Kittens have sharp claws. They are not worn down and rounded off. They are fresh and pinprick sharp. They climb up her right leg like a group of mountaineering tourists climbing Mount Everest. They are chasing that precious goal: food, what I believe is formula milk for kittens. She is very stoic. She must be feeling it. I think we have all had this done to us. I certainly have and it is painful.
Formula milk available commercially such as KMR and Kittylac in the USA closely matches the queen’s milk. Cow’s milk is unsuitable for raising kittens.
A mother cat’s milk contains the following nutrients by percentage: solids (18%), protein (42%), fat (25%) and carbs (26%). Th calories per 100 cc is 90.
By comparison cow’s milk has the following breakdown: solids (12%), proten (25%), fat (35%), carbs (38%). Calories per 100 cc is 70.
There is a substantial difference. Perhaps the biggest is with respect to the protein levels. Cats milk is richer in protein than cows milk which is unsuprising as cats are obligar carnivores.
Cat Owner’s Home Veterinary Handbook provides a homemade queen’s milk formula which the authors say can be used in an emergency as a temporary expedient.
8 oz of homogenised whole milk, 2 egg yolks, 1 teaspoonful (5ml) of vegetable oil and 1 drop of liquid pediatric vitamins.
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Yeah I just cared for 4 newborns for a week and yes, their claws are very sharp and the kittens use them. Boy do they use them to get at that formula. That, their determination and obvious cuteness is their survival skill set.