3 to 4 week Kitten

[beayuu]

Hello

thank you guys so much for the input,

i'm hvaing alot of troubles trying to get her from drinking out from the bowl, he refuses to drink from the bowl and keeps crying and crying until i place the bottle tip into his mouth. Even though i place it into the bowl in front of him which is smaller than him he still refused to drink ( the bowl is smaller than him, it's like a size of the hamster bowl ) . He is bigger now and i think he is about 4-5 weeks old now, he starts running and pouncing. here's a photo of him : 

Screen Shot 2014-08-17 at 8.06.08 PM.png

• beayuu
• Aug 17, 2014

I'm almost pretty sure that he should be drinking out from the bowl at this age but he refuses to do so. i even bought hard food and soft food but he does neither

oh gosh what should i do? the worse part is that i am not always at home as i have  work so i dont have time to sit down beside him make sure he drink out from the bowl.. can someone please advise?  

 

[beayuu]

I just realized that my post are rather vague so i apologize for it. perhaps it's best if i were to retype the situation and explain to you guys what has exactly happened?  

Situation : 
My kitty is about 4-5( or perhaps even 6) weeks old today and i have picked him up when he was about 3-4 weeks old. When i first brought him into the house he was still bottle fed so that was okay. I was told from the vet that after a week later i could start introducing to him on wet/dried food. So i did, but he walked past the food like it didnt existed to i switched back to bottle. So now after a week or 2, he starts jumping and running climbing . everything a kitty will do when he is excited. But he still doesnt drink anything unless it is out from the bottle. His teeth grew out and he did bit on the sucker which tore a hole on it but he still doesn't drink out from other bowls. 

The size of the bowl is like hamster sized bowl right now, i tried putting in the dry food in the bowl and place it in his cage but he still refuse to eat it. i tried pouring it out and place milk in it . he stepped into the bowl and walk pass it. 

he cries like crazy when he is starving even though the dry food is in the bowl in front of him but he still refuse to eat. 

the problem also lies on i dont have much time to make sure he drinks out of the bowl everytime when he is stepping on the liquid everytime. so commonly i often bottle feed him so save time.

i'm not sure what to do now because i am pretty sure that he should be weaned at this age. 

is there something or someone i could provide me with tips and advise so i could make him wean?

 

[catpack]

If he were with momma he would still be nursing. Kittens progress at different rates. Yes, physiologically, he can eat; he may just be a late bloomer. He will get it soon. Just keep offering food to him. Use baby food and different canned foods...you may also have a picky eater on your hands.

Has the kitten been to the vet for a basic exam?

Another suggestion is to get some FortiFlora (a probiotic for animals) and sprinkle a bit of that on the food; it helps entice many cats/kittens to eat.

 

[beayuu]

@CatPack

I understand i think i will head out tomorrow to purchase some baby food If he starts eating on it when do i place in the wet food in as a mixture?

i was told that it would be easy to trick to kitty by placing the bottle tip in the bowl so he will learn to take the food from it is it true ? and also if he starts eating do i have to do the same thing with fresh water?

im sorry i have alot of questions because i didnt know i was going to bump into a cat and i never had a cat/dog before 

 

[momto3cats]

He is still a baby and is not old enough to be weaned. He should be just starting to learn how to eat solid food, while still drinking plenty of milk from the bottle. Don't try to force him to eat, just keep offering kitten food and he will eventually figure it out. Meanwhile you should still feed him from the bottle, even after he starts to eat a bit, because at first he won't be eating enough solid food to sustain him. Kittens are not completely weaned off Mom's milk or the bottle until at least 8 weeks of age.

 

[beayuu]

Thank you guys for the comments I'm glad to say that my kitten has started eating wet food  

i guess milk wasn't enough for him as he keeps whining when i bottle fed him however when i provided wet food he just chow them up ~

 

[jennyr]

That is good news! They all figure it out eventually. But as said by others, so keep up the bottle for a while - you cannot get too much food into a kitten at this age. Let him have all he wants, both liquid and solid. You are doing very well by him, keep it up!

 

[beayuu]

Alrighty ~

i would! but he doesn't seem to like the milk any longer XD 

thank you guys for the help ! 

 

[jennyr]

Alrighty ~
i would! but he doesn't seem to like the milk any longer XD 

thank you guys for the help ! 

That is normal - many adult cats do not like milk and it is not a usual part of their diet. They go off it at different ages. Give him plenty of water at all times - he does need liquid.

 

[panamapatti]

Hi, baby cat is a cutie.  The added information from you helps.  Just laugh off the marching through the bowl - its normal.  You mentioned cage in a post.  Part of his meowing may be because he has been alone during the day and not only hungry but glad to see you when you come home.  Cats are always portrayed as loners and not all of them are.  Many prefer company and do not like being isolationist.  Up until now you have been hand feeding him so all he knows is that dinner comes from you.  The good news is that when he marches through the water his feet are wet,  if he grooms his feet, he will be licking water.  Not exactly what we associate as drinking, but it is a start.

I just scraped a kitten up out of the street (hit by car) with a fractured hip - hence his name is Rhodie. The  Vet. said he was four to five weeks old (eyes still had not started to get their color).  Since the extreme price tag for surgery was out of the question,  I kept him restrained in a very small box for several days. I used a syringe for water and formula, and offered wet food, which he devoured.  He pooped where he was laying and I swathed  his backside with a warm wet wash cloth.  When he started hobbling around and trying using the litter box, he fell back into it so under the faucet he went to rinse his rear off.  If your kitten is marching through the food bowl,  don't sweat the small stuff.

After a couple of weeks I started to reduce the formula (stopped feeding at  around 8 weeks).   Dry food was offered at 6 weeks.  When I was not home he had dry to nibble on.  In the morning and early evening he got wet food (weekend pig outs were often observed).  He got a couple of cc's of water in the morning and in the evening to combat dehydration.  At three months wet food was reduced to once a day and at four months I stopped the wet food.

For years I fed IAMS, then I changed when I went to Vet. Tech. school and I started feeding Science Diet.  After years of feeding Science Diet (and a career change), I kept running into Veterinarians (one too many) that were not pleased with Science Diet.  Their reasoning - the product had changed and was not the quality food it once was.  There are exceptions in the prescription diets, but there are many alternative products as well.  I use a cats only clinic and the Vet. there prefers Royal Canin.  There are the general age defining levels of cat food in this line, Senior, Adult, Kitten,.............etc., but they have one other level that I have not found in any of the other brands.  That age level is actually called Baby Cat (not kitten) and is available in both wet and dry.  It is fed until 3 months and then you switch to the kitten.  It is the tiniest kibble I have ever seen!

Rhodie is finishing up the last of his Baby Cat bag (before he graduates to the kitten formula) and I can tell you it is coveted by the adult cats in my home.  I have to feed Rhodie in a separate room, away from the larger cats.  When I open the door any remaining crumbs are quickly eliminated by the waiting vulture cats sitting outside of the door. I free feed my adult cats so the bowl is never empty.  However, when it comes to the Baby Cat food, they act like they have not had anything to eat in days, so it must be very appealing to them.  The only draw back - its pricey - but one bag lasts a long time.

You said that your schedule is a busy one, so follow the feeding routine I used.  Wet in the morning and night, with a few force fed cc's of water from a syringe, and a bowl of dry and a fresh of water for the day. 

Well, you may have never expected to have a cat, but I am willing to bet that one of these days you will look down at him and think to yourself that he was worth all of the trouble and expense.  It will probably come when you have had a bad day and he offers you his soothing purr or when you slip between some icy sheets this winter and find that toasty warm spot for your toes.

Love seeing the pictures

Enjoy