My kitten bites the syringe and won't latch. How do I feed him?

Hello, and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Sounds like your kitten is successfully weaning! It sounds like she's becoming less interested in bottle feeding, since she is taking solids, and is likely playing with the nipple now more than feeding from it. At this stage, kitten food will do her more good than meat or milk replacer. I recommend offering her both dry and canned kitten food (you may want to crush the dry food a bit if she needs help eating it), and you can also offer a bit of the milk replacer in a little saucer for her to lap up herself, to encourage self-feeding. Keep trying to do the bottle feedings until you're confident she's eating kitten food on her own, but don't stress too much if she seems to be losing interest as her "real food" consumption picks up. Hope this helps!

I would say probably around four weeks of age. It’s fine to give it wet food with KMR, and over the course of two weeks, decrease the amount of KMR and increase the amount of wet food until it is eating the wet food only. Best of luck.

At 5 weeks Baby should be old enough to start eating some solid food. You can try mixing some canned kitten food with some kitten formula like KMR and putting it in a shallow dish. If she still won’t eat I would recommend seeing a veterinarian to determine what might be wrong. They can also teach you how to tube feed if necessary.

Some kittens do nurse longer than others, and wean at a later date. He does need to learn to eat regular food, however, you can try to wean him. To start, mix dry kitten food with kitten milk replacer formula so they recognize the taste. Smear the mixture around their mouth with your finger and let them lick it off. Once they get used to the taste, they’ll seek it out elsewhere. As he get used to this, add in more dry food, and less formula until you have completely eliminated the formula.

You are doing a good job. I would put the food on my finger over the flat dish of food. As she’s licking I put my finger into the food to try to get her to suck/lick the food in the dish. This may take a few days for her to learn but she should figure it out with your help. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Simba.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! If Loki has teeth he can start eating canned kitten food. Mash it on a plate so he can stand in it and eat it. You can also add the formula to the canned food to entice him. If he’s at least 1 pound he is 4 weeks old. Don’t forget to get him to a vet soon to check his health and start vaccines. Good luck and kisses to Loki!

Yes you are correct about your thoughts. It does hurt when they nurse now with their little teeth, and after three weeks they are old enough to start eating solid food. I’m glad you are starting to feed them. You can give wet kitten food now four times daily and add warm water to it to make it very wet. Usually having them lick it off your finger by the dish will teach them to eat. Just let the Mom go in and out as she wants and she’ll gradually wean them herself. Once her milk is dried up it’s a good time to spay her as she can get pregnant again soon afterwards. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for your kittens.