kitten feeding.

Question
i rescued a 3 day old kitten and have been feeding him through a bottle.now its 4 weeks old and active i want it to learn how to lapp up milk. how do i teach him to lapp up milk on his own?

Answer
Kriti,

It is a good idea to start small...Many companies that make kitten milk replacers also make a weaning formula which will  help to get your little guy the energy and calories that he needs. I would recommend that you switch over to the weaning formula gradually over the course of a few days. Once you have him on the weaning formula you can either opt to mix pureed meats or a good quality kitten food into the weaning formula until you have a mixture about the consistency of a nice gravy. In order to teach him to lap up that mixture you will want to put in in a plate about the size of a dessert plate. Once you put the food onto the floor you will go and get the kitten and bring him to it. In order to stimulate his interest in trying the food you will dab a bit of the mixture onto your finger and put it right under his nose, if your kitten doesn't respond to this then you can gently dab a bit onto his nose and he will instinctively lick it off. Be prepared that your first several feedings will be time consuming and messy. You will have to keep the bottle in the routine until he is consuming enough food on his own to maintain the rapid growth stage he is entering. Don't be surprised if your kitten actually heads directly into the plate when he figures out that you expect him to eat it. I have found a great product that works well in this situation and isn't too expensive. CatWipes are a kitty bath wipe that is disposable and you can use it to clean your kitten rather than worrying about bathing him several times a day. If things are really bad I would recommend that you be sure to have a warm place the kitten can be rinsed off and keep him warm and cuddled so that he doesn't lose precious weight by shivering. Don't be surprised if the kitten takes awhile to learn how to lap up a mixture of weaning formula and kitten food, you may find that the kitten still wants the bottle after he has figured out how to eat on his own. It is important that you realize that the kitten should still be fed on demand as hand reared kittens are often small for their age. When I weaned my 9 year old cat that I hand raised I had to actually put a bit of pepper onto the nipple to create a negative association so that the solid food would become more important than the bottle...Then again, my cat used to hop onto the counters and get the bottle out of the cupboard. I guess that the bottom line is that this is going to be a process, you can't expect this little one to instantly get used to a different routine, you will want to pick up a scale (if you don't already have one) that measures in grams up to two pounds so that you can monitor the kitten's weight to be sure that he doesn't lose any and that he is gaining steadily. If you find that he is losing weight it may be best to give him a bottle. I tend to recommend that you slowly start with the weaning process having the food become part of his daily routine and increasing the food while you decrease the bottle feedings. It will take time and patience, but over time your little guy should be eating fairly well. I do suggest that you take this kitten to the vet for vaccines soon because he doesn't have any immunities that he would normally have from his mother's milk at this stage and he is vulnerable to catching different viral and bacterial infections. Deworming would be good too as that will help him keep weight on and most kittens are born with worms. Your vet will also be able to see how much your kitten weighs and make special feeding recommendations if necessary in order for your little one to catch up. I hope that this information helps. If you have any further questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me again.