Can a kitten be fed baby food? Is it possible to feed a cat baby food with meat?

A newborn or a small kitten without a mother cat is in your care. If you don’t know how and what to feed a kitten at home. Then, the article contains advice from owners and breeders who have successfully raised many kittens from birth to one year. They will help you ensure your kitten’s proper development and rapid growth.

With such a tiny kitten, you need to be more careful in what you eat.

Kitten and baby food

A newborn, one-month-old kitten can be fed with diluted baby formula and baby meat puree, but it is better to purchase a cat's milk substitute at a pet store.

It is best to feed a newborn kitten using a pipette or syringe tip without a needle. At one and a half months, kittens can lap and eat small pieces, and you can put a bowl for them. Read more in the article, which indicates the rules and secrets of feeding from 1 week to a year.

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Kittens and milk

Milk is vital for kittens up to three months of age, but for cats older than six months it can upset digestion. The best milk for kittens is cow's milk, which needs to be diluted by half.

Choosing fish for a kitten

Cooking porridge for the kitten

Breeders recommend diversifying the menu of a one-month or 3-week-old kitten with porridge. They are prepared with milk without adding sugar or salt. It is better to use crushed buckwheat or rice and offer it from three weeks of age.

Deadly food

Do not give your kitten sausages, sausage, sugar, salt, and avoid feeding from your table. The food from our table is dangerous for kittens.

Newborn kitten formula

If a cat milk substitute is not available to you, then you can make a similar one yourself. Take slightly diluted baby formula or half-diluted cow's milk, add egg whites in a 4 to 1 ratio and shake.

Menu from month to year

A one-month-old kitten can be given porridge with milk, from a month and a half a kitten can eat porridge with meat broth, a 2-month-old kitten is ready to eat boiled chicken and meat puree. Offer dry food soaked in water to a three-month-old baby. By six months, the kitten can eat raw minced meat and fish, and by one year it is ready to switch to dry food or raw meat in pieces.

Feeding kittens of exotic breeds

Breeders of British and Scottish Folds exclude carrots from the kitten menu, as it harms their color. need increased amounts of protein. The owner of a small exotic should not offer his pet thick porridge.

Features of feeding

First you need to learn about some of the characteristics of the kittens’ body, as well as the intricacies of feeding. Everyone knows that newborn kittens in the first month of their life should eat exclusively milk. Of course, ideally, the cat herself should feed the kitten, but this is not always possible. Therefore, the first thing that comes to mind is to feed a newborn kitten with baby food.

You need to choose only the mixture that is intended for newborns.

After the first feeding with such food, it is imperative to monitor the reaction of the kitten’s body and its behavior. If after the first feeding the pet feels good, does not worry, falls asleep normally and is active when waking up, then this is good. It is also important to monitor his stool: it should be normal, without any strong odors. If everything is in order, then you can continue to feed the kitten with the selected mixture.

If the animal becomes lethargic, constantly suffers from abdominal pain, the stool has a strong odor, there is mucous discharge or even streaks of blood, then you need to choose a different diet.

You cannot choose a mixture with various additives for feeding a small pet. For example, there are infant formulas intended for three to four month old babies that contain cereal additives. There are also formulations with the addition of honey or even sugar. This type of food is absolutely not suitable for a kitten.

How to feed?

Before giving your kitten baby food, you should remember that such milk formulas are much richer and fattier than cat milk. For this reason, it is imperative to follow the recommended proportions and dilute the mixture correctly.

Look at the ratios indicated on the box and increase the required amount of water exactly twice. If the proportions are not observed, you can harm the still fragile body of a small cat. It is recommended to dilute the mixture exclusively with boiled water. You can also use purified water for children. Such bottled liquid will need to be heated to 37°.

You need to dilute the baby formula as carefully as possible so that there are no lumps.

Since a small kitten has not yet developed a sucking reflex, it needs to be fed correctly. To do this, you can use a syringe (without a needle), a pipette, or purchase a special bottle for feeding newborn kittens at a pet store. Before each meal, all this must be sterilized so as not to harm the kitten’s health.

Remember that During feeding, the baby himself must make an effort and independently try to suck milk from the container. If you pour the mixture into him drop by drop, he will not develop a sucking reflex, which will negatively affect his health in the future.

When feeding a small kitten, you need to hold it correctly. You should not place the animal on its back, as this can harm its health during feeding. The container with the mixture should be held comfortably, slightly at an angle. If the kitten has already eaten enough and refuses the formula, then you cannot force feed it with leftover food. After feeding, be sure to wipe your pet's tummy with a damp sponge, gently massaging it. Usually, after feeding, the mother cat licks the kittens, which helps the babies go to the toilet in a timely manner.

Leftover food can be stored in the refrigerator until the next feeding.. It will have to be reheated before use. It is important to remember that A mixture that has been stored in the refrigerator for more than a day can no longer be used for feeding.

How often should I feed?

The frequency of feeding a kitten depends directly on its age. If the baby lives in the world only for the first week, then the mixture will have to be given to him every two to three hours. At the same time, remember that you will have to feed him even at night. A two-week-old kitten will eat a little more, but not so often: it will need to be fed once every four hours. At night, the baby will no longer wake up as often, so the frequency of night feedings will be reduced.

Three-week-old kittens are already stronger and more independent. They will need to be fed every five to six hours. It is also important to remember that kittens over twenty days old should be gradually taught to lap from a bowl. In addition, it will be possible to introduce complementary foods for kittens older than one month. During this period, it is important to monitor the small cat’s digestive system and its reaction to complementary foods.

As soon as the kitten gets stronger and starts lapping up baby food on its own, you can start thinking about the first feeding. It can also be used as a variety of baby food. For example, you can feed your pet pureed meat.

It is only important to remember that you need to choose the most suitable food, that is, such puree should not contain sugar, salt and various vegetables, otherwise it may negatively affect the digestive system of a small kitten. A small amount of carrots in the puree is allowed, but it is better to avoid eating with potatoes or broccoli.

When choosing meat puree, it is important to remember that not every one is suitable for a kitten’s daily diet.

For example, it is recommended to give liver to kittens no more than twice a month. Beef can be consumed daily. But it is better to avoid fatty meats such as pork and goose altogether. If you choose poultry puree, it should not contain skin.

As soon as the baby is one and a half months old, you can introduce a small amount of cottage cheese as complementary foods. Choose a product that is low in fat. In addition, the dairy product should not contain any additives. When the kitten is 2 months old, it will already be completely independent, and it will be possible to diversify its diet.

You can learn more about feeding kittens with baby food from the following video.

There are situations when, for some reason, the breeder has to take care of feeding newborn kittens. Here are tips that will help you properly organize the feeding and nursing of newborn kittens.

Food for newborn kittens

The ideal option is to find a nursing cat.
Regular cow's milk is strictly prohibited! The kitten will not be able to digest it and will die.
For feeding kittens, goat's milk, cat's milk replacer (sold in a pet store, it is better to buy from Royal Canin) or powdered infant formula (diluted with 2 times more water than for feeding a child) is suitable.
You can store the prepared mixture in the refrigerator, but no more than a day.
Do not feed the kitten formula from the refrigerator, it needs to be heated; see the table for the required temperature of the formula for feeding.

Feeding technique

Kitten care

The kitten gains weight by 10-15 grams per day; to control its weight, it must be weighed every day.
Since the kitten's digestive system is weak, he needs help with the toilet. To do this, after each feeding, massage the kitten’s tummy and anus with a cloth or cotton wool soaked in warm water. Usually the cat always licks the kittens after eating.
If you do everything correctly, the kitten will relieve itself 3-4 times a day.
The stool should be light brown. If you overfeed your kitten, the stool will be yellow and runny. Gray or green diarrhea is systematic overfeeding, this leads to loss of fluid, and subsequently to the death of the kitten.
Be sure to wipe the kitten twice a day with a damp cloth, do not forget about the face.
Kittens should be toilet trained when they begin to eat solid food.
Don't worry if your kitten doesn't poop for a few days. This is a very common occurrence among artificial people. If he hasn’t pooped for 4-5 days, you can give him a little Vaseline oil (1 ml 2-3 times a day). The effect will be the next day or every other day.

Place for kittens

The kitten's house should be placed in a secluded, quiet place, avoiding drafts.
In the first week, the kitten should be kept at a temperature of 27-30 degrees, in the second - 26-29 degrees, then the temperature can be reduced to 24 degrees Celsius.
There are special incubators with an infrared lamp for heating kittens. But you can get by with a cardboard box with high edges.
Place something very warm at the bottom of the box; woolen items work well. Lay a towel or diaper on top and change it when it gets dirty.
You can place a heating pad under the bedding to keep the kitten warm.
Place a soft toy in the box so that the kitten can cuddle up to it as if it were its mother.

Every day the kitten gains 15 grams in weight, for each added gram the amount of mixture increases by 4-5 grams.

1 Week

2 week

3 week

Day	Amount of food	Mixture temperature	Feeding schedule
Day 15	46 ml. per 100 g weight	28 - 30º	From this day on, kittens can begin to be fed additionally. You can let the kitten lap up formula milk on its own from a saucer or spoon. Every 4 hours
Day 16	46 ml. per 100 g weight	28 - 30º	Every 4 hours
Day 17	46 ml. per 100 g weight	28 - 30º	Every 4 hours
Day 18	46 ml. per 100 g weight	28 - 30º	Every 4 hours
Day 19	46 ml. per 100 g weight	28 - 30º	Every 4 hours
Day 20	46 ml. per 100 g weight	28 - 30º	Every 4 hours
21 day	46 ml. per 100 g weight	28 - 30º	Every 4 hours

Every owner, before getting a cat at home, will think many times about how to feed it. Breeders' forums and advice from experienced veterinarians will help him, but still, the pet's nutrition will depend on the financial condition of the owner, on the preferences of the cat itself and their living conditions.

Consumption of baby food by kittens

There are cases when kittens are left without a mother - a cat, and then all the care about their nutrition falls on the owner. For the first month, it is imperative to feed the kittens a special formula for newborns, similar in composition to cat milk. Next, to replace mother's cat's milk, you can use cow's or baby formula. To do this, you need to dilute them with water in the ratio 1:1 .

Feeding babies, of course, is a painstaking task and you need to be patient in order to feed the kittens at least 3-4 times a day for 1.5 months. You can use a pipette as a pacifier, or you can simply feed from a syringe, slowly releasing the liquid into the kitten’s mouth.

Consumption of baby food due to cat illness

Cats are often allergic to special foods, and sometimes it is difficult to find the right food. Symptoms such as itching, flaky skin, and hair loss indicate that your pet is not eating well. You can try giving baby food in this case. You need to give no more than once a day and carefully watch your pet’s reaction. If the stool is normal, without a strong odor, if the cat feels normal (plays, eats, sleeps peacefully), then you can safely continue this complementary feeding.

Only at the beginning of the process should you choose products with a minimum salt content and without dry ground onions in the composition, since the digestive system cannot cope with processing such food. It’s not for nothing that they somehow managed without special feed. Most likely, such food was invented to simplify the life of breeders. Yes, it’s very convenient, satisfying and healthy, but it’s not at all necessary to feed your cat only cat food.

How did our mothers and grandmothers take care of their furry pets? That's right, many people remember that basically the cat got food that people ate. In addition to the diet there was fish, meat, and dairy products. Someone specially cooked the porridge, supplementing it with delicacies such as chicken liver, boiled fish, stewed vegetables, and stored it in the refrigerator. After all, cats ate and rarely got sick. True, if you give your cat raw meat, you need to regularly treat it for helminthiasis.

In general, you can read about milk that it is poison for cats. But how did cats in the past wait for the mistress who was milking the cow so that she could pour some fresh milk into a bowl? Cats could not have evolved so quickly and changed their entire digestive system, which only accepts balanced branded cat food. This humanity has accustomed animals, depriving them of taste preferences, to food.

Cats are predators, no need to forget about it. If your pet asks for a piece of raw meat, it is important to remember that before (and even now, if we are talking about the village Vaskas), the cat’s diet consists of 70-80% mice. You can’t escape nature, and no matter how hard cat food manufacturers try to balance the diet, enriching it with vitamins and minerals, nothing can replace the taste of fresh meat. Just remember that feeding raw meat or fish once a week is enough to avoid salmonellosis. Same with baby food. You can’t feed it to your fluffy all the time. Let it be as a food supplement, a quick solution to the problem if there is nothing else at hand or little time to prepare food for the cat.

Some veterinarians believe that It's still better to feed your cat cat food.. Baby food is better suited for human babies; cats and children have different nutritional needs and different digestive systems. Onions and garlic, which are part of canned meat, should not be given to cats, because only some manufacturers do not add these ingredients.

Also salt. It is usually present in baby food in small quantities. Manufacturers of the Agusha brand, for example, do not add salt to canned meat for children. Here are some factors to consider when feeding baby food to your cat:

Liver should be in a cat’s diet no more than 2 times a month.
Beef and heart can be given to your pet at least every day. It is strictly forbidden to give your cat duck, goose, or pork, since fatty foods affect the cat’s liver.
Cats do not digest the skin of birds, so when choosing canned food or when feeding them at home, you need to remove the skin from the food.
Among vegetables, cats prefer to eat carrots, white cabbage or cauliflower.
The following cereals can be given: buckwheat, oatmeal, rice.
From dairy products you can give these: low-fat kefir, yogurt, cottage cheese. Milk has a bad effect on peristalsis.
Drinking water can be raw, boiled water can be given, but rarely, or purified.

In conclusion, we can add that it is up to the owner to decide how and what to feed their own cat, based on the animal’s preferences and possibilities. If the pet does not complain about its health condition, does not scream in pain, but calmly goes to the toilet on the tray, plays, sleeps moderately and sometimes eats baby food, you can safely continue in the same spirit.

Feeding newborn kittens with a cat is not difficult. Even if it is possible to “borrow” a cat for feeding, the situation does not seem so problematic. What to do if there is nowhere to get milk?

You cannot offer regular goat or cow milk to newborns; the composition of milk in cats is significantly different. Feeding like this will cause more harm. But there is a way out.

Pharmacies sell formulas for kittens after birth, deprived of mother's milk. Their composition is as close as possible to breast milk, the kittens will receive the same beneficial microelements and grow fully. Beaphar Kitty-Milk and Royal Canin (Babycat Milk) mixtures are especially popular.
You can use baby formula for babies, which is sold at any pharmacy.
Another option is to prepare the product yourself.

For artificial feeding, a syringe, pipette, a medicine bottle with a rubber dispenser cap. The veterinary pharmacy sells special bottles and nipples designed for these purposes. When feeding, you need to make sure that the kitten does not swallow a lot of air, this will lead to bloating and pain.

Food is prepared immediately before use. The temperature should initially correspond to the kitten’s body temperature, and as it grows, lower it to room temperature.

Feeding procedure

Sit in a comfortable position, lay a bedding on your knees - a towel, a diaper;
The kitten needs to be placed in the same position as when sucking milk from a cat - standing, lying on its stomach with an elevated position;
Squeeze out a little product so that the kitten feels the smell, takes the pacifier in its mouth, if this does not happen, carefully insert it into the mouth, then instinct will react;
You need to feed a newborn with a pipette; you should not squeeze out the contents. It is necessary for him to develop a sucking instinct; he does it himself;
After about 7 days, you need to switch to a syringe, but squeeze out the milk slowly so as not to choke.

What to feed kittens

There are only 2 options - special products for cats, infant formula, homemade food from cow's and goat's milk.

How to feed baby formula

The best option for a newborn is to buy a special mixture Beaphar Kitty-Milk, Royal Canin (Babycat Milk). Their composition takes into account the characteristics of the body of small kittens and is as close as possible to the action of mother's milk. Made in powder form. As practice shows, this option is rarely used for 2 reasons - high cost, difficulties with purchasing. The cost of a 300 g package is about 800 rubles.

It is more convenient, faster, and cheaper to buy formula for artificial feeding of children.

The package must contain the number 1, which means for the child up to 1 month. Nutrilon, NAN, Similak, Nenny, Agusha, Humana, Nestozhen are considered the best. For a kitten, the preparation is 1.5 times weaker. There should be a sign on the jar with instructions for preparing the mixture. It is necessary to pay attention to the lines where the age, amount of powder, and water are indicated.

It looks something like this

– 0 –1 month, 120, 4.

120/4 = 30 ml of water * 1.5 = 45 ml for a kitten.
Therefore, 1 scoop of the product must be dissolved in 45 ml of water.

After a month of feeding, low-fat cottage cheese, a boiled chicken egg, and special canned food are added to the mixture. From 5 weeks it is recommended to introduce vitamins. And after 8 months you need to abandon the mixture.

How to feed cow's milk

Milk cannot be given in its pure form. Because it causes intestinal upset, indigestion, and an allergic reaction. If the kitten is too hungry, you can initially give it rice water, it will temporarily satisfy its hunger.

Start preparing the product with cow's milk.

500 ml milk, egg yolk, 4 tbsp. spoons of sugar. Mix everything and heat to animal body temperature.
50 ml milk, 15 g whole milk powder, 2.5 g dry yeast. Mix and heat.

How to feed goat milk

This ingredient is more suitable for newborns. Milk quickly is absorbed by the body, does not cause allergies, and forms intestinal immunity. But it must be given to the kitten in a diluted form in a 1:1 ratio.

How often to feed

The diet changes almost every day. Failure to adhere to the schedule is fraught with health problems.

Days 1–4 – feeding is carried out every 2 hours around the clock;
5–13 – the break between feedings is already 4 hours;
14–24 – during the day they feed every 4 hours, at night 1 time;
24–35 – continue to feed during the day according to this schedule, night feeding is canceled.

Cooking Features

It is necessary to pay attention to the temperature of the food. Since cold food disrupts digestion, hot food burns the oral cavity. From the first days of feeding, the temperature should be 37 degrees - an approximate indicator for the kitten’s body.

Lower this level every week. By the end of the month, the mixture should be at room temperature - 24 degrees. If there is nothing to measure, proceed as follows. The bottle is pressed against the bend of the elbow, nothing is felt - neither cold nor heat - you can give it to the kitten.

Calculation of the amount of mixture

You need to get a measuring spoon to properly prepare food for newborns. The amount of feed is calculated taking into account body weight.

Days 1–4 – 30 ml of the prepared mixture per 100 g of weight;
5 –13 – 38 ml;
14 –24 – 46 ml;
25 –35 – 53 ml per 130 g body weight.

Blend recipes

Preparing food for kittens is quite simple. Main The ingredient is, of course, milk. Auxiliary ones are added to it.

Recipe 1

Cow or goat milk is mixed with egg yolk in a 4:1 ratio. Beat well until smooth.

Recipe 2

The most nutritious, healthy mixture for kittens is prepared from several ingredients. Add 15 g of dry yeast and 2.5 g of dry yeast to 50 ml of cow's milk. Separately, beat the chicken egg until foamy. Combine with the mixture. Add 1 g of vegetable oil, 4 g of sugar.

Recipe 3

Mix 50 ml of raw, boiled milk, add half the yolk, 1 teaspoon of corn oil.

Recipe 4

200 ml of milk mixed with yolk, 0.5 tsp. vegetable oil, 20 ml glucose, 2 teaspoons of infant formula.

Recipe 5

Add whipped yolk to 500 ml of milk.

Healthy diet for a kitten

Proper nutrition ensures proper growth for kittens. At breastfeeding they receive all the necessary vitamins and microelements. When artificially feeding with formulas, additional complementary foods must be introduced.

About 3 weeks after birth, kittens begin teething. This is when you need a supply of vitamins. Some products are starting to be introduced.

The kitten's diet consists of:

You can't add sugar because it disrupts metabolism. Complementary foods should be given 4 times a week.

How long should you feed a kitten formula?

The first months of life are very important for the future health of the kitten. At this time, immunity is formed, the digestive system starts, and teeth erupt. The mixture helps to put the kitten on its feet and ensure its full development.

However, over time, the need for it disappears. You need to feed for 35 days. At most, 2 months. After this, the kitten is transferred to regular food and taught to constantly eat from a bowl.

Raising kittens without a cat, especially for the first time, requires a lot of effort, patience, and skills. The following tips will help you overcome difficulties and tell you how to get out of a difficult situation.

Feeding a kitten without a cat is a very labor-intensive and lengthy process. You need to quit all your business, not go to work, feed the babies every 2 hours day and night. The sacrifices must be justified.

An interesting fact remains that when such a situation arises in rural areas, kittens are fed fresh cow's milk from a pipette for literally a week. When they get to their feet, offer a small bowl. No special care. As a result, they grow up alive, playful, and healthy. They determine their own norm.