How to Get a Sick Kitten to Eat - 5 Simple Ways
Is your kitten refusing food while feeling under the weather?
Is your kitten refusing food? You’re not alone—and it’s not something to take lightly. When kittens stop eating, even for a short period, their tiny bodies can quickly become weak and dehydrated. 5 practical, vet-recommended ways to encourage your sick kitten to eat—safely, gently, and effectively.
Loss of appetite in kittens is a major red flag—and if not handled carefully, it can quickly lead to serious health issues like dehydration, hypoglycemia, or even hepatic lipidosis.
Your Kitten Deserves the Best Care
Table of Contents
Offer Small Amounts of Food at Frequent Intervals
The first step is to try feeding the sick baby kittens by offering small amounts of food at frequent intervals. Sometimes she will ignore the food and sometimes she will probably eat it, the best approach is to offer smaller portions, but more often.
Therefore, offering a mouthful every one to two hours is ideal. But the young kittens or the newborns are woken up for frequent feedings.
Change The Brand or Flavour
Sometimes regular food might subtract the tastebuds, and your baby kitten might feel the need for some other tastes just to make them more interested in eating.
By changing the brand or flavour or even smell of the food, you might be able to get your kitten interested enough to taste some of the new food variants.
Usually, a sick kitten will mind eating even a little, so getting even a little amount of food in him can make a difference.
Listed below are some foods that are easier for kittens to eat:
- Gravy-based cat food
- Packaged chicken flavored baby food
- Boiled chicken
- Unseasoned, cooked rice
Always Provide Warm Food
Always provide warm food, if you wish to improve your kitty’s health conditions since warm food will give a certain scent and it’ll not be difficult to eat anymore if it smells right.
But sometimes before providing any diet when your kitty is sick might be harmful too. Ask our veterinarian about such diets which can improve your kitties health in no time.
Some meals like a convalescent dis are specially designed to meet the needs of a sick animal. Those diets are very light and are full of the nutrient, and vitamins added to it.
Try Hydrating Your Sick Kitten
Always try hydrating your sick kitten, as dehydration in kittens can be a very serious problem in future and when they are sick it becomes even more dangerous case your kitten is not drinking enough water, try adding water to the food.
By such, not only will it make the food more palatable, but it will also hydrate her at the same time. Pour water in the clean water dish, as kittens do not like to drink water from an unclean surface.
Try Feeding Your Kitten With Your Finger or Syringe
If your kitten is found or it is not able to take the food on its own, then try feeding your kitten with your finger or syringe. And never force the finger into the kitten’s mouth and let him lick the food at his own pace and be patient.
Or else feed with a clean syringe with the needle removed, filled with a portion of liquid food. With a slow start, insert the syringe in his mouth at an angle and push off the food at a slow pace.
Try repeating the process several times until a diet is completed. Seek veterinary care if necessary.
