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- Jun 24, 2012
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Hi all.
I am currently raising two feral Kittens, one male (Cheddar) and one female (Colby), through fostering for the SPCA. I estimate them at somewhere around 5 or 6 weeks old as they are running around (a little clumsily) and playing with each other and occasionally toys. The male seems to be the strongest/healthiest of the two. I sometimes worry about the female as she doesn't eat often enough and is smaller than the male. We bottle fed them for a few weeks (took a while for them to learn how to suck on the nipple, they only wanted to chew on it). The way they were chewing combined with the amount they were consuming, led me to believe they were ready to try canned food. The SPCA provided me with canned Fancy Feast Turkey Kitten food. As soon as I placed it in front of them they took to it. Mostly they lick the gravy off of it but I think they're eating some of the food also. We gave them both food and formula for a few days and then we took the formula away. The male seems to have made the transition better than his sister. I notice that she hardly eats. When I put her in front of the bowl and place her face right at the food she sniffs it for a few seconds then walks away. Even when I catch her actually eating she seems to only nibble for about 10 or 20 seconds then she loses interest. She is having bowel movements in the litter box so hopefully that's an indication that shes getting enough nourishment? I would like to make the transition to dry food ASAP but it seems like every article I read or piece of advice i'm given is different. Some say to mix dry and wet food together for a few days and leave it out for them at all times, some say use just dry food wet with warm water, some say give wet food a couple times a day and dry food all day, etc... I guess i'm just looking for some advice/reassurance as I second guess myself alot. I have every intention of adopting these two officially once they become 'adoptable' by the SPCA and would like to do this right.
My second issue, maybe related to the first?
They have developed a bad habit of sucking on each others genitals. I have done research and I believe this is more than just suckling or grooming. They are determined and stubborn about it. When I seperate them they just run back to each other and assume the position. The female takes the males dingaling into her mouth and really sucks on it like it's a nipple. The male does similar to the females anal region. This has been going on since I got them around 3 weeks of age. In the beginning, before litter box usage, they would often stimulate each other to the point of peeing and/or pooing in each others faces. I have a fear that the female is drinking the males urine but I can't be certain. I thought maybe it would stop once they started using the litter box. Seems I was wrong. They use the litter box a couple times per day and despite the occasional accident they seem pretty good about it. Yet still the behavior continues. I worry about the health implications resulting from ingesting urine and possibly feces from each other. I also worry that the female may be turning to suckling on the males dingaling as a source of food/hydration and neglecting to eat/drink the food/water which I'm providing them. I bought the bitter spray (although not bitter apple, it's called Fooey and is made from grapefruit or something) and tried spraying their nether regions with it. Didn't work, They just seemed to not even notice the taste.
I'm out of ideas. I would take them to a vet but as I mentioned they are technically property of the SPCA until they reach the age of shots/spay/nuetering. I would have to take them to the SPCA but I don't want to call them and complain about behavioral issues or concerns short of a medical emergency as I already had to do that a couple weeks ago due to a Diarhea issue.
Anyone with any ideas or opinions?
I am currently raising two feral Kittens, one male (Cheddar) and one female (Colby), through fostering for the SPCA. I estimate them at somewhere around 5 or 6 weeks old as they are running around (a little clumsily) and playing with each other and occasionally toys. The male seems to be the strongest/healthiest of the two. I sometimes worry about the female as she doesn't eat often enough and is smaller than the male. We bottle fed them for a few weeks (took a while for them to learn how to suck on the nipple, they only wanted to chew on it). The way they were chewing combined with the amount they were consuming, led me to believe they were ready to try canned food. The SPCA provided me with canned Fancy Feast Turkey Kitten food. As soon as I placed it in front of them they took to it. Mostly they lick the gravy off of it but I think they're eating some of the food also. We gave them both food and formula for a few days and then we took the formula away. The male seems to have made the transition better than his sister. I notice that she hardly eats. When I put her in front of the bowl and place her face right at the food she sniffs it for a few seconds then walks away. Even when I catch her actually eating she seems to only nibble for about 10 or 20 seconds then she loses interest. She is having bowel movements in the litter box so hopefully that's an indication that shes getting enough nourishment? I would like to make the transition to dry food ASAP but it seems like every article I read or piece of advice i'm given is different. Some say to mix dry and wet food together for a few days and leave it out for them at all times, some say use just dry food wet with warm water, some say give wet food a couple times a day and dry food all day, etc... I guess i'm just looking for some advice/reassurance as I second guess myself alot. I have every intention of adopting these two officially once they become 'adoptable' by the SPCA and would like to do this right.
My second issue, maybe related to the first?
They have developed a bad habit of sucking on each others genitals. I have done research and I believe this is more than just suckling or grooming. They are determined and stubborn about it. When I seperate them they just run back to each other and assume the position. The female takes the males dingaling into her mouth and really sucks on it like it's a nipple. The male does similar to the females anal region. This has been going on since I got them around 3 weeks of age. In the beginning, before litter box usage, they would often stimulate each other to the point of peeing and/or pooing in each others faces. I have a fear that the female is drinking the males urine but I can't be certain. I thought maybe it would stop once they started using the litter box. Seems I was wrong. They use the litter box a couple times per day and despite the occasional accident they seem pretty good about it. Yet still the behavior continues. I worry about the health implications resulting from ingesting urine and possibly feces from each other. I also worry that the female may be turning to suckling on the males dingaling as a source of food/hydration and neglecting to eat/drink the food/water which I'm providing them. I bought the bitter spray (although not bitter apple, it's called Fooey and is made from grapefruit or something) and tried spraying their nether regions with it. Didn't work, They just seemed to not even notice the taste.
I'm out of ideas. I would take them to a vet but as I mentioned they are technically property of the SPCA until they reach the age of shots/spay/nuetering. I would have to take them to the SPCA but I don't want to call them and complain about behavioral issues or concerns short of a medical emergency as I already had to do that a couple weeks ago due to a Diarhea issue.
Anyone with any ideas or opinions?
