I have been trying to wean my kitten since he is of age now (he is almost 5 weeks old) but unfortunately I haven’t found wet cat food in my area. Is there an alternative to wet cat food? Maybe cans of chicken or tuna mixed with his formula? Also he is trying to drink more milk now once he is done with his bottle. He is fed 5 times a day (every 5-6 hours) and he drinks about 22-23mls per feeding. Am I not feeding him enough? He started doing this today. I wonder if its because he is ready to be weaned and he is not getting enough food. Should I increase the formula amount? I have read that this is how much a kitten of this age should be fed and I dont want to overfeed him accidentally. Also I have noticed that his rear end smells really bad today. I clean him after every feeding though and he finally started digging through his litter box today but he still hasn’t gotten the hang of it. Any help on this matter would be appreciated!
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Weaning My Kitten
- Thread starter teacupp
- Start Date
Hello and welcome to TCS.
About weaning, maybe this TCS article will have some tips for you.
Weaning: How To Get Your Kittens To Eat On Their Own - TheCatSite
And as for litter box training there's this one:
How To Train Kittens To Use The Litter Box [A Guide] - TheCatSite
As for wet food, not sure what you could use as a substitute, as cat and kitten food has nutrients that cats need, particularly taurine, which isn't found in people food. Maybe you could find it in supplement form, but not really sure about that.
Can you order wet food online? Any shelters you could consult with about feeding kittens?
About weaning, maybe this TCS article will have some tips for you.
Weaning: How To Get Your Kittens To Eat On Their Own - TheCatSite
And as for litter box training there's this one:
How To Train Kittens To Use The Litter Box [A Guide] - TheCatSite
As for wet food, not sure what you could use as a substitute, as cat and kitten food has nutrients that cats need, particularly taurine, which isn't found in people food. Maybe you could find it in supplement form, but not really sure about that.
Can you order wet food online? Any shelters you could consult with about feeding kittens?
He may be ready to wean, but in the meantime give him as much formula as he wants. Kittens grow fast and need lots of food!
You can moisten dry kitten chow with formula and see if he will eat that once it softens. You can also mash up boiled chicken and offer that as long as it is mushy and very small pieces. I would wait on the tuna for now.
As mentioned, kittens need the vitamins, minerals, and taurine (taurine is for brain development) that is supplied in commercial wet food, so try to find some in a pet store or online.
Where are you located?
It’s almost impossible to overfeed a growing kitten — let him have as much as he wants.
Here are helpful links:
Do keep us posted!
You can moisten dry kitten chow with formula and see if he will eat that once it softens. You can also mash up boiled chicken and offer that as long as it is mushy and very small pieces. I would wait on the tuna for now.
As mentioned, kittens need the vitamins, minerals, and taurine (taurine is for brain development) that is supplied in commercial wet food, so try to find some in a pet store or online.
Where are you located?
It’s almost impossible to overfeed a growing kitten — let him have as much as he wants.
Here are helpful links:
Do keep us posted!
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #4
I managed to get wet food for kittens today! He ate really well so I’m assuming that he was really ready to be weaned. Just one question though. I watched Kitten Lady’s videos and she says to feed wet food (I’m assuming its about three times a day) and to supplement a bottle afterwards. Is this directly after he eats and how much should I give? Since I’m mixing his milk in the wet food he is already getting half the amount of milk he usually drinks from the food itself.
It sounds like your kitten is able to lap his own milk since he ate well, so just put his formula down in a separate dish for him. And kittens need to eat wet food about 6 times a day while growing. They can lap their formula and eat dry kitten chow in between.
Kitten Lady meant 3 feedings with bottle after while she was still transitioning them. Since your kitten does not need the transition, feed him 6 times a day with extra formula and kitten chow available. Especially give a meal just before bed and the kitten will sleep better through the night.
Kitten Lady meant 3 feedings with bottle after while she was still transitioning them. Since your kitten does not need the transition, feed him 6 times a day with extra formula and kitten chow available. Especially give a meal just before bed and the kitten will sleep better through the night.
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- #6
He has been eating about 1 pouch per day now which is about 85 grams in total and he is drinking milk as well. When he is done he has a very round and full belly. He is going to the litterbox on his own now but he only pees. No poop so far. I still need to stimulate him to poop, not sure why he is not doing it on his own since he seems to understand what the litterbox is for now. Should I just stop stimulating him to see if he would go on his own? It’s been about 9 hours since he last pooped and he hasn’t done it after that. I want to make sure that he will really be able to poop on his own since all he does is pee.
He is young, so he may need help still. Also, kittens will not necessarily poop after every meal once they begin soft foods. If he poops once or twice a day he should be fine.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #8
I stimulated him today since he didn’t poop for almost for a day. Was waiting to see if he would go on his own but he didn’t. Seems like he really just doesn’t know how to go on his own still since he was able to poop almost immediately after I started stimulating. I bought a new type of litter tonight to see if it would do the trick since I did see him digging around the litterbox multiple times today and I noticed that he was not comfortable while trying to sit down. Maybe the litter is the problem.
It may be the litter, but I really think it’s his age. He’ll get there. Continue stimulating until he does.
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- #10
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- #11
My kitten has not been eating since last night. He is not a very food-driven kitten but he usually eats quite well during his meals. I was mixing dry food with his formula until three days ago and then I stopped doing that since he is already 2 months old. Instead I havd started to soak his dry food in a little bit of hot water and serve with a bit of wet food (to introduce it slowly). It’s been only a day since he started this wet food but all of a sudden it seems like he doesn’t want to eat at all. He just sniffs his food and walks away. He has been quite active this morning too though. I’m not sure what I should do. I did notice that his poop was very runny this morning. Could this be the problem?
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- #12
Update: He tried a little bit of his dry food and vomited it out. After that he just started running around and he was normal and playful. I let him play as much as he wants and now he is back in his play pen to get some rest as he is very tired. He drank a lot of water and got hydrated though. But still doesn’t want to eat food. Should I get some KMR for him again until he starts eating?
I would continue with the KMR for now. Feed him as you have been since he was eating well and seemed to like it, and especially since he is only 8 weeks old. There is plenty of time to transition him to soft wet food. His tummy may not be quite ready for it yet.
Hopefully, his diarrhea will subside soon. It’s tough to know if he just has a tummy bug or if the food upset him, but these bugs usually pass quickly. If he continues not eating or vomiting or having diarrhea for more than a couple days, get him to a vet.
T teacupp
Hopefully, his diarrhea will subside soon. It’s tough to know if he just has a tummy bug or if the food upset him, but these bugs usually pass quickly. If he continues not eating or vomiting or having diarrhea for more than a couple days, get him to a vet.
T teacupp
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- #14
I was able to get it touch with his vet. We couldn’t do a physical consultation since we are not living nearby. As I mentioned earlier the only vet clinic we have is a one hour plane ride away. The vet recommended not giving any liquid medication orally at the moment if he is still vomiting. He wanted me to try kitten treats and not to force feed him but tonight he finally ate moistened kibble (not a lot though). He is very energetic again after that. His poop has a green hue to it now so I’m almost positive that this is a bacterial infection. His vet requested for a stool sample that I’ll be sending soon so that they can test it. He also recommended to give an antibiotic (only if he is not throwing up though). Since his last meal he hasn’t thrown up so I have given his antibiotics and he seems to be doing better now. Will update how he is doing tomorrow.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #15
Also I don’t have KMR at the moment but I have ordered a lot of things for him online like kitten treats, KMR, a different brand of kibble (in case he is having issues with this one) and medicine for deworming as well. I’m hoping that all of this will help. My order will probably be here tomorrow.
Which antibiotic are you giving?
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- #17
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- #18
Also I want to give an update: He looked so thin last night since didn’t have a single meal for over 24 hours. He started to eat a bit later at midnight again and after getting some sleep last night he seems to be a lot better this morning. I filled his bowl again with moistened dry food and he tried his best to eat it. He couldn’t finish it but it was better than nothing. For lunch he had more than he had for breakfast. I think his appetite is slowly returning back to normal. His poop however is still a bit runny and I hope that it gets better. There’s been no vomit since yesterday and that means that I can continue his oral medicine which is a relief.
