Hand-rearing 3-week-old kittens: formula, weight, and weaning?

Question

Hello. I’m hand-rearing kittens. I have a female (228g) and a male (238g) they are approximately 3 weeks old. My questions are how much formula should they be eating at a sitting? (Every 3-4 hours) How much weight should they be gaining a day and what should they weigh at three weeks? And when should I transition them to soft kitten food?

Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS · Accepted Answer

Good questions! They need around 80cc per day of formula and can be fed every 4-6 hours. They should be gaining 10g a day, but they can have spurs. They should be around 283g around three weeks of age. You can look into transitioning them to soft kitten food now. To help them wean and to get used to dry food, I would soak a high quality kitten formulated dry food in warm water until soft. Then mix that with kitten formula such as KMR to make a mush the consistency of oatmeal. Over the next two weeks, gradually increase the amount of dry kitten food and decrease the amount of water and KMR you use until they are eating the dry kitten food only.

Hand-rearing 3-week-old kittens: formula, weight, and weaning?

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