- Joined
- May 17, 2016
- Messages
- 109
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Hello, it's nice to meet all of you. My name is Ann and we have 3 cats. An almost 34 month old male Maine Coon, an 11 month old female Tabby kitten, and now we have a 5 week old female Tabby kitten. We got her off of Craigslist (how we got all our cats), on Sunday, May7th when she was only 4 weeks old. Her birthday is April 9th. We were not supposed to get her til June 4th, but the couple wanted to get rid of the whole litter of kittens ASAP. She called me out of the blue that Sunday and to paraphrase, she said if you don't come and get her now, I will find someone who will. I strongly felt the kittens should not be away from their mother at this young age, but the thought of my kitten, or really any of them remaining in a home where they were not wanted spooked me even more. What prompted the call out of the blue was that the kittens had gotten into a bag of treats meant for the mother cat, who this couple had adopted a few months ago, and who they didn't know was pregnant. They were very unhappy she was pregnant. And now, basically, the kittens were becoming mobile and driving the couple crazy. Within minutes of her call I was there picking up Misha. My profile pic is a picture taken of Misha the other day.
Okay, so for the first week I fed Misha around the clock, day and night, every 4 hours, a syringe of KMR and a saucer of 1/3 of a can of Fancy Feast kitten food. Misha walked a little wobbly when we first got her but now she can climb up our couch and our bed. She even got up our first step in our stairs today. (!) That was pretty exciting. She walks great now and runs and hops around in a happy free-spirited manner. She's as cute as can be. She will run halfway towards you and then quickly turn sideways and it's so hilarious. She loves to climb up your arm and nestle in your neck and nibble at your ear. Our 2 kids that are still in our home (aged 11 and 16) absolutely adore her. I have her sleep at night and take all her naps in a spare bedroom to get away from all the noise. She's had some exposure to our other cats. Our 11 month old is crazy about her and loved her almost from the first. Our 3 year old Maine Coon, Tails, has taken longer, but he's not had as much exposure as Comet, our 11 month old. He ran out of the room for the first week anytime he saw her, and then he hissed at her for a day or so, but just today they smelled noses and butts. So I can see a friendship on the horizon.
I keep the older cats in a another room when I bring Misha into the living room to play for a few hours, a few times a day. I want Misha to get to know our home and all the sights and smells, unencumbered from 2 curious cats wanting to watch her every move.
Okay for my question. Misha eats canned food voraciously. She's really gotten the hang of it. I also give her KMR, around 10-20ml after she eats, to make sure she gets enough liquid in her diet. She will NOT drink out of a saucer. Period. I'm afraid she wont ever learn, as silly as it sounds. I mean, she eats well, she's used the litter box (her own litter box) perfectly, and she is getting bigger and stronger each day. Oh, i should say I took her to the vet the day after we got her and they gave her a perfect bill of health. No fleas, mites, parasites or worms, and she wasn't dehydrated. I told our vet that I was concerned that Misha wasn't drinking out of a saucer yet, but the vet said she would soon. She said just feed her in a separate room (I do) and leave a saucer of fresh water in it and she will eventually start lapping liquids. Well, she hasn't. Don't get me wrong, I love feeding her with a syringe. Its a precious experience for me and I treasure these quiet moments with her. My concern is her getting enough liquids and learning to drink on her own. I've never had a kitten before 7 weeks, so I'm new to taking care of such a young kitten. I give all my cats fresh water with ice every day. Plus my older 2 drink out of the faucet anytime they want. If any of us walk into the room with the cat on the counter we turn on the faucet for them. Plainly put, our cats are beloved members of the family.
Am I doing something wrong? How can Misha eat canned food out of a small saucer, but she won't drink water? I've even put the water on the exact same type of saucer next to her saucer of food. It wasn't easy, lol, since it's not a bowl, but I did it. She ignored the water.
Should I just not have an expectation of her lapping til 7-8 weeks? Because if that's the case, I'll just chill for the next 3 weeks. Thanks in advance, and again, it's nice to meet all of you.
Ann
Okay, so for the first week I fed Misha around the clock, day and night, every 4 hours, a syringe of KMR and a saucer of 1/3 of a can of Fancy Feast kitten food. Misha walked a little wobbly when we first got her but now she can climb up our couch and our bed. She even got up our first step in our stairs today. (!) That was pretty exciting. She walks great now and runs and hops around in a happy free-spirited manner. She's as cute as can be. She will run halfway towards you and then quickly turn sideways and it's so hilarious. She loves to climb up your arm and nestle in your neck and nibble at your ear. Our 2 kids that are still in our home (aged 11 and 16) absolutely adore her. I have her sleep at night and take all her naps in a spare bedroom to get away from all the noise. She's had some exposure to our other cats. Our 11 month old is crazy about her and loved her almost from the first. Our 3 year old Maine Coon, Tails, has taken longer, but he's not had as much exposure as Comet, our 11 month old. He ran out of the room for the first week anytime he saw her, and then he hissed at her for a day or so, but just today they smelled noses and butts. So I can see a friendship on the horizon.
I keep the older cats in a another room when I bring Misha into the living room to play for a few hours, a few times a day. I want Misha to get to know our home and all the sights and smells, unencumbered from 2 curious cats wanting to watch her every move.
Okay for my question. Misha eats canned food voraciously. She's really gotten the hang of it. I also give her KMR, around 10-20ml after she eats, to make sure she gets enough liquid in her diet. She will NOT drink out of a saucer. Period. I'm afraid she wont ever learn, as silly as it sounds. I mean, she eats well, she's used the litter box (her own litter box) perfectly, and she is getting bigger and stronger each day. Oh, i should say I took her to the vet the day after we got her and they gave her a perfect bill of health. No fleas, mites, parasites or worms, and she wasn't dehydrated. I told our vet that I was concerned that Misha wasn't drinking out of a saucer yet, but the vet said she would soon. She said just feed her in a separate room (I do) and leave a saucer of fresh water in it and she will eventually start lapping liquids. Well, she hasn't. Don't get me wrong, I love feeding her with a syringe. Its a precious experience for me and I treasure these quiet moments with her. My concern is her getting enough liquids and learning to drink on her own. I've never had a kitten before 7 weeks, so I'm new to taking care of such a young kitten. I give all my cats fresh water with ice every day. Plus my older 2 drink out of the faucet anytime they want. If any of us walk into the room with the cat on the counter we turn on the faucet for them. Plainly put, our cats are beloved members of the family.
Am I doing something wrong? How can Misha eat canned food out of a small saucer, but she won't drink water? I've even put the water on the exact same type of saucer next to her saucer of food. It wasn't easy, lol, since it's not a bowl, but I did it. She ignored the water.
Should I just not have an expectation of her lapping til 7-8 weeks? Because if that's the case, I'll just chill for the next 3 weeks. Thanks in advance, and again, it's nice to meet all of you.
Ann