Random questions on 5 week old kittens

Ok, I took in a pregnant stray in April and the kittens are almost five weeks old. I have a few random questions and havent really been able to find answers. A little background. I have one pit bull, Izabel (please no comments, I know people have opinions), Sophie - an older golden retriever who is cat friendly, and a 5 year old russian blue (Tiny) who does not like other cats. Momma cat is named Paisley. 

So we are planning on keeping three out of the five kittens. Paisley is very sweet and friendly but scared of Sophie. Originally, the kittens were ok with Sophie, but she has now taught them to be scared of her. So they hiss whenever she is near. Problem #1. 

Paisley is still trying to relocate babies to inconvenient carpeted areas. They have an entire hardwood floor bedroom which they are using as toilet (will get to that later). Why is she still trying to move them? Its a loud noisy house...this is not new information.And they are not staying still. I have been letting them out of the room supervised to play and explore because they are seem to be going a little stir crazy in there....is this a bad idea?

Potty training - issue 3...momma does not seem to be very good at teaching them..they don't want to cover their pee and poo apparently looks better on hardwood floor than litter. suggestions?

I have a home for Paisley - I was going to keep her until 12 weeks but I am thinking if kittens are weaned I might be causing more harm than good if she is not teaching them litter box and is teaching them to be scared of Sophie. 

Two of the kittens just flat our refuse any kind of food except for Paisley's milk. I have tried everything and they are not interested. The other three are eating dry mixed with weaning formula don't want to give them the chicken baby food because at 1.39 a can that is not going to continue, but it is worth it to start?

Anyone have suggestions or thought on any of the above?

I strongly urge you to keep Paisley with her babies for 12-16 weeks. It is important for the kittens' development, and cruel to separate mom from her kittens right now. She is not doing anything wrong. She is following her maternal and hormonal instincts to protect her still very young babies from your retriever, even though he is friendly.

As the kittens get bigger Paisley will relax more around Sophie. It is common when kittens first leave the nest for mom cats to be anxious and protective. It has less to do with your dog and everything to do with her looking out for her kittens.

Regarding weaning and litter training: at almost five weeks the kittens are barely ready to learn both. You will see improvement in both areas over the next couple of weeks. They learn to cover as they grow bigger. Most kittens do not cover in the beginning.

It helps if you have several small boxes around the room. Spread doggie pee pads around the boxes. Put the kittens in the pans before and after meals, and at random other times. Take a little paw and show them how to "dig". They will eventually observe mom and catch on. They are babies and need time still. Once they catch on it's quick!

Baby food is not necessary. You can mix pate style chicken wet food, such as Fancy Feast, with kitten formula to make a mush that is easy for kittens to eat, in addition to the moistened kitten chow. The two little ones who only nurse mom are not quite ready for solids. They will be in a week or two. Like human babies, they don't always develop on the exact same schedule. And once all the kittens are eating solids, they will continue to nurse mom for a few weeks, while she teaches them kitten manners by interacting with them. This is important.

I think keeping them in the one room is fine for now. It is easier for them to learn the litter box and to eat solids. Once they have mastered this they can venture out supervised.

Do you have toys in that room and boxes they can climb in and out of to play and explore? They need stimulation.

Time around your dog should be supervised, and I would keep it short for now. The kittens you keep will adapt to Sophie easily enough in time. Had Paisley grown up around Sophie she would already be comfortable with her. Forcing it now is frightening to Paisley.

Is there a chance that whomever is adopting Paisley will also take the remaining two kittens? Re-homing the kittens with mom, or at least as a pair, is ideal.

Keep us posted as to progress. [emoji]128522[/emoji]

Thank you so much for all of the advice. I have homes for the two kittens that are not staying already. Both are going to people that I know and I had originally told them 12 weeks. My friends taking paisley did not want a kitten from the beginning and always wanted her. So she will be with her babies until 12 weeks if that is what is best. So a few follow up questions. What is the best way to get paisley used to Sophie. I had a baby gate up so she could see over and kinda observe the home and Tiny and Sophie (Izabel will be seperated from paisley the entire time just because she is a much "larger" presence and there is no need to stress paisley since she isn't staying). But then paisley started taking her babies and jumping the baby gate with them and trying to hide them. Should I just let paisley out a little bit at a time? What about introducing the ones that are staying to Tiny (big mean kitty). Should I put that off until after paisley leaves? They have a TON of toys and climbing things. I put an ad up in the local FB page asking for gently used items and now I have a bunch of cat trees and scratching posts and little toys, not to mention the tissue boxes and shoe boxes that the love. I was feeding fancy feast but since I am
Mixing dry with weaning formula I choose that route. I was doing canned but now that they are wanting to eat every three hours I can't afford it. I have 3 other animals on canned food and my husband was starting to complain about the pet food bill.

The kittens do need wet food. Since they are tiny, one can mixed with formula will feed several little mouths for more than one meal.

I would not introduce Paisley to your dog at all, since Paisley will be leaving. It's too stressful to Paisley.

I also would not introduce the kittens who will be staying yet. Mom and kittens need to be separate from your other animals right now. Like I said before, there will be plenty of time for the kittens you are keeping to get to know the dog in a few weeks. I know you want them to be friends, and they will be, but now is not the time.

They are adorable! [emoji]128149[/emoji]

I'm really worried about paisley (momma cat) going to her permanent home. Everything I can find online talks about separating kittens. Poor paisley is leaving her two kittens though and going to a new home. It is a great one. Hell I would live there. Pool, lots of space, nice human mommy. And she will have two girls that love on her. But I am very worried that she is going to be sad about leaving her babies. Any advice? Am I just crazy?

How old are the kittens?  She may miss them but she may enjoy being without them as well.

I'm still debating exactly when to separate them the kittens are 90% weaned right now. I was hoping to keep mama with them until 12 weeks but I'm just not sure that's going to be possible. We have another cat that goes in and out through the cat door and mama seems determined to escape. I was keeping her in a bedroom with the kittens but she seems pretty miserable in there and was constantly meowing so now I let her roam the house freely but she cannot stand our dog and she is teaching the other kittens to be afraid of him The home where she is going is really wonderful they've been good friends for years and they do have another cat and a nanny that stays at home with their two girls and she's familiar with the girls because they're over at our house a lot. Two of the kittens are completely weaned and are going to their forever home at nine weeks together. I somehow got talked into keeping the other three. I just feel so bad for her that she finally got used to being with us and now I have to send her away from her kittens it almost feels like banishment but I'm probably overreacting

A angela13081

I advised you in your other thread a couple of weeks ago that mom and kittens do best staying together for a good 10-12 weeks.

She will not only be looking for her kittens, but she will be in a strange new environment. But, she will get used to it eventually.

My take on this though, is if the kittens are this young, what's the rush to separate them if you don't have to?

I also feel that she is still protecting her kittens from the dog because they are little. That will ease up over time.

If you have misgivings in your gut, and it seems that you do, I think you should keep Paisley for now.

It's great that 2 kittens are being adopted as a pair. That will help them tremendously. Still, 10-12 weeks is a better age to separate them too.