HELP! 3/12 week old kitten dropped in my lap!

[kareth117]

Help! I've come into the posession of a 3 1/2 week old kitten, MAYBE 4 weeks. He's very young. The lady that gave him to me had me thinking he was older, but when she showed up to give him to me, he was too young. I couldn't send him back because the owner was fairly adamant about not having anything to do with him. He's precious, but he's so young! I've already got an 8 week old kitten, as a note.

When I got him, he had a terrible bit of fleas, so I bathed him in Dawn and picked the fleas off. He also has what I can only assume to be a horrible case of worms with a huge belly. I took him to the vet today to get him dewormed, along with my other kitten.

What I'm concerned about now is this: He eats soft food, so I'm taking regular, hard kitten chow and putting warm water in it to soften it up. He eats it, but I'm worried he isn't getting enough fluid in him, and he doesn't seem to know or care about drinking water from a bowl. Will he?

Also, he poops on his own (though not in the litter box yet) but do I still need to stimulate him to go?

Sorry, I'm just used to older cats, and the other kitten was practically flawless in behavior. I'm just worried about the little guy

 

[sisco1111]

Hello!   if your kitten is really about 3-4 weeks old, in my opinion it should still be on milk.    Purchase some baby animal bottles  (most brands say kitten and puppy bottles)  and some kitten  milk replacer, which you would mix in by hand.   It will be difficult to feed it for the first few tries, but eventually it will realize you are giving it milk.   Your kitten will probably need to be fed every two hours.   And if you decide to keep this kitten (I assume you are)   feel free to ask for kitten names!   I have plenty of names up my sleeve! 

  best of luck!   

 

[momto3cats]

I agree that you should offer the kitten some kitten milk replacer. If he eats soft food he's probably old enough to lap milk from a bowl, but he might like a bottle as well. He'll learn to drink water in time, but he might not know how yet. If he eliminates on his own you don't need to stimulate him - I would just keep watch to make sure he is actually going on his own.

 

[stephanietx]

You should probably offer him some wet food mixed with kitten milk.  That will be easier for him to eat and will also give him all the nutrition he needs. 

Keep putting him in the litter box after every feeding.  If he poops on the floor, pick it up and place it in the box so he'll smell his scent and associate it with the box.  You can also try putting him in the box and moving his paws in the litter like he would do while using the box.

 

[jennyr]

All the above advice is good. One t hing about a very young kitten is he may not have time to get to a box when he needs it. I always keep young kittens in a small room like a bathroom at first, so they are never far from a box. Once they get used to it and use it every time, then they can have more freedom, but with more boxes that you perhaps have now. With two kittens you should anyway have at least three boxes around the place.

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

one thought on a litter box for your very young kitten. a low sided litter box, even a disposable low sided aluminum baking pan will do, will make it easier for your little one to be able to climb in as he learns to use the litter box.

as @JennyR says, very young kittens can't always make it to the litter box. they're like toddlers who when they feel the need to 'go', they need to 'go' right now. another option would be to place several of the low sided litter boxes around your home, so no matter where the kitten is he'll be able to make it to the litter box. these extra litter boxes would be temporary, until kitten is old enough to be able to make it to one of the (permanent) litter boxes.