Our kitten is 4 weeks old this past Wednesday. We made a small litterbox for him. Our other cat/kitten (born March 3rd) used it immediately when we weren't looking, but I believe the kitten saw this because he has used it 3 times now. But he hasn't used it often, and I don't think he's used it once in the past 5 days or so. Should we try putting him in the litterbox and scratching his paw through it? Let our other cat use the box in front of him again? Put his solid waste into the box to help him get the idea?
Also what age do kittens start going on their own without needing to be stimulated. He pees on his own but it seems he still doesn't poop unless he's stimulated.
As far as feeding him soft food, his teeth have been coming in and could be used now, but he still seems uninterested in the food we've left out for him. Our other cat drank some of the water while he was watching so he has had some of it, but usually he just gets it up his nose and then avoids it.
The woman at the local pet store where we buy his formula said it's a good idea to force some of the soft food into the kitten's mouth when you want to start getting them off the bottle. I've never heard of this before, and always thought it was best to leave the food out and eventually the kitten will try it on their own when they get hungry. Should I just wait for him to try this food on his own? I don't like the idea of him being upset by my forcing food into his mouth. That definitely doesn't seem like something that would help the bond between the kitten and myself.
Also what age do kittens start going on their own without needing to be stimulated. He pees on his own but it seems he still doesn't poop unless he's stimulated.
As far as feeding him soft food, his teeth have been coming in and could be used now, but he still seems uninterested in the food we've left out for him. Our other cat drank some of the water while he was watching so he has had some of it, but usually he just gets it up his nose and then avoids it.
The woman at the local pet store where we buy his formula said it's a good idea to force some of the soft food into the kitten's mouth when you want to start getting them off the bottle. I've never heard of this before, and always thought it was best to leave the food out and eventually the kitten will try it on their own when they get hungry. Should I just wait for him to try this food on his own? I don't like the idea of him being upset by my forcing food into his mouth. That definitely doesn't seem like something that would help the bond between the kitten and myself.