KITTEN NURSING POSTURES
People always ask me what position a kitten should be in when it nurses. We feed human babies on their backs, but we can't do that with kittens and puppies. Catty and doggy babies need to feed while on their stomachs or, at best (some refuse to lie down ;), upright. As soon as they tip backward, there is a greater risk that milk will enter their lungs, killing them. Milk that enters the lungs, even if just a few drops, cannot be gotten out and will either drown the baby or cause pneumonia. NEVER FEED A KITTEN ON ITS BACK!
These are examples of proper feeding postures:
NO!! Don't!! Kitten killer!!!
A few other things to remember are that a bottle needs to be tipped so that there is always milk in the nipple. When kittens/puppies swallow air, it can cause gas that can be (sorry for the drama) deadly. To eliminate any gas, burp your baby after each feeding by holding it on its stomach and bumping it lightly on the sides of the back (not spine!) until it makes tiny little burps :) Gas really can kill babies--when tinies have gas/bellyaches, they stop eating. I cure the worst gas with a few drops of Kalbeten/Pepto-Bismul. Careful with this--you can only use it a few times, and in small quantities. For me, it is a last resort.
When a kitten flops its head around and won't latch on, you need to hold its head to get it to still still and eat. I call this the baseball grip:
The baseball grip controls the baby's whole body and head, so that he can't get away from Mr. Bottle. It's the best way to hold tiny babies, in general.