Artificial Breeding of Cats
When a mother dies during delivery, or is incapable of raising its whelps in a proper way due to a disease called agalactia, or because of a psychological problem, one has to implement an artificial breeding program that will include feeding, sanitary and socialization matters.
Hand feeding: If the mother is missing, the breeder is forced to hand-feed the kitten. Although it will probably require a long time and lots of patience, it can be done with good results.
For beginners, it is recommended to feed the whelps with a special nursing bottle, giving them a milk formula that can be a commercial brand or homemade. If the breeder has some experience, he can also feed them by a tube that goes directly to the stomach.
In the market one can find some commercial products, duly balanced, for orphan kittens. If these products are not available, one can always prepare a home made formula.
Home made formula for 1 day
- 3 ounces of condensed milk
- 3 ounces of water
- 4 ounces of normal yogurt
- 3 or 4 brown eggs.
Because of the importance and the frailty of the whelps, it is necessary to prepare the milk formula every day. After each provided serving one must preserve the formula in the refrigerator and it must be heated at 28°C before serving it again.
During the first 48 hours, and on a daily basis, each whelp has to drink about 10 ml of the formula. This quantity has to be divided into 6 or 9 deliveries per day. During the second week, the need of consumption of each kitten adds up to an average of 5 to 7 mg per delivery. Upon the third week, besides milk you must initially feed them three times a day. Later on, fourth week, one must feed the kitten daily with about 4 or 6 nursing bottles of the milk substitute and to start with 4 or 5 solid food meals.
During the first 10 days, one must weigh whelps dally to see if they are progressing. Since day 11 it will only be necessary to weigh them 3 times per week. Each kitten must improve its weight from 50 to 100 grams per week. If they do not improve at the expected rate, it means that feeding is not the most adequate one.
