Hello all,
My kitten babies are 4 weeks old today. Mom is still nursing them. And still very protective. Not as much as she used to be, but she will still pull them out of the box they are in and lay them on the floor right beside my bed. That's not the problem. My problems are three-fold. I am trying to start to wean them onto soft food. I put a little on a spoon yesterday and let them sniff it, they ALL turned their heads away. No interest whatsoever. And on top of that, I left a little bit of food in a dish in their box, and mom ate it all!!! I tried to get her to leave the room but she scratched at the door to get in so hard she left marks. Now, everything I read so far states they should be getting weaned now. But at this rate, I'm not gonna have any luck. Mom doesn't seem to have any interest in weaning them. Also, if I leave her locked in the room with them while I am out, won't this make the transitions harder? Does anyone have any suggestions?
Second problem is fleas. Mom must have had them when we took her in as a stray. We only had her 3 days before she gave birth. I've tried washing them in Dove detergent, and while that got 2 adult fleas off of one kitten, I noticed another one crawling around on her. I change the blankets constantly, and I don't have carpet, just hardwood, and that I sweep and dustbust all the time too. I now have a couple flea bites on my ankles and I'm really scared that I will have an infestation before long.
Third is the dreaded litter box. The family is in my bedroom. Mom's food and litter is also in there. The babies are in a box in one area, and mom's stuff is in another. Should I attempt to put a little container of litter in the box they are in? They do get out and run around, but I don't like them to go too far and especially under my bed, which they tend to gravitate to.
WHEW!!!! I'm really sorry to have written a book. This is all new to me and I'm here at work worried sick about everything.
My kitten babies are 4 weeks old today. Mom is still nursing them. And still very protective. Not as much as she used to be, but she will still pull them out of the box they are in and lay them on the floor right beside my bed. That's not the problem. My problems are three-fold. I am trying to start to wean them onto soft food. I put a little on a spoon yesterday and let them sniff it, they ALL turned their heads away. No interest whatsoever. And on top of that, I left a little bit of food in a dish in their box, and mom ate it all!!! I tried to get her to leave the room but she scratched at the door to get in so hard she left marks. Now, everything I read so far states they should be getting weaned now. But at this rate, I'm not gonna have any luck. Mom doesn't seem to have any interest in weaning them. Also, if I leave her locked in the room with them while I am out, won't this make the transitions harder? Does anyone have any suggestions?
Second problem is fleas. Mom must have had them when we took her in as a stray. We only had her 3 days before she gave birth. I've tried washing them in Dove detergent, and while that got 2 adult fleas off of one kitten, I noticed another one crawling around on her. I change the blankets constantly, and I don't have carpet, just hardwood, and that I sweep and dustbust all the time too. I now have a couple flea bites on my ankles and I'm really scared that I will have an infestation before long.
Third is the dreaded litter box. The family is in my bedroom. Mom's food and litter is also in there. The babies are in a box in one area, and mom's stuff is in another. Should I attempt to put a little container of litter in the box they are in? They do get out and run around, but I don't like them to go too far and especially under my bed, which they tend to gravitate to.
WHEW!!!! I'm really sorry to have written a book. This is all new to me and I'm here at work worried sick about everything.
