Worried About Feeding 6 Week Old Kitten?

[Furballsmom]

It looks to me that you're doing pretty darn well, and I think I'd keep on with what you've been doing.
I also found this from another cat veterinarian in answer to a similar weight question;
By 5 weeks, they should be just over 1 lb (which is 454 grams). I would expect them all to be between 450 and 500 grams at this age. Kittens gain about 1 lb per month. So, at 1 month they usually weigh 1lb, at 2 months, 2 lbs and so on.

 

[Furballsmom]

what is the average weight for a 5 week old kitten i have…
This has a lot of info, and other links embedded as well.

 

[billtabas]

what is the average weight for a 5 week old kitten i have…
This has a lot of info, and other links embedded as well.

Okay thanks!

 

[Sarthur2]

Your kitten weighs 20 ounces at 6 weeks old. This is okay for the runt of 9 kittens. Ideally she should weigh about 24 ounces, but she also may be a small-boned cat.

As she begins to eat more, she will gain weight faster.

She is just barely reaching weaning age. My cat’s kittens weaned between 6-8 weeks, and not all at the same time. Most kittens continue nursing mom too, so continue to offer kitten formula as long as she wants it.

I do not think you should return the kitten. She has a much better chance with you. I think you should take a deep breath and try to relax. The kitten will grow quickly and you will wonder why you even considered returning her!

 

[Willowy]

Her weight sounds good. Does the previous owner have her mother? Is it safe for her at their house? If so, it just might be a good idea to let her go back to her mother for another month or so. Kittens learn a lot from their moms between 6-10 weeks, we now know that kittens should really stay with their cat families for 10-12 weeks, not 6-8 as previously thought. She'll be a lot better behaved if her mama teaches her manners too . So if you can do without her for a few weeks, and it's safe enough for her, it would be good to send her back for now.

If your co-worker doesn't have her mother, then there's no point sending her back, I think she'll adjust .

 

[billtabas]

Pictures and video below:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ouZhCCmBvkjRZ7FD3

In the video with the spoon, she is eating the raw food. Raw food consists of Dr. Pierson's chicken recipe, with chicken skin included.


So just curious, how many oz of food should a kitten at 6 weeks be eating? She's probably eaten at least 1oz and as much as 1.5 oz of my raw food since 8:00 pm till 12:00. Which isn't that bad since my cats struggle to knock out a 6oz container in a day and she is kind of on track to do so? I guess at this point I'm also worried that it's being 30 hours since she's gotten home, she's peed 4 times, and still hasn't passed stool. Also just looking at how she struggles to walk I do wonder if she is even 6 weeks?

Also if she does eat enough raw food to get along for the next few weeks will she be fine on that? I'll keep on trying to get her on wet kitten food, but not sure any luck I'll have.

 

[Sarthur2]

Stop worrying so much!

She can eat as much as she wants because she’s growing, and she will eventually pass stool.

You have not had her very long. You are worrying too much.

 

[rubysmama]

How are things with the kitten today? I watched your video of her eating, and she certainly looked like she was enjoying it. I wonder if you started mixing a tiny bit of wet cat food in with the raw mixture if that would help her in the transition to wet food.

Are you planning on adding her to your kitty family? If so, there's not much point returning her to your co-worker, as you can feed the kitten just as well as they could.

 

[billtabas]

How are things with the kitten today? I watched your video of her eating, and she certainly looked like she was enjoying it. I wonder if you started mixing a tiny bit of wet cat food in with the raw mixture if that would help her in the transition to wet food.

Are you planning on adding her to your kitty family? If so, there's not much point returning her to your co-worker, as you can feed the kitten just as well as they could.

Hello,

I fed her again at 7:00 AM EST. She ate two small spoonful, although since 8pm yesterday she's eaten 3 oz of raw food. Which I estimate to be around 100 calories since my current 8 month kitten can barely eat 7 oz a day.

Going to try and mix some wet food into the raw mixture, anything you suggest I try out? Tried nature's variety and hill science diet, and neither worked that well. Will feed her again at 12:00 AM.

Although I just cleaned her litterbox and still no stool which is concerning.

 

[billtabas]

Stop worrying so much!

She can eat as much as she wants because she’s growing, and she will eventually pass stool.

You have not had her very long. You are worrying too much.

When should I be worried that she still hasn't passed stool? It's being close to 44 hours now.

 

[billtabas]

Should I try and stimulate her to poop? I figure at 6 weeks approximately she should be able to do it herself... And if so, when is the best time to try?

 

[bklyn]

Constipation is normal with diet/environment changes, I still would not be worried. I would offer pure canned pumpkin, it works for both controlling diarrhea and relieving constipation. I've found a lot of cats won't eat hill's science diet, so I'm not surprised there. I think the quality is good, but I guess not the taste. Royal canin has a very palatable kitten food called Babycat. There's also Fancy Feast turkey kitten food for a more cost effective option that kittens love. I also use Authority's brand kitten food as well as Merrick from time to time, all with success. So there's plenty of options, I would buy a few cans to see what she likes. I saw the video/pictures by the way, she looks adorable and nice and plump! 6 weeks looks about right from the pictures.

 

[Willowy]

She might be pooping somewhere else. At that age it isn't very smelly and it's quite small, so you don't know about it until you find her hidden potty place. . .

 

[maggiedemi]

Yeah, she looks about 6 weeks old. That's about the size Demi was when I found him. He ate Fancy Feast Pate (Classic) back then. And Kitten Chow.

 

[billtabas]

Constipation is normal with diet/environment changes, I still would not be worried. I would offer pure canned pumpkin, it works for both controlling diarrhea and relieving constipation. I've found a lot of cats won't eat hill's science diet, so I'm not surprised there. I think the quality is good, but I guess not the taste. Royal canin has a very palatable kitten food called Babycat. There's also Fancy Feast turkey kitten food for a more cost effective option that kittens love. I also use Authority's brand kitten food as well as Merrick from time to time, all with success. So there's plenty of options, I would buy a few cans to see what she likes. I saw the video/pictures by the way, she looks adorable and nice and plump! 6 weeks looks about right from the pictures.

Okay will try the pure canned pumpkin, can you find them in petco, or just stores. And if so, any specific brands you recommend?

 

[billtabas]

She might be pooping somewhere else. At that age it isn't very smelly and it's quite small, so you don't know about it until you find her hidden potty place. . .

So when do you think it'll be concerning if I don't find any poop?

 

[Furballsmom]

Aww, I just saw the pictures and video, what a total sweetie!!

 

[Furballsmom]

Any grocery store, Libby's pure pumpkin will do it. There are canned pumpkin puree with seasoning, just look at the ingredients to be sure, maybe organic pure pumpkin if available.

 

[bklyn]

Pure canned pumpkin comes from the supermarket. Just make sure its not pie filling or anything like that, the only ingredient should be pumpkin, a lot of times it's kept in the baking isle. I saw recently that Authority (a cat/dog food brand sold at Petsmart) sells a pumpkin food for digestion aid as well, but from what I can see it's also literally just one ingredient, pumpkin.

Honestly, I would wait until day four to bring her to the vet for an enema. 48 hours still is not yet concerning given her serious environmental/dietary changes. If you go with pumpkin, it should do the trick. It's commonly suggested by veterinarians as a first step in the case of mild constipation.

A large cause of constipation is not drinking enough water. Make sure she is either drinking formula/water. I've found that cat water fountains work wonders in getting stubborn cats to drink.

 

[Sarthur2]

Just add a few drops of olive oil to her food each time you feed her. This will soften her poop.

You can also shave a kitten sized sliver from a glycerin suppository and insert it. This will usually bring on a poop after a few minutes.

Dietary changes do frequently result in constipation initially in kittens.