Weaning Problems - In need of advice

Hello Again

Well my kittens are 4 1/2 weeks old now but the will not eat cat food. Two of them will eat chicken but that's it (I've only given them it once, and I'm not doing it again in case they get picky), they won't touch cat food.

I've tried making a porridge out of ground dry food and cat milk, they have walked through it and licked their paws but they will not eat it at all. I've even put their paws in normal cat food but they're not interested at all. One if them will eat the odd bit of cat food out of my hand but that's it !

I've also put food in their mouths, sometimes they eat it but they usually spit it out.

Any tips on how to get them eating ? they all drink water but will not eat and everythign I've read says they should be eating by now.

is the mama cat around or are they bottle babies?

Mum cat is around so we dont' need to bottle feed them at all. I was even considering taking mum cat out of the room for a couple of hours to see if they feed on their own but mum is very protective and would get too stressed

do you think they would drink kitten glop out of a saucer?

mine weaned himself (the brat!) at three weeks because he saw his mum eating wet kitten food.

try some wet food mixed with water to make it quite soupy. we used hi-life kitten food because its made with real fish so it smells really strong.

I've tried wet food with water, in a saucer but they are just not interested ! occasionally they will lick the floor if any has been spilled, but this doesn't happen very often.

The are not even very interested in the smell of the food I put down, I really haven't a clue what to try next. Maybe a stronger food, but then again it might just make them picky as with the chicken.

Do you think it would be wise to separate them from mum for a bit ? I dotn' think even that will work though, nothing else does !

have they seen the mum eat yet? i wouldnt worry too much personally as all kittens develop at their own rate. as long as they are happy, healthy and well fed.

you could try it as long as you think it wouldnt stress out the mum too much.

I think you're right, I should just leave them to develop at their own rate, I'm just worrying thinking they should be eating by now. One of them does watch mum eat so maybe it won't be too long till they're eating. I dont want to separate mum as she is really protective of them, she doesn't even like it when they are all running around !

Thanks for the advice, you've put my mind at ease !