Sunday my fiance and I are picking up two kittens who are between 6-8 weeks old. The person who had them initially said they have been completely weened off of milk. This person has the kittens and the mother in her garage 24/7, which breaks my heart. I want to make sure we give these kittens the best and healthiest life possible, so I need some suggestions on the best grain-free wet cat food that I should feed these kittens, how many times a day i should feed them, and how much of a 3 oz can should I give them at once. Im also all ears for any other advice considering I am completely new to this and have never owned an animal before. I am super excited to bring these babies home and to learn more and more about cats!!
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Best Food Brands For Kittens?
- Thread starter Tay_97
- Start Date
For starters they are entirely too young to leave their mother unless she is feral.
Also they need access to canned and dry kitten food at all times. It doesn't really matter what brand as long as it is kitten and of better quality. Grain free is a good start but usually the grains are just replaced with other sugary carbs which as far as cats are concerned are all the same.
If they are opposite sex be sure to spay and neuter them before 4ish months otherwise they will mate.
Start by confining them to a small area of your home with their food and toys and litterbox nearby so they don't forget where things are. Especially since they are so very young.
Kitten vaccines start around 8 weeks so get them established with a vet right away. First round of vaccines and deworming. They will continue to get additional vaccines at 12 and 16 weeks. Be sure to keep up on that so they build immunity. And have them FIV/FeLV tested at some point (for Feline Leukemia and Feline AIDS).
From there, feel free to ask questions as needed. We are always here to help.
Also they need access to canned and dry kitten food at all times. It doesn't really matter what brand as long as it is kitten and of better quality. Grain free is a good start but usually the grains are just replaced with other sugary carbs which as far as cats are concerned are all the same.
If they are opposite sex be sure to spay and neuter them before 4ish months otherwise they will mate.
Start by confining them to a small area of your home with their food and toys and litterbox nearby so they don't forget where things are. Especially since they are so very young.
Kitten vaccines start around 8 weeks so get them established with a vet right away. First round of vaccines and deworming. They will continue to get additional vaccines at 12 and 16 weeks. Be sure to keep up on that so they build immunity. And have them FIV/FeLV tested at some point (for Feline Leukemia and Feline AIDS).
From there, feel free to ask questions as needed. We are always here to help.
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- #3
I dont think the mother is necessarily feral, but no one is taking care of these cats other than feeding them. If we dont take the kittens sunday she said she is going to just let them go, and I dont want that to happen
Will the kittens be ok if we take them?We figured we could feed them blue buffalo kitten food, they are just so expensive I was wondering if there is a brand similar maybe that isnt as expensive, either way I will spend what I have to to keep them healthy, especially them being so young.
We are definitely going to get them fixed as soon as the vet says we are able to, im really nervous for that, are they in pain after they get fixed or is there anything i should expect while they heal?
We have a large space in our kitchen that we will keep two litter boxes, their food/water, and beds for a few weeks, we live in an apartment so im sure they will catch on quick where things are, we will have a gate to keep them in that area for awhile, of course we will be spending a lot of time with them in there.
Im going to look into local vets the day we get them, hopefully by wednesday we can get them in to see what exactly they need right then and their, and to hopefully find out exactly how old they are.
Thank you so much! I really do appreciate any anyone has to give, I hate rushing into this while barely knowing anything, so im trying to learn as much as possible in such a small amount of time lol.
Can you get tnr done on the mom cat? It's possible a rescue will take them
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- #5
What is tnr? I'll look into it and see if we can get the mom cat either to a good home or to a rescue shelter where I live we have a lot of good non-kill rescure shelters!
Trap neuter release. Better than letting her loose to make more babies. Getting them to a rescue would be even better
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- #7
Oh! I didnt know that was a thing. Well maybe I can talk the lady into giving me the mom cat, and then I can get her into a rescue shelter. I wish I could take the mom cat, but 2 kittens is already pushing it. We were initially only going to take one cat, but then we read that if you get kittens its best to get two at a time so they dont get lonely and so they have a playmate.
The leasing office either does not know or does not care that I have 3 cats. God luck! 2 is better than 1!
I would take both kittens and their mom. The kittens really need to stay with mom until they are about 12 weeks old. Mom can then be given to a rescue or shelter to be spayed and put up for adoption.
Kittens eat a ton of food so free feeding is best. Most people just leave a bowl of dry food out all day and provide canned food meals. Some kittens can eat as much as three or four 3 oz cans of food a day plus a good amount of dry food. It's better to buy a canned food that is available in a 5.5 oz or larger sized can. Feed a variety of kitten and "all life stages" food.
Kittens eat a ton of food so free feeding is best. Most people just leave a bowl of dry food out all day and provide canned food meals. Some kittens can eat as much as three or four 3 oz cans of food a day plus a good amount of dry food. It's better to buy a canned food that is available in a 5.5 oz or larger sized can. Feed a variety of kitten and "all life stages" food.
I fed my kitten Fancy Feast kitten food and he did splendidly. My favorite kitten-specific dry food (they are growing and eating machines at that age, so exclusively feeding wet can get very pricey very fast) is Nature's Variety Instinct Kitten.
Good luck with your new babies! I second the idea of taking momma cat too, if just to get her fixed and give to a (no-kill) shelter once the little ones turn 12 weeks.
Word of advice: Call around to different vet's offices and see if they offer kitten and puppy packages for their shots, fixing, deworming, etc. The vet we took Dexter to had us pay one upfront fee and it covered all shots, dewormings, etc. and gave us a discount on his neuter.
Good luck with your new babies! I second the idea of taking momma cat too, if just to get her fixed and give to a (no-kill) shelter once the little ones turn 12 weeks.
Word of advice: Call around to different vet's offices and see if they offer kitten and puppy packages for their shots, fixing, deworming, etc. The vet we took Dexter to had us pay one upfront fee and it covered all shots, dewormings, etc. and gave us a discount on his neuter.
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- #11
Oh boy well now im worried, I cant take the mom cat.. I have quit a small apartment and 2 cats are almost pushing it, the mom cat is also VERY mean and wont let anyone pick her up or come near her. The kittens are currently separated from the mother, kittens are inside until we take them and the mother is in the garage.
Mean because she is over protective? Can a rescue lend you traps?
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- #13
Im not sure, the mom cat didnt seem to care when the lady took her kittens from her, but you cant touch her with out her biting you. I dont know if the lady will let us do anything about it, she really doesnt care about these cats
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- #14
We have a vet emergency office thats open until 12am where I live, I asked them a few questions about the kittens because I was starting to get a little worried about taking them. The Vet said considering the kittens are already completely seperated from the mom and they are eating hard food they should be good for me to take. The kittens should be about 8 weeks old, although we are not 100% sure how old they are, they could be a bit older or younger. The vet said as long as they are completely weened from milk they are ok to take, and especially since we are taking 2.
It isn't so much about their ability to eat kitten food, it's more their socialization. Cats learn basically how to cat properly from their mother (ie, how to ply bite instead of bite for real, cat manners, etc.) The 12 week recommendation is to ensure all that happens.
Personal experience: when we got Dexter as a stray kitten between 8 and 12 weeks(ish), he bit very, very hard and scratched hard while playing with humans and cats alike. He never got taught "the rules" and has had to learn them as he goes along. Even now, several months later, he is still struggling to learn how to play properly.
Personal experience: when we got Dexter as a stray kitten between 8 and 12 weeks(ish), he bit very, very hard and scratched hard while playing with humans and cats alike. He never got taught "the rules" and has had to learn them as he goes along. Even now, several months later, he is still struggling to learn how to play properly.
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- #16
We got the kittens, they are 8 weeks old, the momma wouldnt let us catch her, but the lady we got the kittens from said that she would be willing to do a tnr. We believe they are both boys, we named them goose and gunther. They are so playful, are already litter trained, and are eating food like crazy! They dont bite at all, although they do have fleas and scratched us all up when trying to wash them. They are sooo sweet! We will be taking them to the vet tomorrow for flea removal and shots.
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- #17
As soon as they are the appropriate weight and age be sure to get them on a good flea topical (anything vet approved, I know beyer products are approved for 8 weeks up and over 2 lbs) as bathing won’t treat the core problem or prevent more fleas. Fleas on kittens can lead to very anemic, sick, kittens. They also probably have worms. Get a dewormer as soon as they are of appropriate age and weight as well. Beyers tapewormer is good for any cat over 6 weeks.
they are adorable, you will be a great cat mom or dad lol.
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- #20
I was able to pick out about 5 big fleas between the both of them, my Fiance found a good vet so tomorrow we will make the appt, hoping they have something same day. I dont think they have a lot of fleas, we hardcore searched them while they were napping.
