My two orphaned kittens feed the same way as this little kitten in the following video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLiQmTTAIvs&NR=1
They are a little over three weeks old. They do not always suck on the nipple. They chew on the nipple and then move their heads from one side to the other (as in the video) as they swallow the milk that trickles out. At times they get quite tired doing this, and it concerns me that they may be burning more calories than they actually take in. Nevertheless, they are gradually putting on some weight and are growing.
Then there are happy times when they suck and keep going for three minutes or so. That's when I'm convinced that they are satisfied.
There are also times when instead of sucking on the nipple. they make frantic attempts to climb over the bottle and look for milk on the hard plastic part. I then try to put the nipple back into their mouths and squeeze a few drops into their mouths. However, they continue to climb onto the bottle.
Both my kittens behave in the above manner.
My queries:
1) Is it OK to chew and not suck on the nipple? Will they get enough milk?
2) Why do they try to climb over the bottle?
Thanks in advance.
