7 week old bottle fed kitten will NOT wean....

We took in a kitten at three weeks old, when his mother was killed.  I took him to the vet after we had him two days to be sure he was healthy, insure I was feeding correctly (powdered replacement from a bottle), and because he had not pooped.

The vet said he looked healthy - weighed 12 oz and NO teeth at all - did a stool sample (didn't find anything but dewormed anyway) and said he may have an eye infection and prescribed an eye ointment.  Was told to start feeding him canned kitten food.  Said if he didn't poop in two days bring him back.

He still had not pooped in two days, but I was reluctant to take him back when they had been so dismissive.  I bought some canned pumpkin and mixed it with his bottle.  Still no poop in a day however, our Chipin dog started licking kitten and he started pooping.  Dog licked kitty for days and he began pooping.  Within a week he was litter box trained!

Bought some Royal Canin baby kitten canned food and he wanted NOTHING to do with it.  I then mixed it in with his bottle with each feeding.  I then tried baby food, canned food mixed with formula, pumpkin, and dry kitten food (fromm) soaked in formula.  Tried force feeding with a spoon and he fights me all the way.  Put dry kitten food in his mouth and he spits it out.  This kitten will NOT eat anything except his bottle.

He is now about 7 weeks old.  He has been eating about 2 1/2 oz of formula with canned mixed in, every 7-8 hours.  He runs and plays, can go up and down all the stairs now, crawls in your lap to cuddle, has a mouth full of sharp teeth and interacts well with our 4 year old chipin dog..

Last week he started chewing the nipples so badly, I had to throw them away.  I have been buying a new bottle every day.  This morning he actually chewed the tip off the bottle during feeding and swallowed it!

I have researched, read message board after message board and haven't found anything helpful to my situation.  I have tried all the "tips and tricks" mentioned, but he is not interested in food at all.  I read about one kitten that didn't wean until 10.5 weeks old.  Any other suggestions or has anyone else had this much trouble?

My plan is to take him back to the vet at 10 weeks for shots (I read if there are no other cats in the house you should wait until 10 weeks).  Didn't want to run him back just for them to tell me to keep trying or try all the things I already have, plus the first visit was $150.00.

Here is little man Grayson....

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Any suggestions??

For one, I think he needs to eat much more frequently. He is too small to go 7 hours without food. If you leave some dry kitten food down I think he will start to nibble. He should have wet meals every 3-4 hours though, on top of the dry. He is chewing the bottles because he is desperate for food and hungry.

I would make the holes bigger and continue upping the canned food content until he is willing to lap it up.

Were you not stimulating him to potty when you first got him? He was too young to go on his own.

Thank you for helping this little cutie! What happened to his mom?

Pretty little kitten. :nod:

Yes, leave dry food out all the time---he may get bored or extra hungry and take a nibble. . .and decide he likes it . Otherwise, all you can do is keep doing what you're doing. Eventually he'll be ready and start eating, but there's no way to speed up the process. One thing you could try (not sure if you already tried it) is to offer his formula in a dish. That way it's a familiar food, just introducing a new way to drink it, so not too many changes at once. And then once he's familiar with eating out of a dish he might decide solid food is OK after all. And slowly increase the amount of wet food in his bottle, as much as he'll tolerate. You want to build a familiarity with the food.

It's natural for kittens---they instinctually know not to eat anything unless they see their mother eating it. This is to keep them from accidentally eating something poisonous when their mother is out hunting. But it can sure be frustrating for those who are raising orphans! But he will get the hang of it eventually.

What I did with my group that did not want to wean was I used baby food (the plain meat kind with no added flavors). Mine had no interest in eating from a bowl so I would smear a little on their mouth and when they would begin licking it off their mouths, I would hold up the back of a spoon that I had covered in the baby food. Their tongues would hit the spoon as they were licking their lips and they would begin licking the spoon fully instead. I would keep a small bowl with a very low lip or even use the screw off lid from the baby food with a little food in front of them and slowing move the spoon down in that direction. It took a day or two to get them to begin eating from the bowl after that for 2 and about a week for the third (he had become interested in the food first though so he was eating from the bowl before his brothers). After they began confidently eating baby food from the bowl, I began the gradual process of mixing the soft canned food in until it is 100% canned. We have momma as well so there is constantly water and dry food out. They will drink the water but I have yet to see them try anything more than stand in the dry food.

For one, I think he needs to eat much more frequently. He is too small to go 7 hours without food. If you leave some dry kitten food down I think he will start to nibble. He should have wet meals every 3-4 hours though, on top of the dry. He is chewing the bottles because he is desperate for food and hungry.  At 3 weeks he was eating 1-2 tablespoons every hour.  He then went to 2 tablespoons every two hours.  He then went to 2-3 tablespoons every 4 hours.  Now at 7 weeks, he went to a full bottle every 7-8 hours. He actually crawls up on my chest and bites my chin when he wants to eat. If I try to feed him any sooner he will not suck, and just chews the nipple.

I would make the holes bigger and continue upping the canned food content until he is willing to lap it up. I have made the hole larger in the nipples and do put in as much canned food as the formula will "mix well" with.

Were you not stimulating him to potty when you first got him? He was too young to go on his own. Yes, I did but he only peed, no poop.

Thank you for helping this little cutie! What happened to his mom? Apparently the mom was killed by a car.  There were 5 babies, I knew I could only take one.

Yes, leave dry food out all the time---he may get bored or extra hungry and take a nibble. . .and decide he likes it . Otherwise, all you can do is keep doing what you're doing. Eventually he'll be ready and start eating, but there's no way to speed up the process. One thing you could try (not sure if you already tried it) is to offer his formula in a dish. That way it's a familiar food, just introducing a new way to drink it, so not too many changes at once. And then once he's familiar with eating out of a dish he might decide solid food is OK after all. And slowly increase the amount of wet food in his bottle, as much as he'll tolerate. You want to build a familiarity with the food.  I do leave the dry food in a dish in his crate all the time, he just walks on it. I can't just leave it around the house because the dog eats it.  The dog food and water is out though and he watches her eat, but never tries to eat himself.   I have tried formula in a dish, on his paws, on his lips/chin - doesn't even lick it off.

It's natural for kittens---they instinctually know not to eat anything unless they see their mother eating it. This is to keep them from accidentally eating something poisonous when their mother is out hunting. But it can sure be frustrating for those who are raising orphans! But he will get the hang of it eventually.  I guess he is going to be a 10.5 week "eater", as I just don't know what else to do.  We love him already and will do whatever he needs.