When I first started fostering orphaned kittens, I was scared to death to take the young ones because I didn't want to do anything wrong. So I started out with 2-3 week olds. It wasn't too long before I was taking in newborns that were only a few hours old though. Now I've fostered more newborns than I can count. I am glad I got the experience with the older ones first so I could ease myself into it. It is definately time consuming and very stressful. My last set of bottle puppies had colic and I almost pulled all my hair out from stress.

I have raised many on a syringe and many on bottles. Many people seem to have differing opinions on what works best. It is just crucial that you make sure the hole in the nipple isn't too big so you don't aspirate them. At 4 weeks old though, they are pretty big and should easily take to a bottle. Remember when you feed them to keep them in an upright position as they would be if they were nursing from their real mama. Never feed them on their back.

I raised my Skylar boy on a syringe for the first week of his life because he was not taking to the bottle or doing too well. When he was a week old though, I was able to switch him to a bottle. I can't believe this was him!



Thanks Kate for telling me about this thread