He is old enough to eat on his own, but you have to teach him. Get some wet food, it does not have to be kitten wet food. I bought Sheba (not trying to sell anyone on a particular brand) because it’s called perfect portions…two little plastic containers with the pate style and juice in them. Perfect size for a 5 month old kitten for each meal. I mixed up goat’s milk and added some to it and warmed it 10 seconds in the microwave. He went nuts for it. It also teaches the kitten how to ‘lap’ the milk, when they then graduate to water. Plus you won’t have to mess with a bottle, and he’s getting the nutrition and the hydration he needs.
Make sure he’s not eating the litter if you use clumping. Some kittens think everything is food and will eat it, so it’s best to start them out on the non clumping kind, and one with a no scent or not very strong smelling. The pedialyte is a good thing to use, but if he will eat wet food mixed with milk (formula or goat’s milk) you probably won’t need to buy extra. I would feed him three times a day, morning, noon and late in the evening. You can put crunchies in his bowl for in between, but most kittens his age don’t know what to do with them yet, but if they are moistened with water or goat’s milk, he might eat them in between. It didn’t work for me because my other cats would eat it! đ