Orphaned Kitten Day 2 - Bottle Crisis

The Issue of Nursing

May 30th, 2014

 All day I've slowly been having problems using the syringe to feed our little kitten. The plunger seems to be getting stuck, this could be due to the fact that I have to wash everything in warm soapy water between each use. 

This evening however it became an issue.

I tried rubbing with my fingers, just a little bit of oil on the plunger. This worked great until I put the milk in and then it got all stuck again.

My next thought was maybe the probiotics are clogging up the walls just enough that the plunger can't move smoothly. Either way the kitten is getting stronger and more hungry, and it makes me feel terrible when I either can't push milk out slowly, or it goes so fast that I spill most of it down her pretty white fur.

This evening was in fact such a terrible feeding event that her tiny little claws came out and she proceeded to gnaw on my fingers and scratch in her attempt to drink from the syringe.

I became so upset at the fact that I ended up spilling most of it all over her, and then the plunger got stuck completely that I had to enlist the help of my wonderful husband again. We cleaned her up and decided to give the baby bottle a try again.

Now for the problem with the bottle....

She has hated it from the beginning, day 1 she was too weak to use it even though we put holes in it she just couldn't suck hard enough to get milk. We've since then offered it a couple more times and I think she just doesn't like the taste or the texture of the rubber. One lady I talked to said she was never able to get kittens to use a bottle. 

This evening however we decided to try again with some modifications. After cleaning her up we enlarged the holes - she still didn't want it and proceeded to claw at my hand for food because she could however smell the milk. Keep in mind their sense of smell is one of the first things they develop from birth.

Next we decided enough was enough, cut off the tip!!

Success!!  She now drinks from the bottle, its a much better solution - I no longer have to keep filling up the syringe and taking it from her when she empties it (she was drinking between 2 - 3 full ones at each meal), its much more natural as she can go at her own pace, also slightly less messy however she still needs to be cleaned up between each meal just like mama would do!

My husband feeding the baby.