When to wean??

Boots mommy got me thinking. when is the right time to wean, and with what food? Icis dosent seem very intrested in feeding the babies much anymore, she has to be put with them to feed. they DETEST the KMR 2nd stage tho, even with kitten food(wet) mixed in, even warmed.

they are 24 days old.

I start weaning kittens to solid foods (wet and dry) at about 5-6 weeks old - younger then that, they are not really interested in food and might have a hard time swallowing it unless you make the wet food really soupy with KMR and warm water.

Please forgive my ignorance. I have kittens that are a little over 4 weeks old now, and I know that I'll have to think about weaning them soon. What is KMR?

I've been instructed to take dry kitten food and make a mush like substance with room tempature water, or slightly warmer. Preferably a Nutro brand kitten food.

Originally Posted by siameseohio

Please forgive my ignorance. I have kittens that are a little over 4 weeks old now, and I know that I'll have to think about weaning them soon. What is KMR?

I've been instructed to take dry kitten food and make a mush like substance with room tempature water, or slightly warmer. Preferably a Nutro brand kitten food.

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KMR is a kitten milk replacer....it is traditionally used for orphaned kittens.

Are the kittens you have with their mom?? If so, she can continue to feed them. My fosters actually began eating the moist food that I fed their mom around 5/6 weeks of age. Also...it is a good idea to feed mom in the same room as where the kittens are so that they can see her eating.

Katie

Thank you TNR1.

Yes, they are still with their mother. I had a little scare today because I have their mothers food down and they are really frisky now. One of the kittens got into her food trying to eat it, and started to chock. The piece was too hard and large. I've elevated the food now.

Originally Posted by siameseohio

Thank you TNR1.

Yes, they are still with their mother. I had a little scare today because I have their mothers food down and they are really frisky now. One of the kittens got into her food trying to eat it, and started to chock. The piece was too hard and large. I've elevated the food now.

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Try to feed your mom cat some soft canned food along with her hard food. Keep the canned food at kitten level so that the kittens can try it. Not sure what brand of cat food you are using...I used eukanuba and my kittens never had any issues with the morsels...but they mainly were interested in the moist kitten food at first.

Katie

I use Nutro products. I've been feeding her the canned nutro complete care for kittens, and the dry nutro complete care for adults. The adult formulas morsels are particularly big and hard. I like your suggestion on keeping the canned low and raising the dry. I will try that. Thanks again.

Originally Posted by siameseohio

I use Nutro products. I've been feeding her the canned nutro complete care for kittens, and the dry nutro complete care for adults. The adult formulas morsels are particularly big and hard. I like your suggestion on keeping the canned low and raising the dry. I will try that. Thanks again.

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Ah....can you switch to a dry brand that is for kittens?? Mom won't be negatively affected by eating kitten food and it is often smaller pieces that a kitten can eat with no problems. Since you will want these kittens to be eating dry food at some point..if they see mom eating it..they are much more likely to try it themselves.

Katie

Royal Canin makes a lovely, very small dry biscuit for little babies called Babycat 34. It is a bit spendy, but it is wonderful for little guys when they are first starting to sample the foods. When the kittens get a little older, you can switch them to the Kitten 34, which is, from my understanding, the same formula as the Babycat 34, only the biscuits are shaped differently and are a little larger.

For the wet food - I use human chicken or turkey meat baby food poured over the canned like gravy. Momma cats love it, and if Momma is enthusiastic about eating, the babies will mimic her behavior.

Thanks TNR1 & gayef,

Looks like I'll be shopping for kitty food this weekend. My intent wasn't even for them to try her dry food. They are just so active now and in to everything. It feels like it did when my children first began to crawl or walk. I kitty proofed my bedroom, but they've decided to go beyond the bedroom now. So they are keeping me busy, but they are a joy, so I won't complain.

I never considered meat baby food! What an awesome idea. From what I've read (researched), raw meat is best if done right, but obviously not very practical for most of us. But baby food wouldn't have all of the additives, especially from the natural food companies, and it would be a texture that the kittens could handle.

Just make sure the baby food is meat only - no onions or onion powder and no added veggies.

When considering a raw diet with kittens, you will have to think more about the prospective new families - not a lot of people are going to be willing to go that extra mile to serve raw. It is better to stay more in the mainstream. If the new families want to convert to raw, then that is their choice.

Yes gayef you are right. I didn't think to serve my cats in the past raw food, because I wasn't aware that it was suggested. I need to prepare them for their forever homes. However, I think I'll get some for my other cats. And I will be careful to read the label for other ingredients. Thanks again.