How to feed a one-month-old kitten without a mother cat? Feeding frequency and diet

Features of feeding a one-month-old kitten

The diet of a 1-month-old kitten depends on the presence of a mother cat. The longer they live together, the later complementary foods are introduced.

If there is a mother cat

On average, breastfeeding continues until two or even three months of age, which makes caring for the baby very easy. Colostrum secreted in the first days after birth is of particular value. Together with it, newborns receive passive immunity, protecting against infections until the first vaccination.

In addition to feeding, the mother cat takes care of the comfortable digestion of her cubs. To do this, she rubs her paws on their tummies after each meal or licks them. This massage makes it easier to go to the toilet, preventing constipation.

If the baby is taken away from his mother

You should not separate the baby from its mother until 1.5 months. If the mustachioed nurse does not have milk, died, or you simply picked up a tiny animal right on the street, try to find him a “foster mother.” This option is the most reliable, but rarely implemented.

If you couldn’t find a new nurse, then you will have to feed your one-month-old baby yourself. Special milk formulas (Gimpet, Beaphar, Royal) from veterinary pharmacies and pet stores will help with this. Their composition is as close as possible to mother's cat milk, so kittens quickly learn to drink directly from a bowl. It is better to give newborns a drink from a pipette, syringe or bottle with a nipple.

Cow's and goat's milk are only suitable as an emergency option before purchasing formula. They do not contain the necessary nutrients, and their constant consumption is fraught with intestinal upset.

Breed differences

The nutrition of a 1 month old kitten practically does not depend on the breed. At this age, he needs a high-calorie diet rich in calcium. It promotes proper growth and the formation of a strong skeleton.

The differences can be seen a little later, after 1.5-2 months:

1. British

   . Frequent consumption of carrots, kelp and liver changes the blue color. The daily menu should consist of 65% meat products and 25% vegetables. High protein content is essential for these stocky cats, who are characterized by rapid growth and weight gain.

2. Scottish folds

   . A high-calorie diet has a beneficial effect on the quality of the fur coat. Due to the innate tendency to allergies and urolithiasis, avoid purchasing economy-class food.

3. Sphinxes

   . Representatives of hairless breeds are characterized by increased appetite and poor intelligibility. They often suffer from obesity and gastrointestinal problems. It is better to feed them strictly by the hour, never exceeding the recommended norms.

Owners of purebred animals should pay attention to ready-made industrial feed. Many manufacturers offer specialized lines focused on the characteristics of specific breeds.

What is needed to feed a kitten

To successfully feed a kitten without a cat, the following fundamental elements are necessary:

• nutrition - its composition and feeding regimen, as well as compliance with certain rules when feeding;
• temperature regime - kittens do not have the ability to effectively thermoregulate, and therefore they are susceptible to hypothermia;
• hygiene - kittens need assistance with urination and defecation; it is necessary to monitor the cleanliness of their fur and den.

Setting up a nest for a kitten left without a mother

The kitten needs a constant temperature regime, and external stimuli are also undesirable for it, so you should arrange a den for the baby:

1. You can use a thick cardboard box or something else as a basis.
2. Cover the bottom with dense thermal insulation material, for example, a blanket, and put a disposable diaper on top.
3. Cover the top of the box with a warm woolen cloth.

   A den for kittens should be warm and safe.

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You can place a soft fluffy toy in the kitten's box.

Temperature

Maintaining the desired temperature in the den is possible using:

• incandescent lamps placed above the den;
• bottles of hot water, tightly closed and wrapped in a towel so as not to burn the kitten;
• regular heating pads, also covered with a towel.

When installing heating, it is important to leave one corner of the den free from it. The kitten will hide in this place if it gets hot.

Temperature:

• for the first week of a kitten’s life, the temperature of the den is maintained at 27–32 °C;
• second week - 27–29 °C;
• During the third and fourth weeks, the temperature is successively lowered so that by the end of the 4th week it reaches 24 °C.

Necessary items for feeding

To feed a kitten you will need:

• bottles for formula milk;
• nipples;

  A bottle for kittens with nipples is sold in a veterinary pharmacy

• an alternative to a bottle with a nipple: a syringe without a needle - it is convenient to dose the mixture, which can be fed directly from the syringe;
• soft catheters with side holes, they are put on a syringe and used for feeding kittens;
• plastic bottles with medicine pipettes, very thoroughly washed;

Feeding rules

When feeding, keep in mind that:

• the mixture should be warm, you can check this by dropping a drop on the bend of your elbow or wrist, the optimal temperature of the mixture is 38 ° C;
• the remaining mixture can be stored in the refrigerator, but no more than a day;
• to prevent aspiration (fluid entering the kitten’s respiratory tract): avoid the use of kitten feeding devices with wide openings;
• the formula for feeding a kitten is not fed under pressure, the kitten sucks it itself, and the person only helps;
• when feeding, the kitten is positioned belly down;

Video: how to bottle feed a kitten

Kitten hygiene

The immunity of a kitten left without a cat is very weak. Therefore, the person who has taken responsibility for the baby must strictly adhere to the rules of care:

• For the first three weeks of a kitten's life, he needs to massage the abdomen and perianal area in order to induce urination and defecation. This is done using a damp linen napkin. Massage should be done after each feeding.
• The diaper the kitten is wearing must be dry and clean, and it must be changed more often (daily or when soiled).
• The skin of the kitten's abdomen is susceptible to irritation. To prevent it, wipe it with baby oil; if irritation occurs, use baby powder.
• They always prepare food for the kitten, and also feed and care for it only with clean hands and in clean clothes, in which there has been no contact with other cats, since a baby growing without a mother does not have colostral immunity, and it is not yet capable of producing its own antibodies.

Video: how to help a kitten go to the toilet

Rules for introducing complementary foods

The little pet begins to be fed from 4-8 weeks, gradually diluting the milk menu with more solid products. When introducing complementary foods, follow these rules:

1. Puree your meals and focus on carbohydrates and calcium. Cook milk porridges and use a limited amount of meat until baby teeth erupt.
2. Add new dishes at intervals of 2-3 days to track the body's reaction. This will help identify allergies and food intolerances.
3. Offer to try unfamiliar food straight from your finger. After approval, it can be poured or transferred to a bowl.
4. Consider your pet's tastes. If the cat refuses the food offered, you should not force feed it. Thanks to the variety of possible options, the diet can be chosen to suit every taste.
5. Avoid food that is too hot or cold. Temperatures above and below room temperature can injure mucous membranes.
6. Don't leave uneaten food for later. To avoid indigestion and poisoning, serve only fresh food.
7. Try to eliminate sources of noise while eating. Without being distracted by irritants, the baby will focus more on food and quickly learn to eat on his own.
8. Avoid overfeeding. Not all babies feel full. It is safer to feed them often, but in small portions.

You can determine the time of introducing complementary foods in the presence of a mother cat by changing her behavior. By 4-6 weeks after birth, her milk supply decreases, so she increasingly leaves the “nest”. With the developed maternal instinct, the pet begins to take the cubs to the kitchen, showing them bowls of food. By repeating after their mother, babies quickly learn to eat on their own.

How to choose a milk replacer

Considering the unique composition of cat milk, veterinary substitutes that are close to it in nutritional content are best suited as a replacement. In addition to the main nutritional ingredients, high-quality milk substitutes contain:

• vitamins;
• microelements;
• taurine;
• minerals;
• polyunsaturated acids (omega-3; omega-6).

The following are usually referred to as reliable products:

• Beaphar Kitty-Milk;
• Royal Canin Babycat Milk;
• Gimpet Cat-Milk.

If it was not possible to buy a veterinary substitute, you can temporarily use baby formula used for feeding very young children, diluting it 2 times more than the instructions require.

Video: how to make a mixture for a kitten yourself

What foods to give your baby

Proper and balanced nutrition eliminates stunting and other developmental problems. The owner will have to decide in advance what his kittens will eat at 1 month. Mixing “natural” and “drying” negatively affects digestion, causing coprostasis, gastroenteritis and other complications. For your pet’s health, you need to choose only one type of feeding and stick to it for the rest of your life.

Natural food

Feeding “natural” food is much more difficult than dry food. In addition to daily cooking, you will have to take care of purchasing vitamins, since it is almost impossible to reach the norm with food alone. You can feed your little pet:

• boiled quail or chicken yolk;
• minced meat and broth;
• semolina or rice porridge;
• vegetable puree from cabbage, zucchini and pumpkin;
• low-fat kefir, cottage cheese and yogurt.

As an alternative food, you can choose wet and dry food. Any brands of at least premium class, designed for cats under 1 year of age, are allowed.

Wet food

Until the teeth appear, you will have to limit yourself to canned pates. Later you can switch to meat pieces in jelly. These feeds are almost 80% water. They require much less liquid to digest than dry kibble.

Don't pack too big in hopes of saving money. Opened food quickly becomes unusable, so the cat may not have time to eat it before the expiration date.

Dry food

Dry food is good for preventing tartar and is enriched with all necessary vitamins. In addition to the class, you need to pay attention to the manufacturer. Veterinarians do not recommend frequent changes of brands and try not to go beyond a certain brand, even with a therapeutic diet.

At first, it is better to soak the granules in warm water. In this case, even a toothless pet can eat them. When choosing dry food, it is especially important to comply with the water consumption rate. Calculate how much liquid your pet drinks per day and adjust the amount if necessary.

Do I need to continue formula feeding?

Use formulas until the baby is two months old, until he gets used to solid food and begins to eat on his own. After all baby teeth appear, adjust the diet in favor of an adult.

Ready-made feed

Various brands of ready-made cat food vying with each other to praise their products. The main thing here is not to get lost in bright advertising. Let us agree that we consider only high-quality premium and super-premium food.

If you need to feed a 1-month-old kitten, then turn to brands such as:

• Royal canin
• Akana
• Almo Nature
• Purina Pro Plan
• Nero Gold
• Arden Grange

The manufacturer has already worried in advance, completed all the calculations and offers ready-to-eat food. Experts have no doubt about the quality of food from Royal Canin with the prefix “super”. The taste variety will be received with a bang by the baby.

Akana food for kittens comes in three flavors that can be alternated. There is no dye in this product, which eliminates the possibility of digestive problems.

Almo Nature is also suitable for a one-month-old cat and consists mainly of high-quality chicken meat and non-allergenic rice.

Forbidden food

Do not forget that any food from the human table is contraindicated for pets. Stop any attempts by compassionate relatives to feed your “unlucky” pet pickles, sweets, herbs, smoked meats, flour, fried and fatty foods. A moment's pleasure can turn into a long and expensive treatment.

In addition to the foods listed, avoid feeding:

• pearl barley and millet;
• sorrel, onion and garlic;
• any bones;
• pork;
• mushrooms and potatoes;
• raisins and grapes;
• legumes

Don't believe the myths about the benefits of milk and fish. After a year, cats develop lactose intolerance, accompanied by diarrhea and increased gas production. Fish is fraught with the development of urolithiasis and kidney inflammation, so it is also better to avoid its frequent consumption.

Consequences of poor nutrition

Consequences of poor nutrition

A growing body needs a balanced diet. A lack of vitamins and minerals can lead to disruption of organ function and to the following diseases:

• Gastritis occurs as a result of feeding your pet spoiled, dry and cold food. To prevent gastritis, you need to change your diet and feed your baby good quality food.
• The ulcer appears due to rough food. The animal loses a lot of weight and becomes lethargic. His body temperature may also increase.
• Tartar is a plaque consisting of calcium salts, food debris and saliva. It worsens the condition of teeth and causes bad breath.
• Caries destroys tooth enamel. The kitten develops bad breath. To prevent caries, you need to improve the quality of your diet and eliminate fried and sweet foods.
• Avitaminosis. A lack of vitamins C and E weakens the immune system and makes the coat dull.
• Diabetes mellitus occurs due to sweet foods. You should include porridge, broth, and boiled meat in your diet.

A diet that contains all the necessary nutrients will not lead to these diseases.

Getting your kitten used to solid food

With the appearance of baby teeth, you can diversify your diet with solid foods. Instead of minced meat, offer your pet finely chopped meat and fish pieces. Use only low-fat varieties, not forgetting about pre-freezing and cooking. Two-stage treatment at different temperatures will eliminate infection by parasites.

Gradually reduce the amount of liquid in porridges by adding meat to them. The baby quickly gets used to this additive in broths and cereals, but you will have to tinker with the individual serving of meat. If the pieces remain in the bowl, then try grinding them into minced meat and offering them again. Having become accustomed to the smell and taste, the cat will begin to eat meat in larger quantities.

General information

Solid foods are introduced into the kitten's diet little by little and gradually. Solid foods include cheese and whole grain porridge. A small kitten can be fed egg yolk, it is given no more than twice a week. When feeding a small pet, we must not forget about vitamins and fiber. Add apples, cucumbers, and herbs to your animal's food.

If the animal cannot cope with pieces of whole vegetables, then grate them. Provided you follow all the above recommendations and receive vitamins, your kitten will develop healthy and strong.

Feeding frequency and portion size

When feeding “dry”, it is enough to focus on the norms indicated on the packaging. By weighing your pet, you can easily find out its daily portion.

The frequency of feeding depends only on age, so it is the same for pets with different types of nutrition. The recommended number of meals and portion sizes on natural food can be found in the table.

From three months of age, the portion size is increased to 200 g per 1 kg of weight, and the number of meals is reduced to 5. From this moment until six months, the animal enters the most active growth phase. At this time, veterinarians recommend taking into account the individual characteristics of the pets and monitoring their well-being by checking their indicators in the clinic. If you deviate from the norm typical for your pet's breed, you may need to increase or reduce the usual portions.

If you are often away from work, make sure that your friends, relatives or neighbors feed the kitten. Eating too infrequently can lead to overeating or exhaustion. After six months, your pet can be safely switched to three meals a day, and closer to a year - to two meals a day.

Making your own nutritional mixtures for kittens at home

Despite all the advantages of the products described above, they have their drawbacks. The main one is low availability, since not in every city the owner can find what he needs (not to mention small towns). In such cases, you have to make formulas for feeding at home.

True, veterinarians and experienced breeders warn that it is impossible to achieve the ideal ratio of all nutrients and vitamins in this case. But as a temporary option, this is an excellent solution.

Scott's formula for feeding kittens

The quantities of the following ingredients are given for each half kilogram of weight. Accordingly, for a pet weighing 250 grams, these doses should be divided in half.

Scott's mixture is prepared from the following products:

• 25 gr. whole cow's milk (low-fat).
• Requires 7.5 g. powdered milk.
• 1.5 gr. dry baker's yeast.
• 25 gr. egg powder or whole egg.
• It also requires 25 gr. whipped egg whites.
• 0.5 gr. sunflower or olive oil (refined).
• 2 gr. glucose or sugar.

The components of the mixture are thoroughly mixed in a mixer. Before use, the product is heated to 37°-38° Celsius.

Tailinga mixture – fortified mixture

It is believed that the Tailing mixture is healthier, since it contains more vitamins and microelements. The product is prepared from the following components (as in the previous case, for every half a kilogram of live weight):

• Requires 25 gr. whole milk.
• Powdered milk – 5 g.
• Glucose or sugar – 2 gr.
• Vitamins for kittens – one gram. Of course, before purchasing vitamins, you should definitely consult a veterinarian!

All ingredients must be mixed thoroughly. The mixture is also used heated to 37°-38° Celsius.

From six months to a year

Kittens between six months and one year of age are still growing. And it is no longer necessary for them to purchase special dry food for kittens. At what age should I switch to regular “adult” analogues? Not before all of the kitten's teeth are replaced. That is, at least from 6–7 months.

Teenage cats can be fed in the same way as adult cats. But until the animal is one year old, the diet should still contain more than just dry food. It is very important to feed your cat meat, fish, cottage cheese, vegetables and fruits. But giving whole milk is not recommended. This may result in an upset stomach.

The first month of a pet's life

When buying a one-month-old kitten, remember: this is an important and responsible act. How you care for and feed the animal at an early age determines its immunity in the future. A strong immune system is the key to health. Of course, genes play a significant role in this matter, but diet and food are also important. The main rule is no food from the common table. Remember: the digestive system of animals is completely different from that of humans. There is no need to give the kitten whole milk, sour cream, sweets and other products.

A one-month-old kitten needs:

• Completely exclude contact with other animals, even if they are pets and have vaccinations.
• Don't let them go out into the yard to avoid picking up fleas, worms and various infections.
• Try to remove shoes and clothes that a person wears on the street.

All these recommendations will contribute to the development of good immunity in the animal.