re not eating

my cat is almost five weeks old and he is not eating or using the little cats room. any help please new cat owner all help appreciated and oh yea advice for traing to use the catbox is appreciated too thank you

5 weeks old is much too young to have been taken from its mother, unless there were unavoidable circumstances. Is the mother still around? Do you know what happened and why the kitten isn't with her? Was she sick?

What are you trying to feed the kitten? Has it eaten at all and stopped, or have you just goitten it and it hasn't eaten anything?

As far as the litterbox, put it out and after it eats, put it in the box and show it how you would dig a little hole with your own finger then take it's paw and show it how to dig. Then wait there with it until it goes, and give it praise, and do this until it picks up the idea on its own, which shouldn't take too long.

I agree that is much too young to be away from the mother. What happened? Are you feeding wet and dry good quality kitten food? Try warming up the wet food and adding some water if it is not soupy enough. You can try catmilk or KMR too. A tiny spot of tuna to stink it up and attract him to it. Not a lot because it is not really good for cats.

What kind of litter are you using? Is the litterbox small enough for him to get into it? Keep him in a small room like the bathroom with all his needs and toys and everything until he is littertrained.

If at all he can get back with his mother that is best for him. 4-8 weeks is a crucial time because the mother will socialize him and teach him what to eat and how to use the litterbox. Unless she was a feral or something, you didn't explain.

And don't use clumping litter either. It can clump right to his bottom and block it or is he tries to smaple a taste or two, and most kittens will, it could clump and get stuck in his body.

well we will try feeding him cat formula and see if he starts eating again the cat was abondand he might be a little older but no older than seven weeks

I have quite a few foster babies here that are approximately 5-weeks of age. All of them are eating on their own...Pro Plan for kittens mushed-up with KMR (kitten milk replacer). Some of them get the concept of water from a shallow bowl but most are supplemented with KMR from a bottle.

At this young age, I highly recommend using Yesterday's News in a shallow baking pan. They can't ingest it & it is dust-free.

Good luck with your little one.

Where do you find Yesterdays News at? I dont think that I have ever seen it before.

Originally Posted by Nikki W

Where do you find Yesterdays News at? I dont think that I have ever seen it before.

Click to expand...

Yesterday's News is made by Purina & is really meant for ferrets I find the little ones take to it quickly as litter...dust-free, non-clumping & very inexpensive. You can find it at any pet store...eg: petsupplies plus, petco.

Can you get it at a vets office? We have one pets store in this town and EVERYTHING there is VERY expensive. Its not a big place like petsmart or anything like that. someone here in my small town owns the place. The closest place that has an actual pets store like petsmart or something like that is an hour from here and I dont go there very often.

Maybe you can call the vets. office and ask what they have regarding litter that is clump-free and dust-free...explain that it is for a 5-week old kitten...I'm sure they can recommend something.

My foster baby just turned 6 weeks and just gave up her bottle a couple of days ago . I would start your kitten on the KMR, possibly diluted to half (my vet recommendation) and my kitten really likes the Nutro Max Cat canned kitten food-Chicken and Ocean fish(that, by the way, I am mixing with crushed Chicken Soup for the Cat Lovers Soul kitten food now), and she eats canned Natural Life Chicken and Veggie Platter (it says it is for all life stages) which you can get at Walmart (my Walmart moved it or ran out-either way, I couldn't find it- hence, the search for others ) and I am mixing them all ) I also used a 10 inch by 10 inch square by 2 1/2 inch tall litter box (otherwise known as a "Glad Ware" bowl )with plain clay (not clumping) catlitter and while I worried about the litterbox and posted about it, she took to it soon enough and has kept at it . I also took her foot and scratched it around, and put her tee tee in the box so she would know what it was for.

Is he going to the bathroom at all? If not, you need to go to the www.KittenRescue.com and visit the section on Pooping and Peeing right away! You will have to stimulate him to go if he is not going on his own .

I also had to "force" a taste (smear tiny bit on front teeth/lips) of the canned food on my kitten (watch out that he doesn't try to bite your finger off for the next taste if he likes it )

if the baby isn't eating they wont go potty then....Poor baby. Give KMR.

Should still be tee teeing, though, right? If not on it's own, then through stimulation. If the kitten hasn't tee teed after the formula (give it a little while), try the stimulation . Dehydration can be very dangerous in kittens.

Okay, went back and read and you said he had been eating. Was he tee teeing and pooping on his own too? I would give him diluted (with water ) KMR-half KMR, half water- to make sure he is hydrated (that is the most important thing) and if he isn't eating, etc. by morning, I would call your vet and have him checked just to be sure he is okay. He could be not feeling well, but like most little ones, not feel bad enough to stop playing yet.

Go to your grocery store and buy several jars of the chicken or turkey meat human baby food, infant stage, no chunks, read the label to ensure no onion or onion powder ... bring it home, set the jar in a bowl of hot water for about 8 minutes to gently warm it, pour it out onto a flat saucer (not a bowl) or dessert-sized paper plate. Put Kitten into an area where the floor is easy to clean, such as a bathroom with vinyl as flooring. Place the plate onto the floor and make yourself comfortable. Put the kitten next to the plate and scoop a little warmed food onto your finger. Place your finger gently onto the side of the kitten's mouth and smear a little food into the corners of her mouth. She will react immediately by licking and swallowing. As she is licking, keep your finger next to her mouth so she continues licking the food off of your finger. Once she becomes interested, place her closer to the plate and lower your hand closer to the plate as you allow her to lick the food off ... keep lowering your hand until she is lapping the food off the plate.

Be patient. She will make a HUGE mess. She will walk in it, she will roll in it, she will track it everywhere. Be patient.

As for the litter ... place the litter box into the bathroom with kitten, food and water dish, fav toys and a warm, comfy bed. After you have fed her (and she eats from your fingers) place her in the litter box and stimulate her gently for a few seconds until she eliminates.

Best of luck with this - let us know how it goes.

~gf~