Cat gave birth to underweight kittens

[catsknowme]

Does mama kitty allow you to put the kittens in their own area separate from her? After a couple of hours of playing, they should build up an appetite and if the milk bar isn't available, the gruel might be more appealing as "hunger is the best seasoning". My daughter's Siamese X kittens (now almost 7 years old) didn't begin to wear until about 8 weeks.

 

[Sarthur2]

The bottom line is that “almost 6 weeks old” is just too young for many kittens with a mama. Kittens wean best at their own pace when they’re ready, and this is often more like 7-8 weeks — sometimes even a bit later.

Be patient and maybe back off for a week or so. And of course mama loves that pureed kitten food! I always gave mama her own plate of whatever the kittens ate so she felt included and didn’t push into the kittens’ food — and mama still got her own food, of course.

 

[Zara12345]

Does mama kitty allow you to put the kittens in their own area separate from her? After a couple of hours of playing, they should build up an appetite and if the milk bar isn't available, the gruel might be more appealing as "hunger is the best seasoning". My daughter's Siamese X kittens (now almost 7 years old) didn't begin to wear until about 8 weeks.

Oh wow I never thought of that... Will give it a try. She does allow it, especially now that they are growing so I might be able to keep her away for a couple of hours. This is a great idea! thank you

 

[Zara12345]

The bottom line is that “almost 6 weeks old” is just too young for many kittens with a mama. Kittens wean best at their own pace when they’re ready, and this is often more like 7-8 weeks — sometimes even a bit later.

Be patient and maybe back off for a week or so. And of course mama loves that pureed kitten food! I always gave mama her own plate of whatever the kittens ate so she felt included and didn’t push into the kittens’ food — and mama still got her own food, of course.

This makes so much sense! And yes, kittens do have continuous access to the milk bar so it might be why the milk is always their first and only option. Will try and and give them a bit of time off to see how it goes from there; I really don't want them start associating food to something negative.