home is quite simple - you can rely on yourself, you can buy special food.
Composition of cat milk
Cat's milk contains all the components found in human and cow's milk, but the nutritional properties differ.
Cat milk consists of 70% water, and its fat content is no more than 11%. Human, goat and cow milk has 7% more fat content than cat milk.
Cat milk contains 11% proteins (for comparison, human milk contains 2%, and goat and cow milk contains 4%).
But the milk of ungulates and humans contains a lot of lactose. The composition of non-cat milk is not suitable for kittens. They can be fed with milk other than their own, but they may get sick in the future.
Beaphar Kitty-Milk - the best milk powder for kittens
Complete food from the famous manufacturer Beaphar (Netherlands) for artificially fed kittens. Milk formula for kittens contains the necessary protein and fat content. Kitty-Milk is as close as possible to cat's mother's milk in terms of the content of micro- and macroelements. Suitable for kittens from birth to 35 days of age.
Ingredients: milk and whey, fats, oils. The product is enriched with vitamins: A, B1, B2, B6, B12, C, D3. Contains: choline, lysine, pantothenic acid, nicotinamide, calcium, phosphorus, sodium, iron, zinc, manganese, copper, selenium, iodine, magnesium, taurine, Omega-3, Omega-6.
Dosage: 2 scoops of powder (7 g) thoroughly mixed with a whisk in 50 g. warm water. The finished mixture can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 8 hours. When using, heat to 35-40°C.
- Plus: can be used for additional feeding of pregnant and lactating cats.
- Cons: high price.
Price: pack 200 gr. – 665 rub., 500 gr. – 1673 rub. More details about the product
What to feed a kitten if the cat does not have her own milk
The mixture must contain vitamins, minerals and trace elements.
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Complete milk substitutes for kittens are produced by well-known manufacturers of food for adult cats: Jimborn, Trixie, Royal Canin cat milk replacer is in demand, Jimpet and Beafar are also popular among cat lovers.
Royal Canin, Jimpet and Biafar are considered the best. Even photos of packages of cat milk substitutes from these companies already evoke associations with feeding offspring.
And the composition of the mixtures is similar to cat milk - they contain the same breakdown of nutrients as in real cat milk.
Frequency of feeding
During the first week, babies are fed every 2-3 hours during the day to avoid various diseases and to strengthen the body. Then gradually reduce feeding at night, bringing the feeding interval to 5 hours in the second week. At week 3, when the kittens begin to see, feeding at night is stopped (from 24:00 to 6:00 am). After 4 weeks, they proceed to the feeding process according to the usual schedule.
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The kitten may refuse further food intake due to the fact that he generally eats little. Sometimes this is associated with some kind of disease. If you have any doubts, consult your veterinarian.
If the baby's tummy is large and dense, you should stop feeding after feeding the required portion. The animal may not feel full and therefore continue to eat.
Raising kittens without a cat is a completely accessible process for any compassionate person. Very little time will pass and the result will be a playful mood and a healthy appearance for your grown-up pet.
Milk recipes for a kitten
If your cat doesn’t have milk or you have a small kitten at home, you can prepare food from condensed milk without sugar. Usually it is 20% fat.
Mix 5 parts milk with 1 part water and add 1 teaspoon of bone meal per 1 liter of mixture.
Feeding kittens: when to start
Beginning cat owners don't always know when to start giving their babies other foods. Feeding kittens begins when the kittens are 3-4 weeks old.
Used as additional food:
- Dry food . The following products are suitable for babies aged 1 month: Royal Canin Baby Cat, ProPlan Optistart, Almo Nature Kitten, Safari Kitten. The food granules are first soaked in warm water and then made into a semi-liquid paste. This mixture is offered to kittens. By 1.5 months, babies are good at chewing unsoaked crackers.
- Raw meat . Suitable for kittens: turkey, rabbit, veal, quail, chicken. The meat is cut into small cubes and offered to children.
- Dairy products . The best option for first feeding is soft, low-fat cottage cheese. You can also offer your kids 10% cream and fermented baked milk.
REFERENCE! They begin to give any of the products to small pets in a minimal amount (half a teaspoon). Every day the amount of food is increased.
What to feed
Beginning owners are interested in what to feed kittens if they refuse meat or dairy. In this case, you can offer children canned food (the composition should not contain starch, soy and other additives) or special kitten pates.
Artificial feeding of kittens is a process that takes a lot of time and effort. To feed babies, it is necessary to use special formulas that completely replace mother's milk. Any questions should be directed to veterinarians or experienced breeders.
Newborn kittens
How to make cat milk replacer? In half a liter of regular milk from a store carton, mix the yolk of a raw chicken egg and add 4 teaspoons of granulated sugar without top.
Goat milk and powdered milk are also suitable. It is fashionable to pour 0.3 ml of Tetravit vitamin drops into the mixture.
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Kittens can also prepare the “Malyutka” formula for children, the preparation instructions are the same as on the package for babies.
For very small and weak kittens, you can prepare food according to this recipe: for 100 ml of cow's milk, take 20 ml of an aqueous solution of glucose, you can feed it this way, but it is better to mix in an egg yolk and 1 teaspoon of refined sunflower oil.
Milk can be replaced with Nutrilon infant formula. You can add vitamin drops to the mixture.
All homemade kitten formulas must be thoroughly mixed - they must be liquid and free of lumps. Kittens are fed from a bottle with a nipple with a small hole; if you have patience, it is better to feed from a pipette.
Another option is to give the milk mixture in portions from a syringe (without a needle). The main thing is that the kitten has time to swallow a portion of food.
How to calculate dosage
When using cat milk substitutes, it is extremely important not only to choose a quality product, but also to correctly calculate the correct dosage. When determining the amount of complementary foods, it is necessary to take into account factors such as the age category and breed of the small pet.
An approximate dosage calculation is based on the baby’s age and is as follows:
| Kitten age | Required amount of mixture |
| 1-4 days | From 30 to 32 ml |
| 5 days – 2 weeks | From 37 to 39 ml |
| From 15 to 25 days | from 44 to 47 ml |
| 26-36 days | From 52 to 55 ml |
In this case, it is worth paying attention to the breed of the animal. Large kittens require a slightly larger amount of complementary feeding than pets of small breeds. However, these data are relative.
A caring owner should monitor the condition and behavior of the kitten very carefully in order to determine the optimal amount of milk replacer. For example, an underfed baby behaves anxiously and restlessly.
Overfeeding is no less dangerous for a kitten. Observing the kitten's stool will help determine the amount of food. So, with regular overeating, it becomes gray or green; slight overfeeding is manifested by yellowish feces.
About the rules for storing food for kittens
Kittens can be fed only warm formula, the temperature should be about 39° C. Unfinished formula can be kept in the refrigerator for a day in a clean container.
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The dry mixture should be stored in a cool, dark place away from sources of moisture, and diluted only with boiled water at room temperature, and heated for feeding.
The kitten’s immune background is unstable; its gastrointestinal tract should not be exposed to bacterial attacks. And like a child or kitten, you can cook food only with clean hands.
Features of preparing milk mixture
The preparation sequence for all milk replacers for cats is almost the same. Detailed instructions are already printed on the packaging and, as a rule, they are quite detailed and understandable. We will consider just some of the features of using such mixtures :
- First of all, you should not buy a lot of substitute. As a rule, it is not suitable for long-term storage, and using an expired product is dangerous, since pathogenic bacteria form in dry milk during long-term storage;
- your hands and the utensils in which you will prepare the mixture must be sterile. This recommendation especially applies to newborn kittens, because in the first days after birth, their immunity has not yet been fully formed, and the body is very vulnerable to viruses and bacteria;
- The mixture needs to be prepared exactly as much as the kittens will eat at one time. The prepared substitute cannot be stored in the refrigerator;
- You need to clearly understand how much mixture the kitten should eat. Usually the instructions contain tables that can be used to determine which portion is suitable for the animal. However, sometimes it is necessary to individually adjust the dosage of the formula, since both underfeeding and overfeeding are harmful to the baby. You need to monitor your kitten's feces. If the baby is overfed, the droppings will be slightly runny and yellowish. If the kitten’s stool is normal, and after feeding he does not look lethargic and restless, then he is full, and the portion size is chosen correctly.
About food supplies for a kitten
You should not buy mixtures “in reserve”. The kitten will grow up quickly, no need to buy a large bag of formula.
If you look in stores at how much cat milk replacer costs, it will become clear that it is better to purchase Royal Canin products; the food is packaged in sterile “one-time” bags, they can be purchased for future use, and have a long shelf life.
Owners of a small kitten should purchase a bottle and pacifier in advance, as well as suitable food that replaces the cat's milk.
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Using a placeholder
When purchasing such a product, you should understand exactly how it is used without harming the kitten and maintaining all its beneficial properties.
First of all, the mixture must be properly prepared.
Instructions for using substitutes are usually almost identical for all manufacturers.
Cat owners should know the nuances of this process:
- powdered milk is diluted with cool boiled water in the ratio specified on the packaging or in the instructions;
- Sterile containers should be used;
- hands must be washed;
- there is no need to buy large packages of the substitute, because during long-term storage various bacteria can get into it;
- It’s better to throw away what the kitten hasn’t eaten;
- some manufacturers do not include feeding bottles in the kit, so this should be taken care of in advance;
- You cannot feed your pet from a spoon - he may choke. In addition, the kitten can die if some of the food gets into the lungs.
Photos of cat milk substitutes
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