New parents to 2 rejected babies

Hello, 2wks ago we added two 3wk old babies to our family. While I've never been a cat person per se, I have Hand-nursed puppies, wildlife rehab and exotics so I felt up to the task. I must admit my new babies have turned me quickly to a cat person

Everything is going fine, but I have some questions that I need cat people advice. My babies (The Ghost and The Darkness) bottle fed well and I am now transitioning them to solids with KMR & rice cereal (I had to switch to rice from wet kitten food when Darkness developed diarrhea and a sore butt. Its all resolved now) They are now using a litterbox and are completely bonded to my husband and I (grooming us, dry suckling etc)

I built them a temporary kitten yard when they got too big for the box and herein lies my question. Now that they are 5wks old, when is it safe to let them freely roam the hous? They seem so small that I'm concerned and don't want to jump the gun. Since they can climb I feel more sketched about taking this step than I have with puppies who are limited to where they can go.

Also, they play with kitten balls but I've has a hard time finding other toys that have no cat nip. I'm concerned about exposing them to cat nip so early but I don't want them to get bored.

Any advice on this or any pitfalls I may not be aware of at this age would be greatly appreciated. They've already become the stars of my life and I don't want to do anything to hurt them inadvertently

BTW I thought I should say that they are not homeless or feral rescues. Both parents were present but the mom got sick and couldn't continue nursing and the owners didn't feel comfortable hand raising these babies. So there are no complications to be concerned about with the early environment or early nutrition issues

Thanks so much!
Hazy

Okay, I'm glad they've done well. Are the eating food now or still on a bottle? I do think if you have a large plastic dog crate you can keep them in near the main household area so that they will not crawl under a stove or sofa or get squished anywhere until you can be there, keeping an eye on them. A spare closet or bedroom might also work. Are they trying to use a litter box? If so, make sure its non clumping in case they eat a little of it.

Hello, thanks for such a fast reply! They are eating a slurry with KMR & baby rice cereal. I originally started weaning with KMR and wet kitten food but changed after Darkness got diarrhea. I'll start mixing it back in after a few days. They are using a litter box 100% now. It went pretty quick. Ionly has to stimulate each and put them in the litter box twice and they caught on (thank goodness!)

I built them an enclosure using several cardboard boxes flattened and duct taped together and to the floor and it takes up most of the living room so they are in the middle of things all they time. But they are getting more and more curious and want to stay out longer. So I was wondering how I might recognize when its safe to forgo the enclosure entirely?

You could try putting a little pony tail ended on them with a little cat bell on them so you know where they are and can hear them coming. I think as long as they are large enough to not be able to get behind a stove or your can adaquately block it off, they should be able to run around with supervision.

Thanks I will definitely do that. I am concerned about them getting up some where then jumping/falling from too high up. Do they know when something is too high up to jump? Is there a rule of thumb I should be following when it comes to this? Thanks again!

No, I think kittens are pretty resilient, if they were to get up too high they'd either start crying or claw their way down. I am mostly worried about the young ones getting stuck behind or under something, possibly stepped on.

They won't be able to jump all that high yet. I'd be more concerned about them getting stuck under or behind something, or getting underfoot.

I've had curious kittens jump in the dryer, or climb into the fridge, etc. where they could have been hurt if someone hadn't noticed and gotten them out right away. Once, a kitten got trapped between the front door and the storm door and nobody noticed for a few minutes. He was scared but otherwise fine.

There is also the litter box to consider. It's wonderful that they're using it so well already, but with the run of the house they might not be able to get back to the box in time. Small kittens can't "hold it" very long at all.

I personally would keep them confined when you can't watch them until at least 7-8 weeks, and then kitten-proof the house as much as possible before letting them loose.

Agreed, this is what I was trying to put in my post up there ^. I am worried they could get lost someplace in the house or squished.

Thank you so much. That's a clearcut place to start which is exactly what I need. I will keep them in their enclosure when I can't be around for another month the or so. I will probably add a few panels to give them a bigger yet confined space to play when I can't be Hawkeye. . I made them a short "kitten tree" using a floor wine rack putting different levels and a hammock so they can start to get up high without actually being high. They are loving it. I'm hoping to get them prepared so I can put shelves around the walls for a cat trail when they are older

Thanks again!

I have two cats that I adopted when they were 6 and 7 weeks old. I have a multi level townhouse I put an extra litter box on my top floor for a few months I also put an extra feeding area on the top floor.  The 6 week old kitten was really small when I got her and she had a hard time going up and down the stairs between the first and 2nd floor.  She used to shoulder surf on us a lot.  The 6 week old Starbuck is now 9 nine years old and Casey the 7 week old is now a year old.   Starbuck is a munchkin and now uses the stairs with no problem.  If I notice she is having issues with the stairs at all I will immediately return to using the set-up I had when she was a baby.

If you are going to expand their space make sure they have easy litter box access and food/water access.  I would initially only let them explore the whole house when I was home to supervise so you can see if there are things you need to change for their safety.

Thank you. I made some changes today to give them more room in their kitten yard. The kitten cube was in the middle of the pen because Darkness climbed on top and used it to get out when it was pushed up against the panel. This only gave them a small path around thw cube which was also blocked by thw litter box. So I moved the whole pen to a corner and put the cube in that corner so she can't use it as a ladder because the walls block her from jumping out. Then I doubled the size of the enclosure. Now they have a big "front yard" with plenty of room to romp and a side yard that neatly holds the litter box. I don't feel bad leaving them in there now when I can't watch them.

I also spent a lot of time making some more toys for them. Including a pizza box that I put holes in with toys inside that they can stand on and bat the toys around thru the holes. I think I've has more fun than them. Considering I was always a dog person its amazing how quickly they have me "eating out of their paw" lol

I love your clever ideas!

Thank you I must admit I've had a blast coming up with things. Cardboard is my best friend right now. Given that a lot of these things are just temporary until they are bigger I couldn't invest a lot of money in things that will be obsolete. But I have found that new cardboard boxes, a box cutter and a roll of duct tape only costs a few dollars and can constantly be changed until they reach mature size and I can invest in permanent things.

In addition to the kitten yard I built them a cardboard house with rooms, windows and such and I can keep reconfiguring it so it remains interesting. I've also used flat pieces to kitten proof the couch, TV wires and block the kitchen entirely. When they don't need that anymore I can just throw them away!

You could write a book.  Inexpensive ways to entertain your kitten!  Of course it would have to be 101 Ways.  Take Pictures.