How to wean a kitten, or more specifically how to convince them to lick/drink

I have two cute kittens that I'm taking care of for a local rescue organisation here in Sweden. I got them when they were 1week old (found in a dumpster). There were three other kittens in the litter but one died and another girl took the other two (this is my first time with orphaned kittens and I realised my limitations)

Anyway, I've been bottlefeeding them, didn't take them long to get the hang of that in fact they wont give the bottle up. I don't mind bottlefeeding them, I love it, but they are five weeks old and I don't want to keep them back. Their siblings, the onces not living with me, are licking their milk from a bowl.

I've tried to put milk on my finger and put it to their mouth but they still wont lick and after a 10 minute fight with them both I resign and give them the bottle.

I was suggested to skip a meal to make them more motivated to take the milk from a bowl but that is not an option. The female cat was all over the place in frustration (trying to tear down the nest so that she could get out and find me and get food) and in my heart I don't think that it's good to let her act like that, so I gave her the bottle.

They still want to suckle on us (fingers, arms, legs, toes) but I've said No to this and I try to distract them or put them back in their nest because I don't want them to grow up with this behavior. Am I doing the right thing??

One of my own cats, 9 years old is still suckling at t-shirt every time we go to bed (although it has decreased since getting the kittens) and this is what I want to stop these kittens from doing when they grow older.

Back to the food issue. I've been mixing milksoaked kitten chow in their milk and now they won't take just milk, they want they mixture. Should I add a little more water to the formula to make sure they are getting enough fluids?? Is this perhaps a way to get them to eat food by making that mixture thicker and thicker each time?? But if I do that how do I make sure they get enough fluids?

They have access to dry food and water in their nest in case they should get curious and want to try it (but so far no luck with that)

Lots of questions but it's my first kittens that I'm having to be a mommy to.

Have never had orphaned kittens, but when i fostered mum and kittens last year one was slow to eat. I just gave them kitten supermeat (didnt want them eating biscuits when they were so tiny) and kept rubbing a bit of food near his mouth.That said, there is no definite age for weaning, the cat food packets in England say between 4 and 6 weeks, so they might just need a bit longer.

Hopefully someone with more experience will give you better advice.

btt

ullis_p said:

I have two cute kittens that I'm taking care of for a local rescue organisation here in Sweden. I got them when they were 1week old (found in a dumpster).

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ullis_p said:

Thank-you for looking after these kittens

Anyway, I've been bottlefeeding them, didn't take them long to get the hang of that in fact they wont give the bottle up. I don't mind bottlefeeding them, I love it, but they are five weeks old and I don't want to keep them back. Their siblings, the onces not living with me, are licking their milk from a bowl.

Every kitten is different. At 5 weeks, they are still very young and personally, I would give them more time to bottle-feed. Within a week or so (maybe even 2 wks), you will notice them starting to nibble on the nipple of the bottle. This is an indication that the bottle & formula are not satisfying them anymore.

I was suggested to skip a meal to make them more motivated to take the milk from a bowl but that is not an option.

They should not skip a meal at this age. I know it is time consuming and sometimes frustrating but keep on bottle-feeding...they are very young.

They still want to suckle on us (fingers, arms, legs, toes) but I've said No to this and I try to distract them or put them back in their nest because I don't want them to grow up with this behavior. Am I doing the right thing??

Keep in mind, you are their mother

From my experience, suckling indicates they are either hungry or want the security of their mother.

Back to the food issue. I've been mixing milksoaked kitten chow in their milk and now they won't take just milk, they want they mixture. Should I add a little more water to the formula to make sure they are getting enough fluids?? Is this perhaps a way to get them to eat food by making that mixture thicker and thicker each time?? But if I do that how do I make sure they get enough fluids?

Kittens should not have cow's milk. Dairy products in general give kittens/cats diarrhea. I'm not sure if you mean you are giving them formula/kitten supplement like KMR. Again, in my experience, I gave the formula in a bottle until they started to nibble/bite the nipple. I made a mush/gruel of formula with kitten dry & wet food in a bowl/plate so they would taste the formula...something familiar. They will get enough fluids through the formula mixed in the kitten gruel and moisture in the kitten wet food...also, I would put out a small bowl of water...not too filled...you don't want them to fall-in the bowl of water.

They have access to dry food and water in their nest in case they should get curious and want to try it (but so far no luck with that)

Give them time...they are very young.

Good luck with them and again, Bless you for taking these little ones in.

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I give them catmilk replacement (like KMR). I've mixed the dry food (royal canine kitten 34) with the milk and I give them this mix because they wont take just milk anymore.

The thing is that they have been nibbling and biting the tet for a week but they just dont want to start licking for themselfs. I love giving them the bottle but it is time for them to at least try to lick milk themselfs. I know they can, they clean themselfs and use the litterbox, so I think its a learning thing that they just dont want to do

Perhaps these kittens will learn to lick milk/water onces the milk/kitten chow mixture becomes to thick to eat from the bottle

I ended up bribing them with some tunafish in the milk, it worked like a charm. All they seem to have needed was a bit of motivation (but we'll see, they've only done it once so far)

Ulrika

They are still pretty young and should be moving off the bottle soon. Start mixing canned kitty food in with their milk make it a gruel so they aquire a taste for it. What I do, is when they start chewing on the nipple, I put a little gruel in a small jar lid and offer that to them. It usually works well as their mouth is still in the chewing mode. Also those kittens who don't want mushy food, give them straight dry and see how they do, just break the chunks up with a hammer first so they don't choke.