Kitten Feeding Schedule & Growth Chart

DO NOT USE COW MILK
Never feed a kitten cow’s milk or human baby formula as this causes stomach upset and severe diarrhoea. If a kitten is already dehydrated, this could prove fatal. This includes condensed/evaporated canned cow’s milk
On Crete BabyCat Milk is available from vets & comes with a bottle & spare teats. It costs @€30 per can (3 sachets) & it takes up-to 4 cans for a litter of 4.

If you can’t get hold of cat milk use this solution until you can:

Oral rehydration Solution
Boil 2 cups of water;
Add 5 teaspoons of sugar and stir until it dissolves;
Add 1/4 teaspoon of salt and stir until it dissolves; and
Allow the mixture to cool. It must be warm, but not hot.

The solution must be refrigerated. Warm it before serving. Only use for a maximum of 24 hours.

Kitten Feeding Schedule & Growth Chart

Chart in excel format

Number of feeds per day
Birth to 1 week: Feed every 3 hours (8 feedings/day)
From 1 to 3 weeks: Feed every 4 hours (6 feedings/day)
From 3 to 4 weeks: Feed every 5 hours (5 feedings/day)
From 4 to 5 weeks: Feed four to five times/day.

Total Formula required per day
Up to 1 week: 24ml
1 week: 32ml
2 weeks: 54ml
3 weeks: 80ml
4 weeks: 104ml
5 weeks: 128ml

Weight chart (approximates)
Birth weight 100g
Day 3 – 5
130 – 150g; umbilical cord falls off
Day 9 – 12
210g; eyes and ears will open
14 days
230g; starts strolling about a little
16 days
265g; starts cleaning itself and playing
21 days
325g; starts to walk
25 days
360g; first teeth coming through
28 days
400g; rest of the milk teeth are coming through; 1st deworming with Panacure; start litter box training

5 weeks
480g; becoming housetrained, can run pretty well
6 weeks
540g; no longer need for bottle-feeding ; has all milk teeth; can go without mother’s milk and can eat independently; 2nd deworming
8 weeks
600 – 700g; 1st vaccination (ask for vaccination passport; 3rd deworming
10 weeks
850g
12 weeks
1000 – 1100 grams; 2nd vaccination

Kittens should gain >10g per day