Small 4 Week Old Kitten Loosing Weight!

[Roseily]

Hello! Just did my daily weigh-in with the kittens and the smallest has gone down 0.01 oz from yesterday, (currently 14.8oz) not a lot I know but since he is smaller than the rest and has not been putting on as much weight in the last week I'm starting to get very worried!

He is still very lively and the most active of the bunch, but when mum comes into feed he does feed for very long and tends to fall asleep instead of feeding.

They were going to begin weaning tomorrow, should I start weaning them tonight and hope the extra protein gives him a boost? Or just supplement him with a bit of formula until tomorrow?

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! I'd supplement the tiny one now, already.
How old are they?

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I'd definitely start supplimenting the tiny one immediately, and continue it on throughout the weaning process until you are certain that he's catching up a bit.

 

[StefanZ]

Yes and let him continue to nurse.
You may learn him too to eat other foods but dont wean him.

Can you get raw goats milk? Prob the best for supplementing in touchy cases.

 

[susanm9006]

Yes, you should still let all the kittens nurse as much as they want to but offer supplemental food. In the case of the little one extra kitten milk with a bottle or dropper. I would keep doing this until he is both gaining weight and eating solid food.

 

[Roseily]

The kittens are 4 weeks old, started feeding him some formula but wasn't best pleased, so I'm going to make sure he has extra time with mum to feed and spend a bit more time with him when training them to eat!

Sadly I haven't been able to find goats milk anywhere but I might go to a local farmers market and see if they have any there.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Sadly I haven't been able to find goats milk anywhere but I might go to a local farmers market and see if they have any there.

If you are in the USA, try the baking aisle of a larger grocery store. I've found it there in the past.