Thread: Force feed/drink

Quite honestly I would forget the kitten milk,if he is drinking water he is getting his fluid input that way the milk side will dampen the appetite down anyway,I would try & encourage him to eat his wet food more & just try leaving an assortment of dry bikkies in little dishes in different areas of the house,there are two different types of past that might help him as well,will just see if I can find out which one is best,be back shortly.....
Nutri gel plus is the one you want x

Personally I would try different foods to see if there is one he cant resist. Also you could try feeding him some cooked chicken or tuna or boiled egg? He may eat it better if you hand feed him initially. I'm no expert but my mum had a cat that was very small and skinny as a kitten and went on to be one of the biggest cats I have ever seen. Good luck. x

I might be wrong but it sounds like he is associating food with something unpleasant... being force-fed. Perhaps the falling asleep is his way of saying "leave me alone". Try to make eating a fun game... like throw bikkies at him to run after and catch, kittens should do a lot of running anyway. Don't fret about him weighing less than your friend's cat... all kitties are different. You should have seen my Minnie when we just got her - mousey little thing but tough as old boots and grown into a formidable lady 2 years on.
Furthermore, as Kiwi01 says, find out whatever he really likes and let him eat that.
I am not a fan of Hills but they have a wet food named a/d which cats find very tasty and is good for convalescence.
Most important thing is... don't stress yourself out - kitty will pick up on your stress.

Thank you, dry food is left here there and everywere at the moment but he just doesnt bother with it ( i count the biscuits so i know if he ate any) he had a nice go at his wet food last night which i have to mash up ive noticed he acts like he has never chewed food before because he just laps and when a piece of meat goes in hes like whoa lil chew and spits bits out lol so mashing his food seems to be the way at the moment i persume he will get better at chewing food as he gets more used to it im offering food every 2hrs through the day he helps himself to water whenever he wants , its hard not to stress when you know your lil one is underweight i just want him to put weight on so then we can relax

If he can't chew try a mousse / pate type of food. I wouldn't really care what he was having so long as he was having something although obviously the better quality stuff is ideal.

At a year old my three are very different in size and weight. Lily is still only 4.25 Kg, Arnold 7 Kg and Jock somewhere inbetween. Of them all, Lily has the biggest appetite but she is also the most active. Hence, she looks like a rake.

How much is it costing to take him to the vet to be weighed? Don't get me wrong, I think it is a good idea that he is under supervision of a professional but weekly weigh ins at the vet? Really? I weigh mine at home, much less frequently now but I used to weigh them it seemed like every day.

None of my 3 would touch Nutrigel +. They all loved Nourish-Um. Same idea and I have no idea what the difference in composition is.

It is difficult not to become neurotic about it but I agree with Antonia, try and associate feeding with fun. I also wouldn't be too worried about him sleeping. That's what kittens do. Just make sure he is able to maintain his body temperature or make sure you are doing that for him.

I would say it is more likely that he hadn't got to the age of knowing what chewing was all about,I would even wonder if his correct age was 8 weeks by what is being said,more likely 6 when he was handed over comes to mind with his behaviour pattern,any "breeder" that can let a babe go so young isn't to be trusted anyway,would also account for not being too much into biscuits yet & also the fact that babe isn't eating very much at each sitting,tum still has to grow into accepting food & also accounts for falling asleep so quickly after each small amount he has taken,he is still at the weaning off stage,make sure you are giving him wet kitten food as that has everything in at this stage to help him grow,I went off of here last night to check which would be more of an advantage to him nutri + or nourishm as I have had both in the past although I keep nutri gel + in my cats first aid cabinet now & at that point my breeder phoned so asked her as she always looks into everything & knew it would save me & she said the nutri + gel but obviously its whatever you can get him to take although all of mine will take the gel off of my finger but as a babe you just put it from your finger straight onto the tounge anyway. Here's hoping in another couple of weeks he will be the bouncy babe you expect with a nice rotund belly to match the his food intake.....x

Thank you everyone he has had a really good day today 4 meals so far today polishing one of complety so really pleased with him today he has learnt to "fly" lol jumps of our sofa with legs everywere so the food is finally gettin sone energy into him

As for the weigh ins im not sure how much there charging but to be honest having the vet do this is extra peace of mind he is called the posh cat there lol there first MC they say lol
so fingers crossed ronnie carrys on with his feeds and we get to hold a lil podgy kitten and not feel his lil bones no more xx

Sounds like progress... well done!
BTW, we love pics of kittens <hint>

Originally Posted by Antonia

Sounds like progress... well done!
BTW, we love pics of kittens <hint>

Lol he just polished off some fish my gawd he lives that lol
as for piccies ill have a go