Kitten Weaning Troubles

[SoulMallow]

Mallow has had a difficult time with her premature kittens, as shown by my past post. The last surviving kitten is about 3 weeks old and teething. Because of her new teeth, Mallow does not want to feed little Loki. I have tried everything I've seen suggested but she just isn't interested in anything. She will lick walls and chew on the edges of boxes, but she is losing weight and I'm desperate to keep her healthy.. I don't want to lose another baby..

 

[Sarthur2]

Supplement with kitten formula right away!

Powdered PetAg is excellent. Use a small syringe.

Syringe Feeding

Will the mom nurse the kitten if you sit with her?

 

[SoulMallow]

She will not eat from anything but mama, she spits it out. I can occasionally make her mother lie still, but she seems so eager to get away or tries to teach the underdeveloped kitten to play..

 

[Sarthur2]

Please watch the video.

What formula are you using?

It’s either force mom to lie down for nursing or supplement successfully. The kitten is too young to wean yet.

Losing weight is not good.

 

[SoulMallow]

She just squeaks and tries to climb away no matter what I do.. And it's kitten milk but i dunno the name, my mother bought it..

 

[Sarthur2]

Have you tried wrapping the kitten in a towel like in the video, with only the head sticking out?

It’s up to you to keep the kitten still so you can feed it. Once kittens realize the milk tastes good, they usually stop fighting being held to eat.

 

[SoulMallow]

By now, Loki is old enough to be eating on her own, but she is really picky. We had a scare where she tried eating her kitty litter. We have since tried little nibbles since she wouldn't touch the wet stuff, and she will only lick off the salt. She will take little bites from crackers and eat bits of chips. She drinks water just fine but seems uninterested in most foods, even crackers have to be held up to her mouth before she'll lick it.

 

[Sarthur2]

This is concerning!

Is she eating wet soft cat food?

If not, what is her diet?

 

[SoulMallow]

She will still eat from her mother, usually when her mothers taking a nap. She also nibbles the crackers and drinks water. I got her to swallow one fish from her little nibbles cat food, but she doesn't seem to understand. She chews on it a little then drops it..

 

[Scat Man]

This is just my two cents but she could be sensing something physically wrong with the kitten....And yeah 3 weeks old is way to young to wean yet. Are you warming the kitten formula before you try to feed it to the kitten? The last two stray kittens I had to feed they would refuse cold formula and spit it out.

 

[SoulMallow]

She is past 3 weeks old by now. She has all of her teeth in and is running around. She appears smaller than she should be, but other than that she is healthy for now. We just need her to start eating before her mother stops producing milk, but she is so picky... She will only try to eat chips and kitty litter... We even tried crushing up kitten food in her tiny litter box to trick her, and I guess she smelled the food so ran off..

 

[Scat Man]

Mother cat still alive around?

 

[SoulMallow]

yes

 

[Sarthur2]

What do you mean by chips and crackers?

The kitten needs dry kitten chow and soft, pate-style wet food. Chicken flavor is preferred over fish flavor.

She can lap kitten formula from a dish.

 

[SoulMallow]

I think she might just be a confused kitten, and I'm paranoid after all of her siblings passed away from being premature. She is trying to suck on the little bits of food instead of chewing them. I got her to eat little bits of tuna off my hand finally, and eventually, she tried the can.. It might also have something to do with her poor eyesight. She is either behind on development there, or her eyes are damaged by difficulties amongst her litter.