Weaning help

[wormthecat]

Hi there,
I'm looking for some advice on weaning my 5-6 week old kitten. I've been bottle feeding her since she was only a few days old. She knows how to eat wet food but would prefer not to. I've seen her down half a can of fancy feast when she was really hungry but most of the time she ignores the food and waits for me to give in and bottle feed her. I've tried putting milk replacer in the wet food, which actually makes her refuse it completely. She also has dry kitten kibble but just knocks it over. She's capable of eating kibble. I saw her sneaking bites out of my adult cat's bowl the other day, probably just because she wanted whatever he had. She has a water bowl and drinks out of it during the day. I just feel bad because she screams like she's starving and will go 12 hours without eating (I replace the food multiple times per day so it's fresh) in order to get bottle fed. Should I just wait until she gives in and eats? Or is there something I should be doing differently? I can continue bottle feeding but I'm worried she'll just prefer the bottle forever if given the choice. I would really appreciate any feedback. This is my first bottle fed kitten and she stresses me the heck out

 

[Norachan]

Frank, the tiny one in my avatar, was a bottle baby too. He didn't want to be weaned but he eventually stopped drinking from his bottle when he was about 8 weeks old. I don't think you should try to force her to wean, and you really shouldn't withhold the bottle from her if she's hungry but doesn't want the wet food. She'll get there when she is ready and it's only likely to take her another week or so. Then you're going to miss having a baby to feed.



Rather than mixing the KMR with the wet food, try adding a tiny bit of the water or juice from the wet food with her KMR. Just to get her used to the taste of it.

If it's any consolation Frank is now a huge two year old, 12lb tiger, in spite of being very reluctant to eat at first.

 

[Sarthur2]

I agree with Norachan that you should continue giving the bottle for awhile longer. Kittens never stay on the bottle forever, but 5/6 weeks is on the young side and most kittens that age may be starting to wean but are also still nursing mama. Let it go, give the bottle for now and be patient. It will be over soon enough!

 

[StefanZ]

I agree with both above.

Its well known bottle babies are often longer to wean. Nothing peculiar, kittens with momma wish to COMFORT nurse some on her for perhaps 10 weeks...

Dont worry, she sees your adult cats eating by their own, so she has someone to take example from....
You dont really need to do anything, just continue with the bottle - and she will learn anyway.

 

[wormthecat]

Frank, the tiny one in my avatar, was a bottle baby too. He didn't want to be weaned but he eventually stopped drinking from his bottle when he was about 8 weeks old. I don't think you should try to force her to wean, and you really shouldn't withhold the bottle from her if she's hungry but doesn't want the wet food. She'll get there when she is ready and it's only likely to take her another week or so. Then you're going to miss having a baby to feed.



Rather than mixing the KMR with the wet food, try adding a tiny bit of the water or juice from the wet food with her KMR. Just to get her used to the taste of it.

If it's any consolation Frank is now a huge two year old, 12lb tiger, in spite of being very reluctant to eat at first.

Hi, thank you so much for replying! I'm sorry for the delay in responding. I had a family emergency but have been taking the advice that you and the other commenters gave me. We're back to bottle feeding with some dry kitten food left out in case she wants a snack. I've heard crunching in the early morning hours so she's definitely starting to eat a bit. It was really reassuring to hear about your experience with Frank. Thank you for sharing. Frank is such a handsome stripey boy! I have a tabby who looks like Frank except he's shaped more like a pool noodle than a cat The coworker who gave me my kitten just does the bare minimum for her animals so she started giving me grief for "spoiling the cat too much." I'm grateful for the second opinion. Thank you again!

 

[wormthecat]

I agree with Norachan that you should continue giving the bottle for awhile longer. Kittens never stay on the bottle forever, but 5/6 weeks is on the young side and most kittens that age may be starting to wean but are also still nursing mama. Let it go, give the bottle for now and be patient. It will be over soon enough!

I appreciate your feedback! She's back on her original bottle feeding schedule with the addition of some kibble here and there. This seems to be working well. I had no idea that 5/6 weeks was on the young side. Both of the people with her siblings weaned theirs at least a week ago, maybe two so I thought I was doing something horribly wrong lol
Thank you again for taking the time to respond! I apologize for the late response.

 

[wormthecat]

I agree with both above.

Its well known bottle babies are often longer to wean. Nothing peculiar, kittens with momma wish to COMFORT nurse some on her for perhaps 10 weeks...

Dont worry, she sees your adult cats eating by their own, so she has someone to take example from....
You dont really need to do anything, just continue with the bottle - and she will learn anyway.

Oh wow, that's the opposite of what I was being told. You're totally right though and I should have done my own research earlier instead of just listening to what my friends were saying without questioning anything. Thank you for the corrected information! I'll just keep up her feeding schedule and stop trying to rush things since I don't have to. Honestly it's a relief to know she's expected to be where she's currently at developmentally. Thank you again for commenting

 

[di and bob]

Some human babies start eating solid food a lot sooner too. In my ferals they keep nursing the kittens for about 8-10 weekd and then they start slapping them away, quite a bit after the kittens start eating solid wet food. So I would bottle feed at least 8 weeks, maybe up to ten. Nature knows best!