How old when kittens start........

shanghaic

shanghaic

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
May 28, 2006
Messages
112
Purraise
1
Location
Shanghai China
Hi all,

Firstly thx for a great site and all the advice you have given me so far..

My kittens turned 3 weeks old last thursday and are running around like crazy.. They are the cutest little things and I love them to death.. I just have a few questions that I hope everyone can help with...

1. At what age do the kitties start to go to the bathroom by themselves, mum cats litterbox is too big, there is no way they could possibly climb in by themselves, so I was wondering when will be a good time to put out litter boxes for the little ones???

2. At what age do they start to eat solids? Do I start of by giving them wet food (whikers) and what about pellets?

3. Ive been feeding mum cat tinned tuna mixed with whiskers kitty tuna and kitty kibble aswell as kibble for adults, is this ok? I read everywhere in the forum people suggesting kitten food but im not too sure if they mean wet food or kibble or both????

4. The kittens have a lot of eye snot, it is not infected, its mostly a clear colour, but one kitten in particular has what appears to be sand??? around the eye and the goop is black??? could this mean fleas? we tried removing it but it is rock hard. We cleaned his eye with some boiled luke warm water but can not get all of it off, we will keep doing it until its gone, but im a little worried..... any ideas???

5. I spotted a flea on one of my kittens, is there anything i can do to get rid of the fleas?

Thank you in advance for all your help

Charmaine
4.
 
jen

jen

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 27, 2001
Messages
8,501
Purraise
3,009
Location
Hudson, OH
All I will advize on is that momma needs to eat preferably wet and dry high quality kitten food. Tuna is not good for cats, it has some not so healthy ingredients. At least dry kitten food. I would look into something better then Whiskas, I am assuming that is what you meant. Avoid by-products and the firest 2-3 ingredents shoulc be meat, not grains. At the bare minimum, try Purina , but that is really not the best of foods either. I think the kittens will start to nibble around 4 weeks but should be with the mother until 10-12 weeks. The mother can be spayed earlier though, 8-10 weeks I think.

Start putting out small litter pans now and the mother will begin to teach the kittens. Buy cake tins becausee you can get a lot and for cheap.

Talk to your vet about treating fleas and the eye goop. It can be dangerous to take kittens into the vet since they aren't vaccinated yet, but you don't want something serious to go untreated. Call the vet and ask what they thnk you should do.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3
shanghaic

shanghaic

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
May 28, 2006
Messages
112
Purraise
1
Location
Shanghai China
Jen said:
All I will advize on is that momma needs to eat preferably wet and dry high quality kitten food. Tuna is not good for cats, it has some not so healthy ingredients. At least dry kitten food. I would look into something better then Whiskas, I am assuming that is what you meant.

Yes sry whiskas was what I was referring to, just couldnt remember how it was spelt. Whiskas wet food is unfortunately the only cat food on the market here in China, and my cats will not eat the whiskas on its own, this is why I mix it with tuna, which they love...

I have never heard that tuna is bad for cats??????? I give them canned tuna in spring water that is actually meant for us.......

I am now very confused and left with no options.....
Click to expand...
 
tnr1

tnr1

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Oct 5, 2003
Messages
7,980
Purraise
13
Location
Northern Virginia
Originally Posted by ShanghaiC

Hi all,

Firstly thx for a great site and all the advice you have given me so far..

My kittens turned 3 weeks old last thursday and are running around like crazy.. They are the cutest little things and I love them to death.. I just have a few questions that I hope everyone can help with...

1. At what age do the kitties start to go to the bathroom by themselves, mum cats litterbox is too big, there is no way they could possibly climb in by themselves, so I was wondering when will be a good time to put out litter boxes for the little ones???

2. At what age do they start to eat solids? Do I start of by giving them wet food (whikers) and what about pellets?

3. Ive been feeding mum cat tinned tuna mixed with whiskers kitty tuna and kitty kibble aswell as kibble for adults, is this ok? I read everywhere in the forum people suggesting kitten food but im not too sure if they mean wet food or kibble or both????

4. The kittens have a lot of eye snot, it is not infected, its mostly a clear colour, but one kitten in particular has what appears to be sand??? around the eye and the goop is black??? could this mean fleas? we tried removing it but it is rock hard. We cleaned his eye with some boiled luke warm water but can not get all of it off, we will keep doing it until its gone, but im a little worried..... any ideas???

5. I spotted a flea on one of my kittens, is there anything i can do to get rid of the fleas?

Thank you in advance for all your help

Charmaine
4.
Click to expand...
Charmaine...thanks for the update...here are my answers

1. You would be surprized how well those little ones can climb.
Now is a good time to start putting out litterboxes for the little ones. Strive to use either clay or a biodegradable brand (like Feline Pine). Although you will find "accidents" when they are learning...hopefully will find fewer and fewer over time as they get the hang of it. Also, if they don't seem to get it..you can confine them into a smaller area so that they learn that the litterbox is there for that reason. Also, provide them many litterboxes because kittens don't remember they need to go.

2. They will get very curious about what mom eats and start to eat that so just keep feeding mom and as you start to see the kittens trying to get to her food...you can then leave some out for them.

3. I think Tuna (that is packed in water and not oil) is ok for cats...in moderation. Whiskas may not be ideal...if that is what you have to offer...keep feeding it to her. Again, try to strive for a kitten brand of food now with the highest quality you can buy. I fed my mom both wet and dry....some people prefer one over the other.

4. My male when he was just a baby had black stuff around his nose....it was 9 years ago and I can't remember what it turned out to be (I think it was a form of a URI) but if you can get him seen by a vet..that would be best.

5. Information on treating fleas can be found here:

http://www.kitten-rescue.com/parasites.html

Good luck and keep us updated.

Katie
 
jen

jen

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 27, 2001
Messages
8,501
Purraise
3,009
Location
Hudson, OH
Sorry i forgot to say how tuna is not good, which I think TNR cleared up, if it is packed in oil then that could be bad. AND I also forgot that you are in China. I remember a discussion about food availability in China, sorry I was forgetful last night!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top