We've made up formula for newborn kittens several times over the years and have been very successful using this "formula". We've never ever lost a kitten, thankfully. If you are raising more than one, then make up enough to last one day, but no more. Refrigerate it, and only take out what you're going to need each time. Bring it to a temperature of 98-100 degrees F.
We always keep brand new eye-water droppers in our medicine cabinet. They work for many different things and are just the best for feeding baby kittens or baby squirrels. (They probably would work for many different newborn baby animals). I buy several of the eye-water droppers at one time and always keep some glass ones and one or two of the plastic ones. The little animals take to the plastic ones best, as it's not so hard.
After washing the eye-water dropper, drop it in a pan of warm water (100 degrees F) and after using it, drop it right back into that pan of water to make it easier to clean between feedings.
Have some old socks ready to place the baby kitten in. It will act as a bib and will also help keep those tiny little nails from clawing your hands to bits and pieces. They are incredibly sharp and baby kittens (as helpless as they really are) are also quite strong. Without that sock pulled up to its little chin, you're going to have milk all over you, the kitten, and anything else close by, but very little inside the kitten.
Making The Formula:
The syrup is to keep the baby kitten from becoming constipated and also acts as part of the nutrition.
This is for one kitten being fed every two hours who will take about 1/2 oz. per feeding, more or less, depending on size and age. Do not try to overfeed, but keep them awake for as long as possible to make sure they are not going to sleep hungry. You will need to make up this amount of formula at one time.
Put the little kitty in the sock, and hold it together under the chin. Don't choke the baby. Fill the eye-water dropper with formula and very gently offer it to the kitty. If it gets a taste of it, it will hunt the source, so just let it find the end of the dropper and begin to suck. Gently squeeze the rubber part of the dropper, but be careful not to drown the little fella. Feel its little tummy. You can tell when it's full. It'll want to go to sleep too.
If the kitty has or develops loose bowels, don't use the Karo syrup. If the loose bowels continue, boil some rice: 1/2 cup of rice in 4-5 cups of water for about an hour and just pour off the water. Use that water to add to the Carnation milk. Rice water will help stop the loose bowels for kittens, squirrels, and human children. It's an old-time remedy.
Once the kitty has started growing, it will not require such frequent feedings. You'll be able to tell when it's hungry. You'll hear it crying a lot. Then feed it.
We always washed their faces and eyes with just regular milk. Why, I'm not sure, but it worked. On the farm, we used just plain old whole milk from the cow, but I've used homogenized milk too.
Many things like this, we learned from my grandmother, but we also added a few things over the years as we learned. (like using the socks, for instance).
Source: My grandmother taught us to do these things, so we always did them, and they work. I would use this today if I were raising a baby kitten and unable to get to a vet or buy baby kitten formula
By Julia from Boca Raton, FL
I was wondering if it is normal for a new mother cat to not be 100% attentive to her newborns? I would appreciate any advice you have for me since I am clueless on this.
By Kathleen
By Robyn Fed
02/29/2012
What is she doing? If you need to bottle feed, I can talk you through it.,
Let me know what she is doing by clicking on my name and sending me a message.
Newborn kittens after bottle feeding, need to have a moist piece of toilet paper massaged over their hind ends and their pee pee area to make them go. If you don't do this they will die.
I have my own formula and I will send it if you request.
My beautiful, but young, cat named Dinah just gave birth to 5 equally beautiful kittens this morning. Dinah was a stray that my boyfriend and I accepted in our home in October, and weren't very surprised to learn of her pregnancy.
Anyway, I know at this point, none of them can see, hear, or smell, so I've been worried about them finding the nipples to feed. Even when I get them to the nipple, they turn away and whine. They have been eating, some more than others.
I guess I'm just wondering if this is normal, and also nervous that if it comes time for me to feed them, I won't know exactly when to do so. Please help. Thank you.
By Sarah from NY
By Anonymous
11/29/2009
Leave it all up to mommy now and Bless you for posting a picture! Please don't worry and those babies will be wandering around on their own soon enough :-) They do need to be completely weaned (about 10 weeks) before finding them homes though!
I wanted to update you in regards to my previous request "Caring for a kitten". Unfortunately I have some very sad news. My baby "George" passed last evening around 11 pm. He really gave a valiant effort with his will to survive, along with the tender loving care he received from me the past few days.
One of the guest posts, "susanna" made a very important suggestion to me as to bathe George ASAP for there was a fatal anemia contracted from fleas. Well I took your advice and bathed him in baby shampoo and much to my horror he was infested with them. He began a spiral downhill from there. He was gone within hours.
My boyfriend was so kind to step in as he saw my grief well up. He sweetly talked to him, encouraged the little guy, and insured him he was loved very much. We will have a small burial for him this evening. I can honestly say that we did all we could for him. He was blessed in a way that many kittens never are that were in his same situation. He had a few beautiful days full of love and affection, along with good eating's that was provided for him.
The Wal-mart kitten bottle and kitten powdered milk worked wonderfully. Again. I want to thank all of those who were kind enough to help us in this time of need. Many blessings to you and yours. Oh yea, you may wonder about the name George. Well we have an older kitten we named Gracie. So here we had George Burns and Gracie Allen as so it seemed. Bye for now.
LorisZoo from AZ
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Caring For Newborn Kittens