Mr. Meowgie update ~ 23 days old

Meowgie is doing great! At his weigh in this morning, he was 11 ounces!

I am starting to attempt to wean him, but it is proving quite a challenge. He doesn't really want to lick from a bowl...but he will occasionally lick from the floor. I bought him some kitten wet food and have been giving him little bits on my finger. He seems to like them, but he will not even attempt to eat from a plate of it. I am sure this is going to take time. Any tips are always welcomed!

We are still stimulating for him to go to the bathroom. How will I know when he is ready to go on his own ...and when should I put litter in a litterbox in his crate?

Thanks so much for helping us through this journey.

What a cutie! Three weeks is pretty young to start him on solid food. Of course, my kittens had their mommy to feed them and they were about 5 weeks old before they started showing any interest in eating out of a dish. I put food out for them before that, but mama cat ate it all. I think they were also about 5 weeks when they started using the litterbox. I put out shallow pans with non-clumping litter right next to the regular litter boxes. They mostly watched the other cats using the boxes and learned by example.

Originally Posted by GoldyCat

They mostly watched the other cats using the boxes and learned by example.

Click to expand...

This is my biggest worry. I am not supposed to let my cats have direct contact with Meowgie (because, of course, he hasn't had shots and Blue is immune compromised due to thyroid issues and cancer) until he has started his shots and can be tested for FeLv and FIV. I have had him out quite a bit around them, but they are very interested and always want to come over and sniff him, so I try to be careful. I am afraid he will have a hard time learning to eat and use the litter box on his own since he doesn't have a momma kitty to teach him. I hope that is not the case.

He is just too cute! And growing like a weed!

Oh wow. I guess it's worth testing him for FeLV and FIV, because if he tests negative, he's negative. How many days old was he when rescued? Because if his mom had a virus, he'd have the antibodies from drinking her milk. You don't actually get a reliable test (meaning he can have a false positive while not being infected, but you won't get a false negative) until after 6 months.

The youngest kitty we ever rescued was probably a week older than he is when she came to us. She was eating wet food - but was terrible at it. Her instinct was still to "push" rather than "lick" and bring the food into her mouth. It was incredibly messy, and took a lot of cleaning (both of her and the area LOL). The eating, I'm pretty sure he'll figure out with time, but he may need another week or so. And he will need your help to clean him up. Be armed with a warm, damp wash cloth.

I don't see any tips on litterbox training, but here is the section on weaning from http://www.kitten-rescue.com

From http://www.kitten-rescue.com/weaning.html

Note: weaning is between 5 and 6 weeks.

Weaning

Weaning is a difficult time for a kitten. He has become used to nursing on his bottle and may be a little reluctant to give it up at first.

The first step is to place a little warmed formula into a small bowl or a saucer, or better yet, a jar lid. For some reason kittens do really well with the jar lid, perhaps it is just easier to manage. Wash the jar lid in hot, soapy water and rinse thoroughly. Dip your finger into the formula and get the kitten to lick it off your finger. Do this a few times, each time lowering your finger until it's at the level of the formula. The idea is to teach him to lap the formula from the bowl. Don't be discouraged if he doesn't catch on the first time. It often takes a few times for the kitten to learn to eat from a bowl.

Once he is lapping formula from the bowl, you can gradually mix in a little wet kitten food. Do this by mashing a little canned food, add formula and mix thoroughly until you have a milkshake-like consistency. Gradually decrease the amount of formula and increase the amount of kitten food over a few days until he is eating just kitten food. You can also continue to give kitten glop in solid form, instead of liquid. Feed him small amounts about 5 times a day.

Continue offering formula in a bottle after he has first learned to lap from the bowl. Once you are confident that he is getting enough food by himself, withdraw the bottle feedings. During the weaning process, he may dip his paws or walk in his food. Although messy, this is a natural part of weaning and his way of exploring this new food. You can lay newspaper under and around his bowl to make cleaning up easier. This is another reason a jar lid comes in handy. He can't really walk in to the whole thing and rarely do the lids tip over.

Don't forget to have fresh water in a bowl alongside the food for him to drink. If he is eating but not drinking water, you can gently give him 5cc of water with a feeding syringe, a few times a day until he begins drinking by himself. Give this water slowly. Do not force it down his throat quickly.

CopyrightÂ[emoji]169[/emoji]2004 Kitten-Rescue.com

Click to expand...

OH MY GOODNESS!!!! A pocket kitty. That photo is priceless. What a little angel and he looks like he could happily stay in that pocket all day, like a baby kangaroo. You are doing a great job with this little one AWWWWWW He is so lucky to have you

Originally Posted by LDG

He is just too cute! And growing like a weed!

Oh wow. I guess it's worth testing him for FeLV and FIV, because if he tests negative, he's negative. How many days old was he when rescued? Because if his mom had a virus, he'd have the antibodies from drinking her milk. You don't actually get a reliable test (meaning he can have a false positive while not being infected, but you won't get a false negative) until after 6 months.

The youngest kitty we ever rescued was probably a week older than he is when she came to us. She was eating wet food - but was terrible at it. Her instinct was still to "push" rather than "lick" and bring the food into her mouth. It was incredibly messy, and took a lot of cleaning (both of her and the area LOL). The eating, I'm pretty sure he'll figure out with time, but he may need another week or so. And he will need your help to clean him up. Be armed with a warm, damp wash cloth.

Click to expand...

So we could go ahead and test him next week when we go back to the vet? That would be WONDERFUL!

Thank you for all the great info. I am going to wait a bit to wean him. He is going a lot longer between feedings now (4-5 hours) and I am so thankful for that...especially at night! LOL

YAY for more sleep now!! I do think you can go ahead and test since Meowgie has not been nursing for a couple of weeks now. Poor little guy, but he has a new surrogate meowmy loving him . Glad he is doing so well. Good luck at the vet with the little man!!!!

He looks GREAT! You've done a wonderful job. I love your updates and watching him get so big and strong.

So cute, you are doing a great job with him

I have an adult cat that we received/found when she was just a couple days old and she still likes to nurse.. I did not read the whole lthread so others might have given you the same suggestions or you might already be aware of this but anyway........

My suggestions and how I did things with my bottle baby:


Even at this age, keep water out in a very short bowl so he can start getting used to it but milk is his stuff right now and will be for a few more weeks, even when he starts eating. MAMA nurses around 6 weeks and sometimes longer.

I would not feed him solids until he can poop on his own without stimulation. It will only a week or so more. It would be awful for him to get plugged up, if you know what I mean.

When you stimulate him to go use the bathroom, be sure what ever you use is moist. I used a q-tip with vasaline or baby oil on it. Otherwise he will get chapped which can be painful for him.

When he can poop on his own, soak his kitten food in his milk and mush it up real well and make it soupy. Keep giving him milk, even if it's in a bowl.

As far as the litter box, I would get one now. They learn so fast. It needs to have really short sides. Just a couple inches so he can climb over the sides. When I little box trained mine, she was about that age. Put a little litter in it. An inch or so. After you feed him, put him in it and get his little paw and make little digging motions with it. He will understand after only a few times. After he tinkles once from digging, he will be hooked. He will dig and dig and dig. It is soooooooo easy to litter box train them. Even at that age. You will be shocked at how easy it is. He may not go to it right after eating. You will have to put him in it for a few times. After he does it once, he will return on his own. Teach him to tinkle in it now and he will auto poop in it. It is the cutest thing in the world to see one that little learn to use their litter box. You will laugh at his cuteness in the litter box being a big boy.

This is nothing like housebreaking a dog. It is instinctive for a kitty, even at that age. Very very simple. Only one or two times and he'll have it down pat.

Good luck. It is so much fun when they're this little....

Jenn