I had found a newborn kitten about 6 days ago. Today about 30 minutes ago he passed away.
When I found him, I went on the internet to read about taking care of a kitten. What I read said to not force feed. It said your baby will let you know when he is hungry. It then said to never put the baby on his back to feed.
I attempted to follow all of that. This baby would not eat. And now it is to late. I thought about getting him some “Pedialyte”. I rushed to “Win-dixie”, and rushed back. It was to late when I got home. And I can clearly see he died from starvation.
I do not blame the text or writer. It is my fault he did not make it (I forgive myself for it.). What I am doing with this article is telling why, and what possible situations is needed to force feed.
First let me define what I mean by force feed. I do not mean jamming formula down his throat. Also I am not talking about hurting the baby. The thing to do is be gentle, and put it in his mouth with out hurting him.
I managed to get him to eat some two days ago. I put it on his lips, and he would then eat it. He stopped doing that, and I would not force him. I did not want to drown the baby, and I was waiting for when he would tell me it was time to eat. A problem I was having with him is that he would not sit still. I could not get the nipple to his mouth. And when he would be still, his mouth was in the wrong place to feed. Also when he was still, he went to sleep. It seemed he moved around to get comfortable, and then slept.
When the baby stops eating, force feed him. If you do not he will become dehydrated, and weak. The weaker the baby, the harder it is to feed him. Put him on his back, but be very careful. Try to handle him in a way as to have him on his side. And when you put it in his mouth. Try to tilt him so the formula would slowly run out, you do not want it in his lungs.
Do not shoot formula into his mouth. Do not put to much in the mouth either. The idea is to get it into his mouth, so that he will swallow it. Never give it to him while yarning.
Because he is not eating much, get some pedialyte. I feel it would have saved this babies life if I had it days ago.
Something I want to inform about is a certain baby bottle nipple. Check the nipple, a bottle I purchased from a pet store. Had no hole in it. I poked it many times with a needle trying to fix it. it did not turn out well. I recommend a “Harts” bottle. Getting an eye dropper is a good idea along with the bottle. If you have to choose between the two. Get the eye dropper, I suggest this in the situation of having to force feed. I believe if I had an eye dropper, it would have been easier on me.
When buying formula, check everything on the label. I found this on a formula I purchased. “Not considered a nutrient…”
Taking care of a new born kitten is hard, and risky. A lot of kittens do not survive without their mother, even being taken care of by someone. Only take care of a newborn if the mother refuses to. Try to get him back with his momma.
I am closing this article with this. Read those articles that say not to force feed. I wrote this article for the situation that he will not eat. If he will not eat, you should force feed. But be very careful doing that. It is possible to accidentally drown your baby force feeding.
