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Is it normal for a 3 week old kitten to know how to eat?

post #1 of 10
11/11/10 at 9:35am
Thread Starter 
It never struck me as odd then, but when we got Midnight at age 3 weeks, he knew how to eat kitten food from a bowl. I never had a kitten that young before. So I was wondering if that's normal? Or at 3 weeks old should he have only known how to nurse from his mother?
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post #2 of 10
11/11/10 at 11:07am
Do you KNOW he was 3 weeks old or was it a guess? I (try to) start my bottle babies on solids at 3 weeks, but it usually takes a while for them to catch on.
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post #3 of 10
11/11/10 at 11:21am
Thread Starter 
We know he was 3 weeks old when we first got him now. At the time we didn't know. The person who rescued Midnight, a few weeks later found his original owners, and they were able to tell us when he was born, which made him 3 weeks, at the time we first got him.

I was just curious because thinking about it now, I didn't know if 3 weeks was even old enough to know how to eat. He did know how to eat dry kitten food. But we had to switch to can food, because he started choking every time he ate.

Now that he's 3 months old, he's back on kitten dry food. He has a lot of gas. We don't give him things like tuna or chicken. Just his own dry food. I'm wondering if that is because he stopped nursing from his mother so early? We did change his food a few times, didn't seem to stop the gas. He was checked over by 2 different vets, who say he is healthy.
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post #4 of 10
11/11/10 at 12:28pm
He probably just adjusted well to his circumstances. That is early to learn how, but he probably needed to out of necessity between the time he was lost and when he was rescued.
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post #5 of 10
11/14/10 at 12:21am
It is definitely normal. My second to last litter of kittens started eating solids when they were 3 weeks old and lucky they did because their Mum died a week later.
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post #6 of 10
11/14/10 at 5:37am
Changing foods too often can cause digestive problems like gas. Choose one wet food and one kibble and stick with it. Give a probiotic to help with the gas.
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post #7 of 10
11/14/10 at 2:49pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by WellingtonCats View Post
Mum died a week later.
I'm sorry for your loss.
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post #8 of 10
11/14/10 at 2:51pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by otto View Post
Changing foods too often can cause digestive problems like gas. Choose one wet food and one kibble and stick with it. Give a probiotic to help with the gas.
Midnight is now eating Purina One Heathly Kitten Formula. Maybe I need to change brands?
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post #9 of 10
11/15/10 at 12:57am
I would add some wet to the Purina. I give my fosters a good kitten kibble and a meal of wet food, which they usually prefer to the dry. I also give them a carton of plain organic yoghurt or salt free fromage frais (like cream/curd cheese) every day. These are low lactose and help keep their stomachs healthy. If they are orphans they get goat milk for the first few weeks. But yes, they often start eating between 3/4 weeks. Good luck with your little one.
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post #10 of 10
11/18/10 at 12:10am
Quote:
Originally Posted by My4LLMA View Post
I'm sorry for your loss.
Aw hun, thank you!
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