I’ve never seen this device before probably because I don’t breed cats! Bringing cats into the world is a big decision and responsibility. The video is quite nice and interesting. Notice how the kittens’ ears move backwards and forwards in sync. with their sucking. I guess the muscles employed to suck the milk also move the ear flaps.
You can buy this product online at the modest price of around £15 in the UK which I guess translates to about $15 in the US.
Being a puritan in terms of cat breeding the product makes me think of who would buy one of these? Clearly a person who allows their cats to breed. But who’d allow that when we are told over and over again that there are too many unwanted cats in the world?
Theoretically, in a better world, this product should only be bought by purebred cat breeders as there should no informal breeding of non-purebred cats anywhere until all the cat and animal shelters are cleared out and closed down as all the cats have been adopted into good homes!
I’m dreaming. There is a small minority of people who don’t sterilise their cats. They either want them to breed to allow them to sell the kittens to neighbours to make a little bit of money or they are negligent as to whether they breed or not. Some women even believe that a female cat needs to have one litter before they can be ‘normal’. A strange thought and an incorrect one that causes unwanted cats.
These people are largely responsible for the unwanted cat population. It’s basically cruelty to animals.
Here’s some info to back up the video about milk replacer.
Composition of maternal milk and substitutes
For those who are interested the table compares the composition of maternal milk.
| % Solids | Calories per 100cc | % Protein | % Fat | % Carbohydrates | |
| Cat | 18 | 90 | 42 | 25 | 26 |
| Cow | 12 | 70 | 25 | 35 | 38 |
| Dog | 24 | 150 | 33 | 33 | 16 |
| Feline milk replacer | 18 | 100 | 42 | 25 | 26 |
Kitten milk replacers can be bought as a premixed liquid or a powder to which you add water. Unused formula should be refrigerated but not frozen. Follow the instructions carefully and always warm the milk before feeding but it should not be hot.
As an emergencies my reference book on the topic (see above) says that a cat owner can make their own queen’s milk substitute by following the formula below:
| Emergency Formula 1 |
| Provides 120 calories per 100cc (cubic centimeters) |
| 8 ounces (237 ml) homogenized whole milk |
| 2 egg yolks |
| 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of vegetable oil |
| 1 drop of liquid pediatric vitamins |
Here is an alternative homemade formula:
| Emergency Formula 2 |
| Provides 120 calories per 100cc (cubic centimeters) |
| 1-part boiled water to 5 parts evaporated milk (reconstituted to 20 percent solids) |
| 1 teaspoon (2.3 grams) bone meal per quart (947 ml) of formula |
And here is a table showing how much should be provided. You should weigh the kitten and use a table of caloric requirements. Daily requirements are as per the weight and age of the kitten in this table:
| Age in weeks | Average weight that week | Calories needed per day (estimated) | cc of commercial milk replacer per day | cc of emergency formula per day | Suggested number of feedings per day |
| 1 | 4 oz (113 g) | 24 | 32 | 48 | 6 |
| 2 | 7 oz (198 g) | 44 | 56 | 77 | 4 |
| 3 | 10 oz (283 g) | 77 | 80 | 90 | 3 |
| 4 | 13 oz (368 g) | 107 | 104 | 104 | 3 |
To calculate the amount of formula for each feeding, weigh the kitten to determine how much formula to give per day and divide by the number of feedings.
Example: A four-ounce kitten needs 32 cc of milk replacer per day during the first week. Divide by the number of feedings which is 6 making 5-6 cc per feeding. These are guidelines subject to necessary adjustments.
Check
When a kitten has been fed adequately, the abdomen will feel full but not tense or distended. Sometimes milk may bubble out around the lips when using a nursing bottle. Overfeeding should be avoided because it can produce diarrhoea. The test is that the kitten should not cry too much, gain weight, feel firm to the touch and has a light brown stool 4 to 5 times a day. If that’s happening you can be fairly sure that the diet is meeting their nutritional requirements.
