Dual Handrearing Kittens

Question
Hello again, you did not mention any tips for bottle or syringe feeding - I may be doing it wrong!  Thanks
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-----Question-----
Disaster has struck.  Queen has lost 2 mammary glands due to mastitis. Vet says I have to also feed the 5 kittens too (born 30/1/07).  They wont suck on the bottle or the syringe - I have pursevered for 4 days.  Please could you explain in detail the knack with the open-ended bottle and also the knack with the 1 ml syringe.  They are losing weight and I am desperate.  The vet doesnt know either as he and nurses failed to get the kittens to suck also - new to them also.  Would it be because they are still feeding from the female to a limited extent which is to be preferred.  Also I work full time so would there be a possibility that I could foster say 2 of them until they are 8 weeks old on hard feed?  The queen should be able to feed 3 kitens!
-----Answer-----
This is a difficult problem for a person who is working. But if they won't suck on the syringe at present, use a large eye  dropper to add some kitten milk to their diet at least twice daily, if not more. Put the eye dropper in their mouth and drop small drops at a regular interval to allow them to swallow it slowly. Do not do it too fast.  The hungrier they get, the more likely they are to swallow.
The alternative is to buy some 5 mm french tubing and learn to tube feed. This is by far the best, if you can locate someone near you to assist you and teach you.
Check with any other breeders that you may know with new kittens and research with your vet and any other vets inn your area for any cats with lost kittens who may have milk to foster.
This is always a problem, but there are solutions if you can find a local breeder to help. Experience is the best teacher. Sorry that I am not near you or I could assist you.
The kittens will need to nurse until they are at least 4 weeks old and then can eat wet food or kitten dry food especially if you wet it with kitten milk in the beginning. You must assist them in learning to eat.


Good luck,
Barb

Answer
Neither you nor the vet had any luck because the kittens have their mom, so those techniques are not working. Use the ones I described, as you do not need the cooperation of the kittens for those. After a while they will get used to you handling them and will cooperate with the other mehods a little more.

Barb