A feral cat had a litter of kittens on my patio %26 then left them. I watched for hours %26 she never came back. I started bottle feeding them. I continued to watch for mom, but have never seen her again. The kittens are only a few days old. They were with the mom for only about 20 hours after birth. I bought the kitten milk replacement %26 they have eaten well from the beginning. They are eating 2 teaps. each time. They weigh about 5-6 oz each. They only wake up to eat about every 5-6 hours. When they are awake, they are very full of energy and even try to crawl out of the box. They seem very healthy.
My question is how long can they go during the day between feedings. I am gone to work for 8 hours. If I come home and feed them once during the day (although it will take me 30 minutes each way to make the trip) will that be enough? I haven't been able to find any other people to help me feed them during the day.
Answers:
Well for starters a healthy kitten will gain weight rapidly after birth, usually doubling their weight after one week. They should gain approx. half an ounce each day. A kitten that loses weight should be closely monitored. Get yourself a postal scale to keep track of each kitten and make a chart. An average weight for kittens 5 days old are 3-7 oz, 10 days is 4.5 - 9.5 oz, 15 days is 6 - 11oz and so on.
FEEDING CHART:
For kittens 1 week...32cc's 6 times a day
2 weeks old.56cc's 4 times a day
3 weeks old...80cc's 3 times a day
4 weeks old...104cc's 3 times a day
5 weeks old...128cc's 3 times a day
Don't forget that kittens need to stay VERY warm. Fill a hot water bottle and place it under a towel and lay the kittens on top.
You must also make them go to the bathroom. Kittens that young cannot go on their own.wet a cotton ball with luke warm water and massage their genital area. They also need to burp after each feeding, just like a baby. You can do this by slightly patting their back or rubbing their bellies.
There is a GREAT book. You should go to your local book store and get it. It really helped me when I hand raised my kittens. It's called THE GUIDE TO HAND RAISING KITTENS BY SUSAN EASTERLY.
that should be ok u may also want to wire a bottle with milk up kind of like how gerbales drink type thing just incase that should help some and yes if u come home atleast once it should be ok about every 4-6 hours is a good feeding schdule but its best to be every 2-4 hours
Usually they need to be fed every two to four hours. So, if you feed them once in the morning before work, come back during lunch and feed them, and then feed them when you get home, it should be fine.
Are you bathing them? That was my downfall. I didn't wash the kitten enough times in the day and now she won't clean herself unless she's really filthy. My other kitties clean her because she smells so bad.
You should feed them twice a day. It is like breakfast and dinner. They can live without lunch. But if you love them very much I would feed them all three meals. If you don't really want to spend your money on them, I would try to sell them or give them to a good animal shelter.
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The kittens just need to eat when they wake up. If they are hungry while sleeping they will wake up. If you can't take care of them call a non euthanizing rescue group to bring them to. Just ask them if they have a foster home or something they can put the kittens in. But I think if you do come home during the day that will work. Even if they are sleeping when you come home you can wake them up just to make sure they don't get hungry when you come home. When they are about 5 weeks or so they will most likely start to eat on their own. Then you don't need to come home in the middle of the day anymore. And if their eyes are open then they weren't just born their eyes open at 8-10 days.
This source might help you!
I have read that, kittens that young should be fed every 3-4 hours. However if they are healthy they can go for a period of 6 - 7 hours without formula or food. So going 8 hours without feeding them may be pushing it alittle
at that age they should be fed about 4-6 times a day however you can skip the lunch feeding if you have to, as healthy kittens can take it I be more worried about possible issue of disease that some time causes the lost of kittens, So if one dies do not blame your self and keep asking for afternoon help and i think you find it
as if you lived in Tampa i be there for you
and it only for a month as then they can start eating kitten food I recomend a good brand such as diamond or nutro
Why not take the kittens to the Humane Society or your county's Animal Care and Control office. They can take care of them until they are old enough to be adopted. You could always go back and adopt one when they are ready or are you planning to keep all of them? Anyway I'm glad you rescued them. Good for you! Kittens need to feed several times during the day, so once before you go to work and once when you get back is definitely not often enough. Can you talk to your boss and see if they鈥檒l let you bring the kittens to work with you?
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