Very Frantic Feeder! I've Tried Everything...

Sarthur2

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I’m sure he feels better now after pooping. What a cute little guy! Keep using the oil. :)
 
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PeeWee111

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Hi, everybody... it's been a really busy week. Little Stinkpot didn't poop again until yesterday afternoon, so I was sweating bullets until then. I've been using the olive oil, but it seems that she - and yes, SHE, as pronounced at my vet's office on Wednesday (!) - is on her own schedule, and that's that.

She's eating much more canned food, and is nursing less, so the weaning process has officially begun. Question: She definitely has a full set of teeth now, so can I give her kitten kibbles? I got three bags of Hill's kitten food samples from the vet, but they're so hard, I'm afraid she might not be able to chew them thoroughly enough to swallow, and the last thing I want is for her to choke on something (yes, very nervous Kitty Mommy here!).

Another question: How do I get her to drink water? She really doesn't know what to do with the water in her little dish. I tried giving her water in the bottle today, and the Little Princess was definitely NOT pleased with it. :lol:
 

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There is no harm in trying hard kitten food. Especially when you have a mom and kittens sometimes the kittens will actually show more interest in the hard food at first then the wet food because the mom eats the hard food. It's really scary overnight to because you want to sleep and won't watch the kittens because the mom has it so you Just never know what could happen with them eating the hard food. Just don't force her though. If she wants some just carefully watch her if she does want to eat it. Make sure to pick it up if you could to do something in another room. What you can always start doing with the hard food to get her used to the taste is soak it in a container and when it isn't hard, mix it into her wet food. With my family's current bottle baby's (about 10-11 weeks old now) in order to get one of ours to even attempt to eat the hard food we would have to mix it into the wet once soaked. Although he still doesn't really eat it as much as we would like him to.. Some are just a pain like that though.

For water, keep a bowl in her cage or wherever you keep her and fill it up just a little. You don't want it too deep as she could accidentally fall in and possibly drown. My family has never had that happen, but I heard stories from the shelter. If she doesn't touch it too much right now it's fine it can be a pain later though. She should be getting plenty of water from her wet food and the formula she is on. A good way to help encourage her is instead of bottle feeding try making her lap it from a plate/bowl with very little edges. If you are concerned still feel free to mix a little bot of water in with the wet food. Although some kittens don't like it to much so just watch.

(Sorry for any typing mistakes. My phone is a pain)
 
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PeeWee111

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Good Friday Morning!

Little 'Tinky is doing well on canned food, and now she's started eating the kitten kibble that's been softened and mixed with a bit of canned food. Regular BM's once a day now, too. She still demands her "ba-ba" 3-4 times a day, but has been drinking exactly - and I mean exactly - 2 tablespoons at each feeding. Gaining weight and growing like a weed!

My only concern at this point is that she has a little soft bulge on her belly - could this be an umbilical hernia? It doesn't seem to bother her, but I'll bring it to the vet's attention on her next visit.
 

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Just adding my *PRAYERS* and best wishes for her good health to everyone else's -- sounds like she's doing really well and I hope everything resolves as far as the lump is concerned!
Lil' BUB is a miracle worker :hearthrob: So glad she has her by her side! ;)
Experts recommend unspiced tinned pumpkin mixed into wet food for either diarrhea OR constipation for adult cats. Not sure if it is indicated for such young kittens but you might want to ask her vet if you have any more problems in that area.
 
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PeeWee111

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I'm baaaaack!

Tinky is now a very robust 8 weeks old. I had quite a scare with her umbilical hernia a couple of weeks ago - for some reason, she regurgitated her morning canned food, and her hernia popped out quite alarmingly as a result. She spent the day at the vet, where they gave her some pain meds and reduced the hernia. No other problems with it since (and I stopped giving her the food that made her sick). I'm trying to discourage leaping and jumping, but it's about impossible with this kitten. She is extremely active (the most active kitten I've ever had, and I've had a bunch of 'em), and she flies through the house like a blue streak.

So, now onto today's dilemma: I introduced her to our Baboo (age 15) very gradually, starting when Tinky was about 4 weeks old. They got along fine, and I was proud that Baboo was so nice to his Baby Sister. But now Tinky's out and about a lot more often, and she won't leave Baboo alone - she follows him constantly, bats at and bites his tail, leaps on him, or repeatedly bops him on the head to get his attention.

Well, Baboo doesn't think she's that cute any more - he can't even eat and drink in peace, let alone sleep - and he is getting increasingly irritated with her. I've read a number of articles and threads that address introductions, and I've tried to get Baboo to go in our room as a "safe space" when things get too hectic, but he yowls at the door and doesn't want to stay in there. Tinky has her own playpen for isolation, but she's gotten big enough to leap up and clamber over the top edge (which also gives me gray hairs due to the hernia). I reconfigured the playpen to accommodate a "ceiling," and at times this frustrates her to the point of frenzy when she doesn't feel like being confined. The only time she'll quiet down immediately is at bedtime, when the house is dark.

I've tried gently separating them and distracting Tinky. No go. I've also tried letting them duke it out, but Tinky is still much smaller than Baboo (he weighs about 15 lbs.) and I'm afraid he'll hurt her, so I may be stepping in before I should - but when Baboo starts to hiss and growl, that spells trouble to me.

Any suggestions? I'm getting positively twitchy here.
 

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I'm baaaaack!

Tinky is now a very robust 8 weeks old. I had quite a scare with her umbilical hernia a couple of weeks ago - for some reason, she regurgitated her morning canned food, and her hernia popped out quite alarmingly as a result. She spent the day at the vet, where they gave her some pain meds and reduced the hernia. No other problems with it since (and I stopped giving her the food that made her sick). I'm trying to discourage leaping and jumping, but it's about impossible with this kitten. She is extremely active (the most active kitten I've ever had, and I've had a bunch of 'em), and she flies through the house like a blue streak.

So, now onto today's dilemma: I introduced her to our Baboo (age 15) very gradually, starting when Tinky was about 4 weeks old. They got along fine, and I was proud that Baboo was so nice to his Baby Sister. But now Tinky's out and about a lot more often, and she won't leave Baboo alone - she follows him constantly, bats at and bites his tail, leaps on him, or repeatedly bops him on the head to get his attention.

Well, Baboo doesn't think she's that cute any more - he can't even eat and drink in peace, let alone sleep - and he is getting increasingly irritated with her. I've read a number of articles and threads that address introductions, and I've tried to get Baboo to go in our room as a "safe space" when things get too hectic, but he yowls at the door and doesn't want to stay in there. Tinky has her own playpen for isolation, but she's gotten big enough to leap up and clamber over the top edge (which also gives me gray hairs due to the hernia). I reconfigured the playpen to accommodate a "ceiling," and at times this frustrates her to the point of frenzy when she doesn't feel like being confined. The only time she'll quiet down immediately is at bedtime, when the house is dark.

I've tried gently separating them and distracting Tinky. No go. I've also tried letting them duke it out, but Tinky is still much smaller than Baboo (he weighs about 15 lbs.) and I'm afraid he'll hurt her, so I may be stepping in before I should - but when Baboo starts to hiss and growl, that spells trouble to me.

Any suggestions? I'm getting positively twitchy here.
This is a difficult and unusual case IMHO. I would strongly suggest a consult with a cat behaviorist (Jackson Galaxy, Pam Johnson-Bennett are two). I would be more concerned about her hurting him than the opposite. She is being quite aggressive toward him! and he just wants safe haven.
 
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PeeWee111

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Just now read about orphaned kittens and aggression due to lack of feline family structure. Hmmm... I don't know if there's a solution for that, but in the meantime, I'm playing with her more when she gets up from her nap so that she associates playing with me rather than Baboo (or his tail, which is a constant source of fascination for her). She's a little calmer this afternoon as a result, so I'll see how it goes.

Cat behaviorists are few and far between in my neck of the woods. In the meantime, I'll look into the two that you suggested and see what they have to say.
 

Sarthur2

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Since she can’t hurt your older cat because he is so much bigger, let him hiss and growl. She should get the message eventually.

When will your vet perform the kitten’s spay and fix the hernia?
 
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PeeWee111

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Sarthur2, funny you should say that. I pretty much left them to their own devices this afternoon, and now she's worshipping him from afar. In fact, she's asleep in the recliner next to the double-decker table where he's sleeping. That's a first!

I haven't talked to the vet about the spay/hernia repair timetable yet, but I assume it'll be when she reaches 5-6 months. My original vet retired, and I haven't had that much experience with the doctor who took over the practice, so I'm not sure what his age preference is.
 

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Sarthur2, funny you should say that. I pretty much left them to their own devices this afternoon, and now she's worshipping him from afar. In fact, she's asleep in the recliner next to the double-decker table where he's sleeping. That's a first!

I haven't talked to the vet about the spay/hernia repair timetable yet, but I assume it'll be when she reaches 5-6 months. My original vet retired, and I haven't had that much experience with the doctor who took over the practice, so I'm not sure what his age preference is.
Many vets now say to spay/neuter once a kitten is over 2 pounds, which is usually about 2 months old. Others say to definitely spay/neuter by 4 months, and some by 5. I would definitely look into doing it at 4 months, if not before. Hopefully your cats are indoor-only?
So it sounds as if things are improving on their own! Kittens usually calm down as they mature, and she is a very young kitten yet, so it's natural for her to be high-energy, as long as she doesn't hurt him or seriously stress him.
The Cat Daddy, Jackson Galaxy, has hosted his series on Animal Planet, "MY CAT FROM HELL" for quite a few years now, so if you get streaming content, you can see what Animal Planet has available now. He also has several books out and a lot of videos on YouTube, so you might want to look at some of those and see if there's anything specifically to do with your particular concern. But it sounds as if things are going pretty well today! :yess::goodluck::clap:
 
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PeeWee111

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Yes, we are an indoor-only cat family! Too many hazards out there for kitties.

I'll be taking her in for another deworming and first shots next week, so I'll ask about the surgeries then.

I believe part of this is my fault for over-protecting her. The hernia incident really freaked me out, and I don't think I was letting her run free as much as I should have, but I'm fixing that now. I'm hoping that extended time out and about the house will help - once the novelty wears off, she should establish her routine, the temptations should diminish, and hopefully she and Baboo will at least come to an armed truce.

And I finished kitten-proofing the house today, so that should help with my frazzled nerves.:runaround:
 

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Yes, we are an indoor-only cat family! Too many hazards out there for kitties.

I'll be taking her in for another deworming and first shots next week, so I'll ask about the surgeries then.

I believe part of this is my fault for over-protecting her. The hernia incident really freaked me out, and I don't think I was letting her run free as much as I should have, but I'm fixing that now. I'm hoping that extended time out and about the house will help - once the novelty wears off, she should establish her routine, the temptations should diminish, and hopefully she and Baboo will at least come to an armed truce.

And I finished kitten-proofing the house today, so that should help with my frazzled nerves.:runaround:
Sounds like everything is going well! Kittens do love play, and play will help wear her out and calm her down. Kittens and cats need to stalk and catch "prey" every day -- it's how they're wired. They love wand-and-lure toys like da Bird or Cat Dancer. You can get these at most places that sell cat supplies, and online.
 

Sarthur2

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You should get the spay/hernia repair as soon as you can, especially since it popped out already. Most vets will spay at 2 pounds. Definitely look into it!

Good to hear things are calmer now!
 
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