Need Advice Getting Kitten To Stop Suckling.

[krazyjacky316]

I have an 8 week old kitten lenna. I have had lenna since she was 3 days old. She was abandoned at birth by mom, so she started out dropper fed. I graduated her to a bottle with strict round the clock feedings and cleanings. She was doing phenomenal. At about 3 weeks old I had her at feedings every 4 hrs and i had to go out of state for my best friends wedding so i left her with a family member for the weekend. When i came back i knew something was wrong with poor lenna. She cryed at least every 30 mins, wouldnt latch onto the bottle, couldn't eat. I got her into the vet to find out the left side of her jaw was broken. After lots of love, care and force feedings lenna made a huge turn around in 2 weeks. The vet and staff were relieved as to as well as she is doing. BUT NOW she is 8 weeks old DOES NOT lick or lap anything but water. she is not on the bottle. she loves pate but she suckles onto the plate. Ive tried having her watch my other cats (no interest) KMR 2nd step, cuts with gravy (she sucks all the gravy) kitten chow with the KMR(NOPE) kitten chow mixen with the pate (sucks all the pate), ive even tried using smaller containers so she literally has to stick her tongue out to get it!!!!! nothing is working. any ideas??!

 

[Sarthur2]

It sounds like something may still be wrong with her jaw. She may even be in pain. I suggest that you get her jaw x-rayed at the vet to see if her jaw is fully healed.

In the meantime, let her suckle the pate as she has been doing. It could simply be that she is not quite ready to wean yet. She's been through a rough experience and probably needs more time. If she had a mama cat she would still be nursing.

Although it's messy, she is at least getting the nutrition she needs right now.

 

[krazyjacky316]

Weve been to the vet 3 times in 5 weeks with xrays. The vet and staff have been really excited and more relieved with every visit. The vet said that she is doing extremely well and thriving considering the circumstances. The kitten is doing really well in every other aspect. Ive trained her to use the litter box. She is curious, climbing, playing, she knows her name and comes running when you call her. She LOVES cuddles and snuggling. Shes just not licking or lapping she wont even clean herself. My other cats have been cleaning her and eating with her pretty much this whole time. Shes not catching on.

 

[talkingpeanut]

Do you know how her jaw was broken? That’s terrible.

 

[krazyjacky316]

The vet said she was either dropped on a hard surface or stepped on by a medium to large breed dog. When i asked the person that had her what happened she said nothing. When i told her what the vet said, she said that lenna wasnt dropped and her dogs werent close enough long enough to cause damage. So i of course I am furious beyond measure even weeks later and we will probably never know what happened.

 

[talkingpeanut]

I’m sure!

 

[amethyst]

I could be wrong, but I think a broken jaw would normally take 6-8 weeks to fully heal. It's possible she is just simply still in pain from the broken jaw. Maybe not in pain all the time but chewing might cause discomfort still. Also I would guess she probably also lost some muscle mass in her jaw during healing, which will take time to strengthen back up. I wouldn't worry too much just yet about sucking up the food, that's how the 3 orphan kittens I raised ate their food at first. I basically made them pate and milk replacement mush, they weren't injured, they just didn't seem to know how to eat at first.

I also wouldn't worry too much about not cleaning herself yet, so long as she is kept clean some cats just take a bit longer to figure it out. I also wouldn't completely dismiss the idea that she was abandoned for a reason, she may be a bit of a slow learner.

 

[krazyjacky316]

Shes constantly play nipping and biting with us, my cats and ferret with no signs of discomfort. She is cleaned day in and day out lol if its too bad after she eats its bath time. Its been 5 weeks since her injury. I know it was a catastrophic set back for her and we work on it everyday. She has reached all of her milestones ahead of schedule. Its just with everything ive read says she should be cleaning herself and eating solid food before 8 weeks.

 

[Sarthur2]

It sounds like she is just a little behind in the weaning, likely due to what happened to her. Just be patient with her. I'll bet she comes around and will be eating like a champ in the next couple of weeks!

 

[krazyjacky316]

Thank you everyone! Youre angels! I have new hope. I will keep updates on her.