Newborn kittens require special feeding. It is provided by mom cat. And up to a certain age, the kids themselves cope with this task.
Kittens grow up, they need complementary foods. Maternal milk is not enough. When to start feeding kittens and how, we will tell in the article.
Help cat
Favorite pleased the hosts. Squeaking lumps appeared. If the cat gave birth for the first time, the litter should not be too large. From 3 to 6 babies is an ideal option.
Mother is able to properly feed a given number of kittens. If there are more of them, you will have to introduce additional feeding for kittens or, more correctly, feeding.
For these purposes, you can buy a substitute for cat milk. It is sold in good pet stores. It’s not cheap, we’ll warn you right away.
You can make a substitute yourself. It differs from the purchased one, of course. But it is checked by time and not one "catman".
- Take a liter of milk.
- Add two yolks to it.
- A teaspoon of sugar is sent here.
- To mix everything.
- Feed the kitten with a heated mixture.
How many times to feed newborns
This is a very difficult stage. The first week will have to feed the baby constantly: every two hours for a day.
In the second week it will become easier. You can lengthen the breaks at night feedings for 0.5 hours.
We introduce complementary foods
If the cat itself feeds the children, the feeding scheme will be different. The baby begins to open her eyes about two weeks after birth. It is time to start the first feeding of kittens.
On the Internet they say that it should be introduced in 3-4 weeks of life. This is not true. Kittens grow up, require more food. But mother's milk does not get better. Kittens need extra vitamins for active growth.
Where to start? As already mentioned, they feed babies from 14 days of age. It all starts with milk. It can be made according to the above recipe.
Milk should be a little warm. Dip a finger into it, draw it along the lips of the kitten. He will start to fuss, lick his lips. As soon as I realized that there is milk on the lips, we give him a finger. Our task is to make the baby lick it. And gradually lower your finger into a bowl of milk. We carefully monitor that the baby does not choke by lowering its muzzle into it.
The saucer should be shallow, with low edges, so that the baby is comfortable. The two-week age is indicative. The fact is that at this time, the eyes of the kids open. More precisely, they should already be fully open. Then the kitten begins to introduce complementary foods.
Third week
Another week goes by. The baby is already 21 days old. It’s time to think about the beginning of feeding kittens with meat.
It used to be that crumbs needed to be given minced meat and cereal on meat broth. Now the position is different. Kitten feeding begins with baby food. Of course, it should be meat or meat-vegetable.
We warm the food a bit. Take a teaspoon. We need half a spoonful of food. We bring the kitten to the nose. The kid begins to actively sniff, fusses and tries to lick the treat. If there is no last attempt, then take a little mashed potatoes at the tip of your finger. And hold them on the lips of a kitten. Someone recommends rubbing a treat in the sky, but on the lips - more familiar and calmer. The sky can also be damaged.
Strictly follow the rule: one day - one new dish. It is not necessary to give the kitten porridge, mashed meat and cottage cheese immediately. Feed the mashed potatoes on Monday. Cook porridge on Tuesday, and give cottage cheese on Wednesday.
Cook porridge
When kittens are fed, we found out. Now we find out what kind of porridge they can eat.
First of all, it should be very liquid. You can cook in milk. You should not use meat broths, it is too fatty product for a three-week-old kitten. We start with semolina. We cook it in milk without salt and sugar. Cool, give to the baby. You need to offer on the same principle as mashed meat. Volume - half a teaspoon.
We introduce cottage cheese
Another useful product for feeding a kitten. Do it yourself. Take yogurt or kefir. The fatter these products are, the more high-quality cottage cheese is obtained.
Pour into a pan, heat over low heat. The first 5 minutes do not touch. Then we take a spoon or a slotted spoon, stir the product. It should not stick to the bottom of the pan.
When the cottage cheese begins to separate, sinking to the bottom, almost done. It should swim in a greenish serum. If the serum is of this color, turn off the fire.
Next, take gauze, folded in several layers. We discard the cottage cheese on it. Gauze is put in a colander to whey with curd glass. Then we hang the knot from gauze and leave it to ripen for 12 hours.
Such a curd is suitable not only for feeding a kitten. You can eat it yourself.
Nutrition up to a month old
All of the above give the kitten before reaching the age of one month. Then new foods are introduced into the diet.
Chicken yolk begins to give from 21 days. Only do this extremely carefully. Start with a grain, in the literal sense of the word. If the baby reacted normally to the product, give a little more. And they closely monitor the reaction of crumbs to innovation.
From a month to three
Kitten feeding begins at the age of two weeks. This we found out. We know when and how meat, porridge and cottage cheese are introduced into the diet.
After the pet is 30 days old, its menu is gradually expanded.
In addition to semolina porridge, they begin to feed the baby with rice, buckwheat and oatmeal. Boil it in milk or water.
Instead of baby food, they give minced chicken or beef. They begin to feed the kitten with vegetables. They are boiled, mashed, a little vegetable oil is added. It can be mixed with minced meat so that the pet is more willing to start tasting.
During this period, they begin to give cheese. In very small quantities and not more than twice a week. It should be noted that not every kitten likes it. Other cats do not eat cheese throughout their lives.
From two months of age, the pet is given meat. Lean varieties are chosen: chicken, turkey or beef. How to give: raw or boiled? Active debate is underway on this issue. Others say you can give raw meat. Previously, it is very well frozen. Going to offer a pet, thawed and scalded with boiling water. Then finely chopped.
Someone is leaning towards a boiled product. Boil the meat well, cool and cut into small cubes.
Boiled meat is not so useful, but safer for feeding a kitten.
From three months and older
The diet is expanding again. Now the baby is given offal, but only in boiled form, of course. It is permissible for a growing baby and a fish. Strictly marine, boiled, boneless.
According to some reports, a kitten can be given cream. We urge you not to do this. This is too greasy. The baby’s stomach will not cope with it. The kitten has diarrhea if you give it cream.
Here yogurt is another matter. You can add half a teaspoon of sugar to it and treat the kitten. The kid will appreciate this drink.
From the age of three months, remove milk from the diet of the pet. It is replaced with kefir or natural yogurt.
How many times to feed
With the lure of a kitten, we figured it out. Finally, let's talk about the number of feedings.
Monthly kittens are fed 6 times a day. When the baby turns two months old, he is transferred to 5 meals a day. This continues until four months of age. After the pet should receive food four times a day.
Conclusion
We talked in detail about feeding kittens, at what age and how to feed them. This is a responsible matter, but it cannot be called difficult. Rather, it is a very painstaking process - teaching the baby to new products.