My babies are 3 and a half weeks old now, they even have ity bity teeth on top and bottom right in front, when can i start intorducing the litter box? When are they able to be free in the house, without needing the nest box? ( ours is getting too small too fast) And what about soild food? What is the best thing to start them on, and when should i start it?
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when can i intorduce the litter box? and other kitten ??'s
- Thread starter silvermoonmyst
- Start Date
I just went though that. We bought kitten chow cause they started eating mommys food...its too big for their mouths
once you start seeing little poopies on the ground then introduce them to a small litter box they can get in and out of. i put them in there and moved their paws in a scratching motion. by week 5 all of my kids are litter box trained.
btw all of the kids would start "crying" when then needed to go. when you see them squating then pick them up and put them in the litterbox
btw all of the kids would start "crying" when then needed to go. when you see them squating then pick them up and put them in the litterbox
You can begin litterbox introductions now. Be sure to use a non-clumping litter for the kittens. Use a low lip litterbox, so the kittens can climb in and out with ease.
Momma is most likely still doing all of the bathroom duties on the kittens, but then one day, you go to clean the litterbox, and notice little droppings, and they just naturally begin using the box.
Beginning solids isn't as easy...LOL They usually wear more of it at first than they eat. Put out a canned food diluted with warm water or KMR, to make it into a mush, for the kittens. Give it to them 2 times a day, and let them lick it off of your fingers, it may just be a few days to a few weeks before they finally will go to the plate and eat on their own. We just weaned our 6 weeks old kittens onto solid foods, and it took about 8 days, they were stubborn...LOL They are enjoying it now though.
I don't begin the introduction to solids until 4 weeks old, and I use Strongid a few days later to worm all of the kittens. Your can take in a stool sample, and your vet can give you the worming medication for all of the kittens.
If the kittens are starting to want more freedom, you can bring them out for a short intervals, but there is too much they can get into to let them have the run of the house yet. Can you confine them to a bathroom or a bedroom?
Momma is most likely still doing all of the bathroom duties on the kittens, but then one day, you go to clean the litterbox, and notice little droppings, and they just naturally begin using the box.
Beginning solids isn't as easy...LOL They usually wear more of it at first than they eat. Put out a canned food diluted with warm water or KMR, to make it into a mush, for the kittens. Give it to them 2 times a day, and let them lick it off of your fingers, it may just be a few days to a few weeks before they finally will go to the plate and eat on their own. We just weaned our 6 weeks old kittens onto solid foods, and it took about 8 days, they were stubborn...LOL They are enjoying it now though.
I don't begin the introduction to solids until 4 weeks old, and I use Strongid a few days later to worm all of the kittens. Your can take in a stool sample, and your vet can give you the worming medication for all of the kittens.
If the kittens are starting to want more freedom, you can bring them out for a short intervals, but there is too much they can get into to let them have the run of the house yet. Can you confine them to a bathroom or a bedroom?
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #4
Hehe, wearing it... brought to mind me weaning my son onto solids last year. hehe.. times 4.... oh god..
Ok breathe lina, they are smaller hehe..
They are confined in my room now, and i let them out about twice a day, but i can hear them crying to get out of the box everytime i go in there. they scratch and try and get out, and i dont think they are too far from it. They are big kittens, a full pound each.
Ill go a get a new litter pan for the babies and put it in the closet with them. The thing is, they wont be able to reach it unless they are out of the box.
I donno, i guess im just a bit confused, i can start introducing them to the litter box, but they arent big enough to have the run of the room yet... But no solids for another week or so. ok, i can do that, thank you!!!
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If possible you should get a bigger box, one that will fit the kittens and a small litter pan with some space to move around. I used foil disposable cake pans, they have low sides.
Mine didn't start using the litter until they were eating.
Mine didn't start using the litter until they were eating.
If you just have them confined in a room, do a kitten check and make sure there are no cords or just things that they could get hurt by. They also still will want to go back to their nest to sleep. You can begin introducing solids as well as the litterbox now, it won't cause any harm to do either. Some may take it to the litterbox and food quickly, while others may take longer.
I have heard of using the pie tins as well, it just needs to be low enough that the kittens can easily crawl in and out. Sometimes giving too much freedom or too much space too soon with result in accidents outside of the litterbox.
If that begins, I would advise putting them in a smaller room, like a bathroom, or possibly confining them to a smaller area, such as a puppy pen, so that they can get more accustomed to the litterbox, before giving too much freedom.
I would also recommend setting up different scratching surfaces, like sisal rope and corregated cardboard, so Momma can begin to teach them to scratch in proper places. I would also begin getting them used to nail trimmings soon, so when they go to their new homes, their owners can easily trim the nails.
Good luck, your babies are growing up!!
It goes quickly, sometimes too quickly!!
I have heard of using the pie tins as well, it just needs to be low enough that the kittens can easily crawl in and out. Sometimes giving too much freedom or too much space too soon with result in accidents outside of the litterbox.
If that begins, I would advise putting them in a smaller room, like a bathroom, or possibly confining them to a smaller area, such as a puppy pen, so that they can get more accustomed to the litterbox, before giving too much freedom.
I would also recommend setting up different scratching surfaces, like sisal rope and corregated cardboard, so Momma can begin to teach them to scratch in proper places. I would also begin getting them used to nail trimmings soon, so when they go to their new homes, their owners can easily trim the nails.
Good luck, your babies are growing up!!
