How to Get a Sick Kitten to Eat
Offer small amounts at frequent intervals., Change your kitten’s food brand., Ask your veterinarian about a convalescent diet., Try heating the food., Do not hide medicine in your kitten’s food., Make sure your kitten stays hydrated., Try finger...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Offer small amounts at frequent intervals.
When your kitten is sick, the best approach is to offer smaller portions, but more often.
Thus, offering a mouthful every one to two hours is ideal, as long as you are not waking the kitten up for feedings.
Note that very young kittens should be woken up for frequent feedings. -
Step 2: Change your kitten’s food brand.
Sometimes sick kittens do not feel like eating their regular food and have to be given something different just to make them more interested in eating.
By changing the brand or flavor, you might be able to get your kitten interested enough to taste some of the food.
When your kitten is sick even getting a little amount of food in him can make a difference.Here are a few foods that are easier for kittens to eat:
Gravy-based cat food Packaged chicken-flavored baby food Boiled chickenUnseasoned, cooked rice , Convalescent diets are specially designed to meet the needs of a sick animal that is not eating well.
They are extremely nutrient dense, so a 1 kg (2.2 lb) kitten might receive his daily calorie needs from just under a third of a tin.
The two most widely available diets are Hills AD (suitable for cats and dogs), and Royal Canin Feline Convalescent Diet.
These highly palatable diets include:
Protein, which provides building blocks for repair of body tissues and strengthens the immune system.
Fats and carbohydrates, which provide metabolic energy for the kitten to run his organs and fight infection.
Zinc and potassium, which aid wound healing.
Vitamins E and C, plus Taurine, which have antioxidant properties to help the body detox, and also fortify the immune system , If your kitten has a congested nose, he will stop eating for two reasons--he can’t smell the food and it is difficult to eat with a clogged up nose.
Try heating the food a little bit (not more than 30 seconds in the microwave) and then serve it.
Heating will enhance the aroma of the food and most likely lure the kitten into eating some of it.
Warm food also tastes better.
Cleaning a kitten’s congested nose with nasal drops can also help in encouraging him to eat. , A sick kitten needs his medicine, but never make the mistake of hiding his medicine in his food.
Kittens can detect medicine — both through taste and smell — and will not eat food with medicine in it.
Hiding the medicine will only ensure that your kitten will not come near the food next time, whether there is medicine in it or not.
Keep medicine separate and force feed it at regular intervals.
It will be an unpleasant task and the kitten will not like it, but this is something you have to do. , It is very important to make sure that your kitten is getting enough water and is staying hydrated.
Dehydration in kittens can be a very serious problem and when they are sick it becomes even more serious.
If your kitten refuses to drink water, try adding some water to her food.
Not only will it make the food more palatable, it will also hydrate her at the same time.
The first thing to check when your kitten refuses to drink water is whether his water dish is clean or not.
Kittens do not like to drink water from an unclean surface. , Put a small amount of food on your finger and bring it to the kitten’s mouth.
Try not to force your finger into the kitten’s mouth as it will irritate him.
Let him lick the food at his own pace and be patient. , If finger feeding does not work, give syringe feeding a try.
You'll need a clean syringe with the needle removed, filled with a liquid food.
Hold the kitten gently and insert the syringe in his mouth at an angle.
Do not insert it straight into his mouth as doing so will make the food go straight to the back of his throat and could cause your kitten to choke.
Bend it to the right or left side and squeeze a small amount of food onto the back of the tongue.
The kitten will swallow the food that is on the back of the tongue.
Repeat the process several times until you think he has had enough to eat, varying the position of the syringe to avoid rubbing the mouth too much in one spot.
Try using a milk replacer powder for cats if you don't have a liquid food prescribed by a vet.
Do not use ordinary milk.
The food should be at room temperature, or preferably slightly warmer but not hot. -
Step 3: Ask your veterinarian about a convalescent diet.
-
Step 4: Try heating the food.
-
Step 5: Do not hide medicine in your kitten’s food.
-
Step 6: Make sure your kitten stays hydrated.
-
Step 7: Try finger feeding your kitten.
-
Step 8: Try feeding your kitten via syringe.
Detailed Guide
When your kitten is sick, the best approach is to offer smaller portions, but more often.
Thus, offering a mouthful every one to two hours is ideal, as long as you are not waking the kitten up for feedings.
Note that very young kittens should be woken up for frequent feedings.
Sometimes sick kittens do not feel like eating their regular food and have to be given something different just to make them more interested in eating.
By changing the brand or flavor, you might be able to get your kitten interested enough to taste some of the food.
When your kitten is sick even getting a little amount of food in him can make a difference.Here are a few foods that are easier for kittens to eat:
Gravy-based cat food Packaged chicken-flavored baby food Boiled chickenUnseasoned, cooked rice , Convalescent diets are specially designed to meet the needs of a sick animal that is not eating well.
They are extremely nutrient dense, so a 1 kg (2.2 lb) kitten might receive his daily calorie needs from just under a third of a tin.
The two most widely available diets are Hills AD (suitable for cats and dogs), and Royal Canin Feline Convalescent Diet.
These highly palatable diets include:
Protein, which provides building blocks for repair of body tissues and strengthens the immune system.
Fats and carbohydrates, which provide metabolic energy for the kitten to run his organs and fight infection.
Zinc and potassium, which aid wound healing.
Vitamins E and C, plus Taurine, which have antioxidant properties to help the body detox, and also fortify the immune system , If your kitten has a congested nose, he will stop eating for two reasons--he can’t smell the food and it is difficult to eat with a clogged up nose.
Try heating the food a little bit (not more than 30 seconds in the microwave) and then serve it.
Heating will enhance the aroma of the food and most likely lure the kitten into eating some of it.
Warm food also tastes better.
Cleaning a kitten’s congested nose with nasal drops can also help in encouraging him to eat. , A sick kitten needs his medicine, but never make the mistake of hiding his medicine in his food.
Kittens can detect medicine — both through taste and smell — and will not eat food with medicine in it.
Hiding the medicine will only ensure that your kitten will not come near the food next time, whether there is medicine in it or not.
Keep medicine separate and force feed it at regular intervals.
It will be an unpleasant task and the kitten will not like it, but this is something you have to do. , It is very important to make sure that your kitten is getting enough water and is staying hydrated.
Dehydration in kittens can be a very serious problem and when they are sick it becomes even more serious.
If your kitten refuses to drink water, try adding some water to her food.
Not only will it make the food more palatable, it will also hydrate her at the same time.
The first thing to check when your kitten refuses to drink water is whether his water dish is clean or not.
Kittens do not like to drink water from an unclean surface. , Put a small amount of food on your finger and bring it to the kitten’s mouth.
Try not to force your finger into the kitten’s mouth as it will irritate him.
Let him lick the food at his own pace and be patient. , If finger feeding does not work, give syringe feeding a try.
You'll need a clean syringe with the needle removed, filled with a liquid food.
Hold the kitten gently and insert the syringe in his mouth at an angle.
Do not insert it straight into his mouth as doing so will make the food go straight to the back of his throat and could cause your kitten to choke.
Bend it to the right or left side and squeeze a small amount of food onto the back of the tongue.
The kitten will swallow the food that is on the back of the tongue.
Repeat the process several times until you think he has had enough to eat, varying the position of the syringe to avoid rubbing the mouth too much in one spot.
Try using a milk replacer powder for cats if you don't have a liquid food prescribed by a vet.
Do not use ordinary milk.
The food should be at room temperature, or preferably slightly warmer but not hot.
About the Author
Lisa Hill
Enthusiastic about teaching organization techniques through clear, step-by-step guides.
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