What to feed a 6 week old kitten?

I got a kitten from a women who says he was born on Nov. 28, 2014 -- I haven't brought him to the vet yet because I am waiting for him to be old enough to get his shots. But I am wondering what I should be feeding him. He has his baby teeth and he enjoys the Purina One Kitten Chow dry food but I don't know if there is something else I should be giving him.

At 6 weeks he shouldn't be fully weaned yet, but should be introduced to food as well, I am not totally sure of the amounts, I did hand rear a kitten (our older cat) but that was over 4 years ago . start with a good canned food (canned kitten food) since the texture is much easier for them, I used to mix some of the Kitten Milk replacer into the soft food to get her to eat it when we were weaning her because she had a hard time transitioning to eating and drinking out of a bowl

The lady I got him from said he was eating Iams dry food and he's doing fine with it. I don't give him a lot at once and he doesn't eat a lot at one time. He goes back and forth in between playing. Yesterday we had a little diarrhea episode. He seems to be fine though. Still playing and acting normal and eating normal. I'm afraid to experiment with different food though

You could try Iams canned kitten food, it is a great quality food and wouldn't be a big change, an all dry diet isn't a great choice because he will probably not be getting enough water in his diet. Is he still on KMR or is he already weaned?

Ok I will look into that. I don't know what KMR is so I am assuming he is already weaned... I am hoping this lady who gave him to me would have already made sure he was ok to be away from his mother before hand. I don't really need to do much for him besides slightly clean him cause he hasn't gotten the concept of cleaning his bum himself. But other than that he's fine. He knows how to use the litter box and everything.

If he has not been De-wormed yet that may be the cause of the diarrhea.

At only 6 weeks old he should be getting a mix of milk and wet food - KMR is Kitten replacement milk - available on powder form from a pet shop or pharmacy. Do not give him cow's milk - that can cause stomach upsets in kittens. He is not really old enough to be away from his mother and siblings, so you will have to be his mother as far as all socialising is concerned. It is from 6-10 weeks that kittens are taught manners by their mothers, playing gently and how to hunt, which he will need if he is to interact with you and with toys etc.

He is old enough for worming so if you can I would take him to the vet for a first check-up.

He will keep you busy! Good luck

I would definitely give him canned food too, he needs all the nutrition ha can get right now. All the luck!

8 weeks is the recommend age to seperate a kitten and it's mama, until then it is not fully weaned and needs the nourishment from it's mothers milk, thankfully there is a milk replacer that can be used in place of the mothers milk in situations like this, it is called Kitten Milk Replacer or "KMR" and can be found at walmart and most pet stores

awesome! I actually made an appointment for him for this afternoon because he keeps having diarrhea. But I definitely think that I need to give him different food. hes acting totally fine otherwise.

CatmomJulia said:

8 weeks is the recommend age to seperate a kitten and it's mama, until then it is not fully weaned and needs the nourishment from it's mothers milk, thankfully there is a milk replacer that can be used in place of the mothers milk in situations like this, it is called Kitten Milk Replacer or "KMR" and can be found at walmart and most pet stores

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Even 8 weeks is really too young - 10 to 12 weeks is recommended for a kitten to receive the maximum benefit in behaviour and socialisation from its mother and siblings. Many good breeders let their kittens go at 16 weeks. I know that is all not always possible, but it is the ideal.

JennyR said:

Even 8 weeks is really too young - 10 to 12 weeks is recommended for a kitten to receive the maximum benefit in behaviour and socialisation from its mother and siblings. Many good breeders let their kittens go at 16 weeks. I know that is all not always possible, but it is the ideal.

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Oh yes! I agree, older is definitely better! I've seen first hand what a difference it makes! Our two rescues couldn't be more different! Mainly because 1 is a rescue from a shelter who was 9 weeks (a day before 9 weeks actually) and 1 was a feral stray who was about 3weeks, it is VERY obvious that those crucial weeks with their mamas make a BIG difference! What I thought I wrote up there was that 8 weeks in the recommended minimum age that they can be taken away from their mom not the recommended age to take them