orphans

I have adopted an orphaned litter (5) of kittens. They were about 2 weeks old when I found them. Eyes were not open yet. I knew mom had them, she was feral, and was run over and died. They are happy, healthy 4 week olds now and have tripled in size. I still stimulate to potty at feedings. How do I introduce a litter box? They don't have a mom to lead the example. Also, What kind of real food should I start them on and when? They are on KMR and eat about an ounce each every 3-4 hours. If it matters, there are 2 females and 3 males. This is a whole new world for me. I love all animals, but am primarily a dog person. I have also found good homes for them when they are ready. Two will stay with me. Any help will be appreciated. I call my vet on a daily basis, but need a wider assortment of resources. They were also vet checked with a perfect bill of health.
Thanks,
Emily Strickland

Welcome to TheCatSite Emily...
you have a loving heart.

I am sure that you will have some useful feedback from members soon.
Please make yourself at home.

First of all, welcome, and thank you for taking in these little kittens

Kittens just know how to use a litterbox from instinct- it may take them a little while to catch on, but they eventually will get it. I use a shoe-box lid to start them on with a little bit of non-clumping litter( clumping can be very dangerous for kittens because a lot of the time they eat it, and it can clump in their stomachs). Put them in there after meals and when they wake up. Take their paws and just dig in the box with them so they get the feeling of it. Some catch on quicker than others, but it shouldn't take too long, especially after they start eating solid food.

On that note, it's a good time to start showing them solid food. You can use wet or dry food(for dry you want to moisten it up with the milk replacement of water). If you decide to try wet food, what I do is(and it can get messy ) I take some wet food on my finger, and smudge it on their face around their mouth. Their instinct is to lick it, then they get a taste for it. Once again, some take longer than others to get the hang of it. Keep them on KMR until you know for sure that they are all eating the solid food.

Raising babies from such a young age is such a wonderful and rewarding experience. You're a wonderful person for saving their lives

I have had a really great time taking care of these babies. They are all so sweet. Thanks for the info!

Kittens will typically start using a litter box without stimulation around 3-1/2 to 4 weeks old, so I suspect yours are ready for one. Use non clumping litter, and start the transition by stimulating them while they are in the litter box. Kittens may have an instinct to bury their waste, but mine had no clue what a litter box was for until I showed them. Don't be surprised that you'll need to do things like hold their tails away from their bodies at first - my last orphaned litter got their tails dirty when they didn't realize they had to do that.

Some people start transitioning them off the KMR by forcing them to learn how to lap it from a bowl. Once they are used to a bowl being a source of food, you can start to incorporate wet food and water.

Orphaned kittens are a blast!! And by all means, please tell us when they've used the box on their own for the first time. I know I called my friend the first time mine did that! You will be the proud meowmy!

Bless you for taking on the raising of these dear little creatures. I am sure I speak for all of us when I say we are looking forward to hearing all about their progress as they grow and learn. We would also love some pics. There can never be too many baby pics posted here.

Someone used the litterbox last night! I am so excited! Again, thanks for all the info. I will try to post some pics early next week. We have 2 that look siamese, one black and 2 striped. I am keeping the white female and striped male (spayed and neutered as soon as possible). My son is keeping the striped female, and I have a friend that says she wants one, and wants it to be the one noone else wants. Still looking for a home for one male. These guys have been a godsend for me. I am recently divorced after 15 years, and they have really helped me alot. Don't know how you guys feel about religion, but I think God has really taken care of me.
Again, thanks for alll the support. Sure I will have more questions!
Emily

Your post warmed my heart Emily.

I look forward to seeing your cuties pictures.

It warms my heart to know that you all helped each other out

I think we need to see some pictures!

They used the box all by themselves friday night! The only time they have accidents is if the box is occupied. I have them in a playpen, so really don't have room for 2 boxes, but they will be out of it soon. I also put dry food in friday just to see what they would do and they were all over it! I am still bottle feeding, but they are playing with the food and a few are nibbling. I have a couple of pics, but they arn't very good. I couldn't get them to hold still! Can someone tell me how to post them? Thanks again!
Emily

I use photobucket.com because it's easy and quick. Once they're uploaded, you need to copy and paste the IMG tag (last tag under the pic) and then post it here

I can't wait to see them!!!

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Looks like a seal point and a lynx point, in the siamese. And at least medium-length hair, it looks like.

all of the dark ones are going to be short hair. Female white is going to be medium and the male will be long. He is much smaller than he looks. He is all hair. Sorry the pics wern't very good. I'll keep trying to get some good ones.

what is a seal point and Lynx point?

Those are some ADORABLE kittens! It looks like you did a good job with them!

Thanks for the pics. They are so cute! I hope they continue to thrive under your care.

They are adorable.
You are doing a wonderful job caring for them.

My husband found 3 babies at work. The mother and them got seperated when some workers moved a front-end loader that they were living in. The mother is feral and the loader was moved to the other side of the complex. They must have only been a day or two old as they still had their umbilical cords on. They are now 4 weeks old and they are keeping me on my toes. I am going to start with the liter box this weekend. I have been trying to get them to drink from a bowl and so far its been less than perfect. They love that bottle and maybe drink for a moment and then just step in it. But I will keep trying. I tried a little wet food mixed with KMR yesterday and they wanted nothing to do with it. Bless you for taking your babies in....and I am glad that you posted and got some good feedback as that has helped me too. Mine babies are are Torties and I will post pics soon. Yours are so beautiful and I am glad you have homes for most of them. I have a lot of interested people also. I too have found this to be very rewarding and so glad to have experienced this. I will miss them and am thinking of keeping one. I already have three, but I'd love to keep them all.