Am I spoiling or is he just slow?

Gandalf turned 3 weeks old on Sunday. According to the information I have been reading he should be eliminating on his own. He does not hardly ever eliminate unless I stimulate him. Also, should he be drinking his colustrum out of a bowl? Yesterday was the first time he actually licked his bottle instead of just sucking on it. Am I pampering him to much? Do you think he is big enough I can let him stay at home and just feed him before and after I get off of work instead of sneaking him under my desk? I read conflicting information on starting them on a semi-solid food. Should I introduce it now or wait until he can drink out of a bowl? Does anyone have a good recipe for a kitty's first food?

Just to let you know, I am NOT an expert but, I have 5 kittens that will be a month on Saturday and they are not eliminating on thier own. From what I understand they will not do that until they are off formula? That maybe incorrect. Im sure Hissy will be here soon with some thoughtful ideas!

Originally Posted by momof6Mews

Just to let you know, I am NOT an expert but, I have 5 kittens that will be a month on Saturday and they are not eliminating on thier own. From what I understand they will not do that until they are off formula? That maybe incorrect. Im sure Hissy will be here soon with some thoughtful ideas!

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I appreciate you input. I keep reading all of this information on the web and one says one thing and another says another thing. I am just confused. That is why this forum is so nice. I can talk to people that actually are going through what I am going through. Do your kittens have a mother cat or are you thier mother?

My bottle feds always started eliminating on their own somewhere between 3 and 4 weeks old, usually right in the middle of that time. I start stimulating them over the litter box about 3 weeks old to show them that this is the place to go, and will also leave a little bit of stool in the box as a further reminder.

For feeding before and after work - absolutely not if you have an 8 hour job. I would even hesitate at a 4 hour job that is within 5 minutes of home. At 3 weeks, you should still be at about 3 hours between feedings, perhaps 4 hours max. If you feed less often, they eat more at one sitting and it can mess with their digestion.

My vet suggests using Science Diet A/D as a weaning food and I know that they use it at the shelter also. I start by offering them a bit of their formula in a very shallow bowl and once I see them lapping at that, I mix in a little A/D, and eventually wean them off the formula. If they are really spoiled, they won't start lapping readily, as they will always prefer being spoiled and having the food fed to them. That's when you know they are truly spoiled (this is where I cover my head with a bag).

I'm sure others have different methods and suggestions.

The mother cats is around.

Originally Posted by Momofmany

That's when you know they are truly spoiled (this is where I cover my head with a bag).

I'm sure others have different methods and suggestions.

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I think I need to share that bag with you!

my kitten is an only kitten. he's 6 weeks old.

because she only had a litter of one he was very, very spoilt. he only started using a litter tray at nearly 5weeks! and thats with having his mummy still there.

He went He went He went. This morning (on the carpet of course) but I did not care I was just happy he went all by himself. He has not done number 2 yet on his own but I figured that since He finally did number 1 on his own that 2 was soon to follow.

What an odd thing to get excited about but I can't help it and I wanted to share. I knew you all would understand my excitement.

When I get him home tonight I am going to finish his Kitty condo and put him in it for the first time with his very own tiny litter box. The vet said to use clay instead of clumping litter but I saw on another post someone said to use wood shavings? Did I missunderstand the vet?

Oh and you would not beleive what I found for only 5 dollars on a discount shelf at petsmart. I had been hunting and gave up and the ones on the internet were just tooo expensive. It is called a Kuddle Puppy. (They were out of the kitties but he won't know the difference.) It has the heartbeat and internal warmer pads. I did not know if he would like it since he has not had it since he was born and he is over 4 weeks old now but He LOVES it. He curls right up with it every night since I got it. In fact he is cuddled up with it under my desk right now.

Oh this is getting long. Sorry!