Things You'll Need
- Baby bottles
- Bottle brush
- Antibacterial soap
- Special formula for exotic felines
- Baby bottle warmer
- Vitamin supplement for exotic felines
- Blender or hand-held whisk
- Browned ground turkey meat
- Stage two baby food
Instructions
Prepare a liquid formula to feed the cubs. One suggested method is to use Esbilac, goat milk, Nutri-Cal and bottled water. Mix in a blender or use a whisker to blend ingredients well.
Feed cubs with baby bottles of warmed formula as often as every two or three hours in the first days or weeks of life. Most exotic feline cubs need to be fed often, at all hours, at least the first week. As cubs age, the feeding frequency can be reduced, just as with human babies.
Make sure the heads of the cubs are at upward angles while they drink from bottles. This keeps fluid from getting into their lungs. Adjust the amounts of formula as the cubs grow. Burp cubs after feeding, just as you would with human babies.
Add stage-two baby food to the formula mix after a few weeks. At about 6 weeks of age, baby cubs can be fed small amounts of ground, cooked turkey meat. When solids are mixed with liquid, enlarge the bottle nipples.
Change the consistency of the food the cubs are given slowly until they transition completely to solid food. A vitamin supplement suitable for exotic feline cubs can be used at around 10 weeks. At about 16 weeks, when they are eating about three times a day, they are officially weaned.