Hi again!
I'm sorry for asking so many questions, but I just can't seem to find the answers I need to my situation quickly enough with my web searches. Perhaps I need to brush up eh?
As an introduction: I have 5 orphaned kittens which we figure are about 2.5 weeks old now and weighed in at an average of 10oz this morning before feeding. They have started getting their teeth and spend (rightly so) quite a bit of time during feeding knawing on the nipple.
My first question is when I'll know to cut back on the time between feedings. So far we've been going by how much they're eating every feeding, so if they're eating less amounts every other feeding we know to expand the time between. Right now they're eating just over the recommended amount from the back of the can per day and agressively so when they're not chewing. The feedings have just been moved to every 5 hours from every 4. Is that about right?
The second question is regarding weaning. From the readings I've done, some sites say that it's ok to start looking at that now but others say to wait another 2 weeks. Wouldn't momma cat start doing something like that once they started chewing on her with the teeth? They still require stimulation for bathooming and I'm not sure if that factors into how advanced they're considered.
Thank you for your help and patience. So much to learn in such a short period of time and I just want to make sure I'm doing it right.
Jess
I'm sorry for asking so many questions, but I just can't seem to find the answers I need to my situation quickly enough with my web searches. Perhaps I need to brush up eh?
As an introduction: I have 5 orphaned kittens which we figure are about 2.5 weeks old now and weighed in at an average of 10oz this morning before feeding. They have started getting their teeth and spend (rightly so) quite a bit of time during feeding knawing on the nipple.
My first question is when I'll know to cut back on the time between feedings. So far we've been going by how much they're eating every feeding, so if they're eating less amounts every other feeding we know to expand the time between. Right now they're eating just over the recommended amount from the back of the can per day and agressively so when they're not chewing. The feedings have just been moved to every 5 hours from every 4. Is that about right?
The second question is regarding weaning. From the readings I've done, some sites say that it's ok to start looking at that now but others say to wait another 2 weeks. Wouldn't momma cat start doing something like that once they started chewing on her with the teeth? They still require stimulation for bathooming and I'm not sure if that factors into how advanced they're considered.
Thank you for your help and patience. So much to learn in such a short period of time and I just want to make sure I'm doing it right.
Jess