How do you feed a newborn kitten without a mother? From properly knowing how to hold a kitten when bottle feeding, to estimating how much milk replacer to give the kitten, Revival’s Director of Veterinary Services, Dr. Marty Greer, shares tips for bottle feeding kittens.
How to Bottle Feed a Newborn Kitten
When it comes to bottle feeding a newborn kitten, it’s important to hold the kitten belly down, not on their back like an infant child. This avoids aspiration.
How Much to Bottle Feed a Kitten
To determine how much to feed the kitten you should estimate one cc of kitten formula per one ounce of the kitten’s body weight. The kitten is done eating when the kitten’s belly is shaped like a football, not a basketball. Kittens don’t necessarily need to burp, but it won’t hurt to rub them if they seem to have a little gas. Using baby simethicone drops can help with gas and can be found at the local drugstore.
What to Do After Bottle Feeding a Kitten
After you are done bottle feeding a kitten, you’ll need to stimulate urination as the mother would. This is done by taking a cotton ball and stimulating the urethral opening and the rectal opening gently.
If you need help with what to feed a newborn kitten, call us at 800.786.4751.
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Written by: Marty Greer, DVM
Director of Veterinary Services
Marty Greer, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, has 40+ years’ experience in veterinary medicine, with special interests in canine reproduction and pediatrics. She received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Iowa State University in 1981. She’s served as Revival’s Director of Veterinary Services since 2019. In 2023, Dr. Greer was named the Westminster Kennel Club Veterinarian of the Year.