Kitten sold too young

jaycee

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Hi, I don't know if I'm posting this in the right section. I saw an ad for a kitten, I called the lady, she said her kittens are 9 weeks, litter box trained. I went to get the kitten. They were being kept in a cage, without their momma, no food or water in the cage. There was a litter box but all that was in it was a shovel full of dirt and rocks. I got the kitten I came for and took him home, after spending more time with him I believe he is only about 6 weeks old, at the most, and he hadn't been weaned at all. He feels very light and delicate, his tail is still the tiny short baby tail. He hadn't been given kibble, soft food, or water. He is eating the kibble and water I put out for him but he tries to nurse from my lips and also from our adult female cat. He seeks out human attention and is a real sweetheart. Is there anything I should be doing to help him through this? I though about getting a bottle and letting him wean off that but I don't think he would accept it at this age?
 

catnurse22

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Originally Posted by jaycee

Hi, I don't know if I'm posting this in the right section. I saw an ad for a kitten, I called the lady, she said her kittens are 9 weeks, litter box trained. I went to get the kitten. They were being kept in a cage, without their momma, no food or water in the cage. There was a litter box but all that was in it was a shovel full of dirt and rocks. I got the kitten I came for and took him home, after spending more time with him I believe he is only about 6 weeks old, at the most, and he hadn't been weaned at all. He feels very light and delicate, his tail is still the tiny short baby tail. He hadn't been given kibble, soft food, or water. He is eating the kibble and water I put out for him but he tries to nurse from my lips and also from our adult female cat. He seeks out human attention and is a real sweetheart. Is there anything I should be doing to help him through this? I though about getting a bottle and letting him wean off that but I don't think he would accept it at this age?
If he's about 6 wks, he'll probably just chew on a bottle. Just make sure he's getting enough food. Wet the dry food or give him wet kitten food so it's easier for his developing teeth. I'd take him to the vet to make sure he's a healthy little baby. As far as health wise, that's all you can do. The behavior part hopefully your adult female can help a lot with. If she's tolerant of him trying to nurse she'll probably have no qualms about teaching him cat manners,
.
 

StefanZ

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If he is eating the kitten food it is OK, you dont need to bottle feed him.
Very good he is apparently accepted by your older resident cat. This will help him much.
Kittens sucking on other cats or humans isnt that unusual, and by itself it is not harmful.

Although here we KNOW he was taken way too early and it IS contributing to his sucking....

Proceed as you are doing: be his Ma - you will get the effort back with plus.
Let him be friendly with your older cat, and encourage her to accept him.


Good luck!
 

goldenkitty45

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I would mix up a very good quality canned kitten food rather then dry. It will help him a lot more nutrition wise then what he's been given. I'm glad you have an older cat to help teach him what he needs to know. That will help you in the long run.

I'm willing to bet that person pulled them off mom as early as 4 weeks old if they looked like they were interested in eating. Was he the only kitten?
 
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jaycee

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Thank you for the advice. Yes he is getting along nicely with my older cat (I say adult but she is 8 months old so technically a kitten, I adopted her when she was 11 days old and abandoned by mom, I got to bottle fee her). They play and stuff too.
I was worried that not being allowed to wean might damage him mentally for life, but from your responses it sounds like he is going to be okay.
I will do the soft food, I was also thinking about adding some plain yogurt to it, I've heard that helps.
He was not the only kitten there, there were 2 others left besides him, at least one other had already been sold.
 

twstychik

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I can't believe thta kittens being kept in the condition you describe are being "sold" but they are surely better off with who ever is taking them than where they are. Even if they are too young.

You raised you other cat froma young age and she turned out fine. I'm sure this little guy will be ok too. We'd love to see pics!
 
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jaycee

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Originally Posted by twstychik

I can't believe thta kittens being kept in the condition you describe are being "sold" but they are surely better off with who ever is taking them than where they are. Even if they are too young.

You raised you other cat froma young age and she turned out fine. I'm sure this little guy will be ok too. We'd love to see pics!
Yeah she sells them for $20, supposedly to get money to spay the mother cat, but then she admitted this isn't the first litter she's sold. I know some people will think I shouldn't have gotten the kitten after seeing the conditions but I did, it was a personal decision, I also gave the lady a phone number of a woman in the county who will come and pick up your cat from your home, take it to a vet to get spayed/neutered, vaccinated, and flea treatment applied, and deliver your cat back to you the next day, all for free, no questions asked. So hopefully she will really get her cat fixed.

Yes, my other cat I got at a young age but I allowed her time to wean off the bottle, my concern was that this new kitten was not allowed any amount of time to wean, I feel more confident now that I've gotten advice. Here is a picture of the cutie, his name is Oscar.
 

twstychik

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Oh my heart! He's precious! I think I'm in love... so, if you ever change your mind about not wanting him, my door is open.


I personally feel that the conditions were all the more reason to bring him home. Actually, I probably would have been tempted to take all of them.
Not only have you gotten great advice but you also have an older kitten too and they will help socialize one another. How do they get along?
 

cutekittenkat

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What a horrible person!
I hope she does get her cat spayed, and never puts kittens through that again!
You did an awesome thing saving the kitten

for you and Oscar!
PS soooooooo adorable
 
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jaycee

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You should see his little fluffy butt waddle when he runs


They get along, they both like to play, I don't break it up when the kitten makes little whiney noises as they are playing because I know thats how he learns, but sometimes my older cat does seem to be playing TOO rough and is really hurting him so in those instances I have stopped it. Is that the right thing to do?

Thanks for all the positive vibes


Hes diggin the canned kitten food.
 

addiebee

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Yeeahhh.... he doesn't look 9 weeks old... maybe more like 6. And it is good thing you saved him. People like that woman make me sick!!


It's really a catch-22. If you don't take the kitten, who knows who would get him and for what purpose. On the other hand, buying from her only encourages her to continue to breed her cat to make money.
 

browneyes106

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Originally Posted by jaycee

Yeah she sells them for $20, supposedly to get money to spay the mother cat, but then she admitted this isn't the first litter she's sold. I know some people will think I shouldn't have gotten the kitten after seeing the conditions but I did, it was a personal decision, I also gave the lady a phone number of a woman in the county who will come and pick up your cat from your home, take it to a vet to get spayed/neutered, vaccinated, and flea treatment applied, and deliver your cat back to you the next day, all for free, no questions asked. So hopefully she will really get her cat fixed.

Yes, my other cat I got at a young age but I allowed her time to wean off the bottle, my concern was that this new kitten was not allowed any amount of time to wean, I feel more confident now that I've gotten advice. Here is a picture of the cutie, his name is Oscar.
Oscar is a cutie. Do you have any pics of his face? Don't feel bad for taking the kitten he will better off with you. I do think it sounds fishy that she has a sold previous litter she could be letting her cat get pregnant to sell kittens for extra money. I have known people who stuff like that. This guy that used to live next to my grandma had two female cats and one male cat that he kept locked up in a storage shed. He would sell kittens for $10-$20 dollars each. Often he would go to county fairs or festivals to sell the kittens. He did this for years until he was paralyzed in a motorcycle accident. I'm not sure about what happened to the cats. But this woman could be doing the same thing. I think Oscar will do fine because he is around your older cat and will learn skills from her.
 

goldenkitty45

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OHHH he is adorable - lovely little cream/white longhair boy. When he's a little older (like a month or two from now), start combing him every day. He will be used to being combed as an adult if you start when they are only a few months old.

The vet can tell you exactly how old he is when you take him (since he will need his shots started in the next week or two).
 
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jaycee

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Here is a picture of his face. He is actually almost a week older now than when I first got him, I got him 5 days ago.



I tried to get a better picture of his face earlier when he was playing but he wouldn't hold it still p

Yes, I'm going to start his vaccines and wormings in a couple weeks.
 

russiankitten

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Hi Jaycee!!

Your kitten looks a similiar size to my two who I believe are six weeks but I was told they were nine weeks by the pet shop. Doesn't it make you sick how some people will lie to make money without considering the care of a living creature. When I brought my kittens home last week they kept falling around every where (not very steady on their feet)! plus the kitten food gave them a runny tum. They didn't even seem to know what a litter tray was. And seemed very unsure of human attention. How I've handled it is I've just tret them as I would any kitten, carried on with the kitten food, kept talking to them letting them know I am around and keep my eye on them and they seem to be getting stronger and braver (perhaps a little too brave lol lol) each day!!
I think it might be a good idea to worm and flea your little one you never know what he might have picked up from there
 

goldenkitty45

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Most pet shop kittens are gotten thru brokers/kitten mills where they live their first weeks in a cage, never socialized and have a lot of medical problems.

That's why your kitten was acting that way. Kittens handled from birth are much more socialized and in better health.
 

browneyes106

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Originally Posted by jaycee

Here is a picture of his face. He is actually almost a week older now than when I first got him, I got him 5 days ago.



I tried to get a better picture of his face earlier when he was playing but he wouldn't hold it still p

Yes, I'm going to start his vaccines and wormings in a couple weeks.
I love his little face.
 
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jaycee

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Yeah, his coloring comes through darker in the pictures. He isn't really orange.
 
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