Need Help with My Young Kitten

So I just adopted a little kitten, he's only 4 weeks old. I'm aware this is young, but that's really more the seller's fault than mine since he listed the litter way too early. and they were going to be sold regardless, I just want to do my best for the little guy.

Now he's already eaten today before I took him home, but that was at least 9 hours ago. I'm aware kittens need to eat multiple times a day so I tried to get him to take in a light snack at the least.

He's proven very stubborn, I was able to get him to take just a little bit by hand feeding him, half of a kitty treat, a few pieces of dry kitten food mixed with milk replacement, and a tiny bit of wet kitten food also mixed with milk replacement.  I was relieved when after eating the sloppy wet stuff from my hand he started digging into the small bowl I prepared him, but shortly after I realized he wasn't eating the food, just licking up the milk.

So he's got a bit of nutrients in him, but I'm way less than satisfied with the amount. I'm hoping the seller just gave him a big meal earlier and he just wasn't needing any extra food yet. Though, if I can't get him to eat in the morning, I'm going to be worried all day at work, and if he doesn't eat when I get home, I'm going to probably start freaking out.

I'm also wondering if maybe he's just too stressed to eat, though he seems to be fitting in well enough in other regards, he likes climbing on me and playing around, and explores every nook and cranny I let him get into.

Are you even sure he has been introduced to dry and wet food yet? At 4 weeks no kitten would be weaned. This would just be the time when you would first start trying to introduce the kitten to food. It would normally be several more weeks before a kitten with mom would be entirely weaned. To me the poor poor kitty doesn't sound stubborn but extremely confused and lost.

Did you ask the person who sold you the kitten what he or she had been feeding the kitten?

Regardless, I'd recommend sticking to kitten milk replacement for now and feeding him A LOT more of that. You can keep introducing him to adult cat food, but you have to realize this is an introduction and he needs kitten milk replacement to be his primary source of nutrition for now until he does catch on better to the food.

ETA: here is a helpful article http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/cat-care/weaning

He has been introduced to wet food already. That much I know for certain.

Sorry, couldn't find an edit button to just tag this on. But I contacted the seller about what brand she had him on, while I did that I rushed to the store before it closed to just buy several different brands. He is a lot more willing to eat a flaked tuna variety. It's not kitten food, but as long as he eats something, that's better than nothing for now.

Regnes said:

 
I'm also wondering if maybe he's just too stressed to eat, though he seems to be fitting in well enough in other regards, he likes climbing on me and playing around, and explores every nook and cranny I let him get into.

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I agree completely with Tulosai.   Have the kmr as your main base, and fill up slowly by teaching him eating others.

Have some dry or even wet cat food left out when you are at work, so he has something to nimble(?) on.

As to your worry; yes I agree with you, a such small kitten shall not be without food very long.  Tulosais advices are the key here.

Stress?  Keep him in one room as now.  So this room he will explore and know, and feel safe within.   Later on, say in two weeks, you can let him explore one room more in each step.

Where is his sleeping place?  A little cat igloo, or a side turned cardboard box with something nice to lie on, is good.

Perhaps a furry stuffed animal as companion, too.

Good luck!

I agree with tulosai. He needs lots and lots of milk replacer right now.

If he is readily lapping up the milk replacer, then fill him up with it every few hours. You don't have to bottle feed since he's already proven he can lap, just have him lap it up from a small saucer.

I had a 4 week old orphan and he would not eat food right away. He had milk replacer about 5-6 times a day for the first few days and then I started to stir in small amounts of kitten pate style food, so he had like a meat-shake that he could lap, lol. Over a few weeks I added more and more food to the milk, but he was about 6-7 weeks when he was finally eating wet food without milk added. Then, when he was about 8 weeks, he started rejecting milk and food that had milk added and that's when I stopped giving it to him.

All the best to you and your kitty. I really feel for him after having a 4 week old orphan. 4 weeks is way, way too young to be away from mommy. If there is anything you can do to convince the owner to take him back until he is at least 8-10 weeks, you should try. At this point any extra time with mom would be better. It's unfortunate that he is getting this rough start and it is completely unnecessary and avoidable, unlike my kitty who was orphaned and there was no choice.

StefanZ said:

 
Where is his sleeping place?  A little cat igloo, or a side turned cardboard box with something nice to lie on, is good.

Perhaps a furry stuffed animal as companion, too.

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I have him set up in the spare washroom. He's got a nice litte bed meant for small dogs, but he likes it quite well it seems. He's got several toys, but he's not interested in those yet, he just likes to climb all over me and playfight a bit.

Regnes said:

 
I have him set up in the spare washroom. He's got a nice litte bed meant for small dogs, but he likes it quite well it seems. He's got several toys, but he's not interested in those yet, he just likes to climb all over me and playfight a bit.

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I am not sure exactly what you mean by playfight but I STRONGLY advise against letting him playfight with you.  This will become a very hard habit to break, and when he is bigger it will not be cute but will be extremely painful. If he tries to play fight redirect him to a toy.  I know you say he is not interested in toys but I suspect you don't mean interactive toys, like da bird or the cat charmer.  Kittens almost always can't resist those.

It is very important that you try to prevent him from getting into any bad habits.  This is especially true because (as you know and as others have said) he is WAY too young to be away from his mom and siblings and is going to be relying on  you to teach him the manners that ordinarily they would teach him.

Two days ago I was afraid for him because he wasn't eating enough, now I'm afraid for myself. He's liked to climb on things since I got him a few days ago, but today he's just going berzerk. He wants to climb right up my shirt, and he's really hurting me because he keeps trying to climb even further, getting my neck, face, scalp and everything. He just won't take no for an answer either, he just gets more agressive and cries a lot of I try to hold him down from climbing up me.

I've given him a time out in his room with his bed in hopes he will calm down.

I'm just wondering, maybe this is just a normal phase I'm just going to have to put up with, or is this usually correctable behavior? Since it's just me at home, I've given him more or less free reign of the upstairs with all the doors closed except for his room and as long as I'm there to watch him. I've read that kittens should be confined to one room until they're 6 weeks old, is there any truth in that, that maybe I've given him too much too soon? I dunno.

Hi Regnes.

Five weeks old is very young to be taken from his mother. Did something happen to her? At five weeks old he hasn't learnt all the social behaviour a kitten needs to interact with other cats yet, so of course he doesn't understand that he is hurting you. It sounds like he is scared and confused without his mother. One thing you could try is wrapping him in a towel with just his head poking out and carrying him around with you like that. Kittens feel safe if they are wrapped up, and he'll be much calmer with close contact to you.

I think keeping him confined to one room is a good idea for now. I kept my small foster kittens in one room until they were 12 weeks old, they don't need a lot of space at that age. Small kittens get into everything, so make sure you block any tiny holes he could crawl into and take anything that could be dangerous to him into another room.

How about something he could safely climb on? A cat tree or an armchair with a thick blanket draped over it?

Good luck, let us know how everything goes.

Nothing happened to the mother. I just saw the litter listed on Kijiji at 4.5 weeks of age. They were Siamese and listed for very cheap, so they were going fast. I was looking for a Siamese and figured that while he was way too young to be adopted, he was going to be sold regardless, and I might as well be the one to take him since I know I intend to do my best for him.

I think I am going to start limiting his space a bit more. I'm wondering if maybe it's just pent up energy as well. I'm alone for another week until my parents get back from Mexico, and today I had to work a full 8.5 hour shift, so he was alone for about 9 hours today. Can't wait until I get some reinforcements in handling this little guy lol.

Well, I'm glad he found a good home with you.

At his age he is probably sleeping around 18 hours a day, so even if you're away a long time he shouldn't be too hyper. Lots of play time and handling at this age is a good thing. The more used to handling he gets now the easier things will be in the future.

I've never has a Siamese, I hear they can be quite energetic. Do you have any other pets? The best thing to calm down a kitten with too much energy is another kitten so maybe when he is a bit older and has had all of his shots you could introduce him to your other pets, or think about getting him a buddy.

If you don´t have the means of having another cat permanently, see your local shelter and ask if they have kittens of his age. Maybe you can foster them, so he would have companions until he is older. Or maybe they have a litter in foster care somewhere else and they can take him in for a couple of weeks?

I had a 5 week old (foster) kitten who was going crazy alone. After 2 days of crying I found another foster family that agreed to take him in. As soon as he was with other kittens, the crying stopped and he was happy.

Don´t forget, human TLC is good, but it can´t replace the experience they get interacting with other cats/kittens.

He is very, very young as you know. Him being away from his siblings so early will mean he wil not be learning how to properly interact with other cats, meaning later on he will likely need to remain an only cat, as this will cause him to be more of an aggressor.

He also is overwhelmed by the space he has. He will potty just anywhere, which also makes for a not so loyal litterbox user.

He needs confinement, it will make him feel much more secure to be in a smaller cage size or a large carrier when he is not with you.

It is fear you are seeing in him. Plus he sounds hungry. What are you feeding him?

It sounds tio me like he is desperate for your attention and love. He was taken away from his family and is alone and afraid. I've had kittens climb onto me and scream if taken off, they DO outgrow it, thank goodness, but not for months. Another kitten is a very good idea, it would keep him busy. He needs a lot of cuddling and holding right now to get secure. Siamese are very demanding and very talkative, be prepared for a very energetic and vocal cat. Please kiss him for me, good luck!

I should probably mention I've never had a male cat before, so it's been a bit of a different experience raising this little guy. He's extremely energetic even for a kitten, not that it bothers me too much, but I notice often at night he gets extremely restless. One of his biggest rituals every night is to grab his little bed I keep near my computer desk and start dragging it all over the place while making anxious chirping/meowing noises constantly, often biting the side of his bed as well.

I kind of suspect that it's due to some sort of cat puberty steam he's trying to blow off. During his final vaccination a few weeks ago, the vet did tell me that he is already sexually mature. Which strikes me as a bit odd, since it was way earlier than expected. And actually as I was writing all of that out, I just caught my kitten teabagging his bed, so that almost confirms my suspicions lol.

I would say that's definitely sexual behaviour.

Four months old isn't that young really. I took in several feral kittens last year and they all started scruffing each other and humping when they were about five months old.

Get him neutered before he starts spraying your house. It's a nightmare trying to get rid of the smell.

Norachan said:

 
I would say that's definitely sexual behaviour.

Four months old isn't that young really. I took in several feral kittens last year and they all started scruffing each other and humping when they were about five months old.

Get him neutered before he starts spraying your house. It's a nightmare trying to get rid of the smell.

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That's what I'm thinking, my vet says he should be neutered at 5-6 months of age, but I'm thinking I'm going to want it done earlier. Only problem is I committed to a kitten plan with this clinic with neutering included, so it's already paid for. I'm thinking of giving them a call tomorrow, he's about 3 weeks shy of 5 months, but maybe they will allow him in at my discretion.

After my earlier post, I did notice what I believe to be his first erection, so now I really want to get this sorted out soon lol.

siameses and some alike breeds do mature earlier.  So he is surely one of those.    Is he a purebred or "just" a look alike?   If he is a look alike, it means his siamese ancestry must lie quite near.   Its not just two wandering point genes which happened to meet toghether, with the real siamese ancestors perhaps 30 generations back.   Nay, his ancestry is near.

But if you arent a breeder, the answer is the same: spay / neuter as soon you can legally and medically do it.   So also most purebreds are living their lives as happy  castrathes.    

Observe, he IS an teenager, and he will still be a lively teenager.  Which is nice and good.  Looking at these lively youngsters is half of the pleasure of having a young cat home.     But you and he will not have these sexual overtones, including spraying....

Consider to get him a cat friend to have someone to play with, to chase each other, to wrestle with.   Another kittern or a young adult of a body type you think will be fond in a little wrestling and chasing.

Good luck!