One month old kittens....I am so embarassed

[diane8704]

Hi everyone!!! I need some advice from those a little more experienced in kittens than me. I am not sure if this should go here, so feel free to move it if it doesnt.
On feb 19th, Little Miss had 3 kittens. As of Saturday, Mar 19th. they are 1 month old. Well, I noticed that one was trying to eat the adult cat food that I had in there for Little Miss. So, I changed it to the kitten chow for smaller pieces. I dont know...should they be eating hard food now??? Is it too soon?? I feed Little Miss 1 teaspoon of Friskies pouch food 3 times a day, and she has the hard food all of the time. And with her being confined to her own little room for the time being...I cant not have food in there for her. I noticed last night, that she would kinda break it up and give it to him to eat, and he would. So far, hes the only interested in the cat food. The other 2 want to eat the litter thats in the little litter box. Also, when is a good time to start trying to teach them to use the litter box?? How do I wean them from Little Miss??? Please, give me any information you can!!!

 

[hissy]

This is fine, he is following right on schedule. For their first meals and to get them off mom, you need to give them a type of gruel of water and canned food with some hard kibble that has been soaked and is softer inside. I find they eat it better out of jar lids then out of bowls or plates, because they plow into it and get it all over themselves, so the jar lids keep that from happening and also insure you don't overfeed them.

 

[diane8704]

Originally Posted by hissy

This is fine, he is following right on schedule. For their first meals and to get them off mom, you need to give them a type of gruel of water and canned food with some hard kibble that has been soaked and is softer inside. I find they eat it better out of jar lids then out of bowls or plates, because they plow into it and get it all over themselves, so the jar lids keep that from happening and also insure you don't overfeed them.

Whew!! Thank goodness!! I was a little worried that I had a mini pig on my hands!!

I have it in a tiny little tupperware container lid. But the jar lids could definitely work better. Thanks for getting back to me so quickly, I really do appreciate it. You got back to me quicker than my vet!!
Thanks again!

 

[cjandbilly]

My kittens normally eat around that time, too, but, I feed them "mushy" canned food.

 

[bengalbabe]

My kittens are interested in eating the cat litter too but still wont eat any solid food at 4 weeks old.
I mean they munch on that litter like it's going out of style.

 

[vegansoprano]

Kittens start nibbling solid food right around their 1 month birthday, so your kittens are right on schedule.

Everyone should be fed high quality kitten food - the kittens need it for growth and mother cats need the extra nutrition provided by kitten food while they are pregnant and nursing their kittens.

 

[momof6mews]

what brand of kitten food do you recommend? My kittens are going to be at the 4 week point soon..(ok not really..but time flies)

 

[gayef]

Originally Posted by momof6Mews

what brand of kitten food do you recommend? My kittens are going to be at the 4 week point soon..(ok not really..but time flies)

I like Nutro Natural Choice Kitten in the pouches myself ... but a lot of kittens prefer a pate-style, so the Nutro Natural Choice Canned Kitten is good there. But, everyone has different likes - mine just happen to include Nutro. I've had a lot of success with my kittens eating it readily, tolerating it well and it is easily obtained at my local Petsmart.

I also like Nutro Dry Kitten too, either the Natural Choice or the MaxCat bag is good.

 

[diane8704]

Originally Posted by momof6Mews

what brand of kitten food do you recommend? My kittens are going to be at the 4 week point soon..(ok not really..but time flies)

Since my kittens just started trying to eat the dry food, I had purchased purina kitten chow at petsmart over here. As for a wet kind...I havent checked into that yet. Little Miss has actually been chewing up the kitten chow, and then giving it to them...and they dont want it as often as they want her milk. But I put her on kitten chow when I found out she was pregnant, and she has been on it ever since. Recently though, she has been sneaking in the kitchen and eating the regular dry food as well.
And you are right...time flies. I feel like it was just yesterday she had them.

 

[momof6mews]

I have seen a lot of people say that they had thier cat eat kitten food while pregnant. I didnt..I didnt even know. Why is this done, and should I switch her to kitty food now?

 

[valanhb]

Originally Posted by momof6Mews

I have seen a lot of people say that they had thier cat eat kitten food while pregnant. I didnt..I didnt even know. Why is this done, and should I switch her to kitty food now?

It's done to supplement the nutrients that she's using for the kittens, as kitten food contains a lot more umph

for growing little ones. It is a good idea to keep a nursing queen on kitten food because she loses a lot of the nutrients she intakes in feeding them, so it will supplement both her and their intake.

 

[vegansoprano]

If you look at the label on a container of kitten food, it will say "for grown and reproduction". It's designed to meet the higher calorie and protein requirements that kittens and pregnant/nursing cats have. If you have a nursing cat, she needs to be put on kitten food ASAP. Otherwise, she might not be able to eat enough calories to take care of everyone and she'll make enough milk for her kittens but might not get to "keep" enough nutrition for herself.

I second the recommendation for Nutro, either Max or Natural Choice. Purina Kitten Chow is a far inferior product (just compare the ingredients and you can see why).

 

[diane8704]

Originally Posted by vegansoprano

If you look at the label on a container of kitten food, it will say "for grown and reproduction". It's designed to meet the higher calorie and protein requirements that kittens and pregnant/nursing cats have. If you have a nursing cat, she needs to be put on kitten food ASAP. Otherwise, she might not be able to eat enough calories to take care of everyone and she'll make enough milk for her kittens but might not get to "keep" enough nutrition for herself.

I second the recommendation for Nutro, either Max or Natural Choice. Purina Kitten Chow is a far inferior product (just compare the ingredients and you can see why).

You know...I was looking at the store last night to see if there was a different kind of kitten chow, other then the purina, and I think the only other kind I saw was by Iams. Where can I find the Nutro or the max???

 

[ricalynn]

Petsmart carries Nutro brands, they make Nutro Max and Natural Choice

 

[vegansoprano]

You can find Nutro at PETsMART, Petco, or any other store that specializes in pet supplies. Grocery stores do not carry high quality cat food.