I have no idea how old our kitten is?

stephanietx said:

 
It's not uncommon for people to not provide an accurate age when adopting out a kitty, unfortunately.  Most commonly, vets use your kitty's teeth as well as weight to determine a young kitten's age.  For kittens, they usually weigh about 1 lb/mo of age.  So an 8 week old kitten should weigh somewhere around 2 lbs.  Not all kittens will weigh 2 lbs at 8 weeks, so don't beat yourself up about it.  A lot of it is determined by how well the mom kitty took care of her kittens, if your kitty received any supplemental feedings with kitten milk replacement, and how well the "owner" of the mom cat kept an eye on the cat and kittens.  Don't beat yourself up about it, just determine that you'll provide her with quality food to help her gain weight and provide a stimulating environment for her from here on out.  Be sure you're feeding her a quality canned food as well as leave out dry crunchies for her 24/7 (if you don't have an older cat that will scarf them all down.).  I like Royal Canin Babycat canned & dry food as well as Wellness kitten canned food.  The Royal Canin dry has smaller kibble pieces that are easier for little ones to crunch.  She needs a lot of nutrition at this stage of the game to get her up to weight and to keep her growing.

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EmandJee said:

 
Hi seasaltysiren,

I'd also like to add that if your kitten's eyes are still blue, it's more likely that she is under 8 weeks. Most kitties eye color change by that age, especially if she's not a special breed (like siamese) or a pure white kitty. I also tend to think folks with "a million kittens" are a red flag with a high potential to be backyard breeders, so they are much more interested in ridding a young kitten more quickly. It's very sad to see that happen, but it's also not uncommon during this time of year.

 I'd be more leery from making future transactions from those types of folks, as they're usually not in it for the feline's benefit at all, and are often quick to fabricate stories (like kitty's background and age). I do hope your kitty is healthy, though. Getting her vetted early was a good thing, despite it all. 

In terms of food, like stephanie mentioned, feeding her a lot of variety will definitely help her keep interested in food. Kittens will need several small portions of food per day, up to 5-6 feedings! Wet food will almost always have much more protein than dry, so trying out a bunch of different textures, flavors, and brands will also prevent a finicky cat later. Have several good quality types that are grain-free (read ingredient list), and lower plant-sourced ingredients will be best. Once you know what she loves best, you can go and buy those l2-13 oz cans to save more money.

Best wishes to you and congratulations on your new kitten! Take lots of photos at this point--they grow up so~fast! 

 

Edited to add: Oh, I see you're already trying out various wet foods, great job there! 

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stephanietx said:

 
At her age, it's important that she be on a good kitten food as it has more nutrients that kitties need to grow strong and healthy.  They are usually higher in calories as well.  I really like Innova EVO cat and kitten, but you can't find it right now.  That's what my Tumbles was raised on and loved it.  We now feed our kitties Innova EVO venison and the chicken and turkey variety.  Just be sure she's getting all the nutrition she needs and she should be good.

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