Wet Food Cleanup Problems

my kitten is being fed on solely canned food and water. she's the type of cat who doesn't eat it all at once, but instead nibbles a few bites and comes back every now and then to take another bite.

i thought it was okay to leave the food out until she seemed thoroughly done with it, but when it started smelling icky i realized i really shouldn't, because it probably spoils.

i've snagged two problems: will my kitty be full until her next meal if i take her plate away after she's done with the first round? and the second: my house is empty the entire day from 6 AM until 8 PM. my mom says she doesn't have time to wait until the kitten is done eating so she can wash out the remaining food and not have it stink up. my aunt does have some time around noon, so she will drop by my house to play with and feed the kitten.

what can i do? note: Pouncer is 5 weeks old, so she won't eat dry food yet. the vet said her little teeth aren't ready for them.

[edit] ooh, also when i'm playing with her, i notice she often snatches one of my fingers and it feels like she's suckling on it. she's not hungry- she does this even when she's just been fed. should i be looking into getting some Catsip for her?

If Pouncer is five months she should be okay a few hours without food if she is 5 weeks she should still be with her mother...

Have you considered an automatic pet feeder? http://www.catflaps.com/home.html?ri...tml&lang=en-gb
You could divide your kitten's meals into smaller portions, and set it to open at fixed times during the day.
A far as the cat sip is concerned: It's really not necessary. My cat got Whiska's cat milk as a kitten after he was weaned, and is an absolute cat milk addict now. It's just added calories in his case.

Originally Posted by sharky

If Pouncer is five months she should be okay a few hours without food if she is 5 weeks she should still be with her mother...

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oops, i typo'd. she's five weeks, and no mommy because she was a stray i picked up.

Originally Posted by jcat

Have you considered an automatic pet feeder? http://www.catflaps.com/home.html?r...html&lang=en-gb
You could divide your kitten's meals into smaller portions, and set it to open at fixed times during the day.
A far as the cat sip is concerned: It's really not necessary. My cat got Whiska's cat milk as a kitten after he was weaned, and is an absolute cat milk addict now. It's just added calories in his case.

Click to expand...

i would, but mom's amadant about not spending any "extra fancy junk just to feed your cat". vet bills/shots are what she's footing for me- everything else extra i want would have to be purchased by me. i won't have money for awhile thanks to buying schoolbooks (typical starving college student, i am).

Feed her wet food 3x a day - have your mom give her a meal at noon...20 minutes for feeding is about right, as after that she'd done for abit, so pull the food after 20-30 minutes.

Put out some quality for kittens kibble...as she grows, and is hungry enough, she will begin nibbling bits and pieces of it...I'd go ahead and put some out for her now.

My 2 cents, we'll see what other advice you get (I do think jcat's suggestion of an auto feeder/w a refrigerated section is an excellent one!)