Weening kittens

[stephanier.1765]

Our kittens are 5 weeks old today. Yesterday I gave them a bit of canned kitten food but they only tried to bury it. Mom, on the other hand, loved it. 😆

So should we wait another few days or a week to try again or is there a special way to present to them to make it more palatable? I'm not trying to rush them. I just want to make sure that if mom wants to start the weening process that the kittens have another source of sustenance.

[ktgrok]

You can mix it with water to thin it out, and even rub a bit on their paw for them to lick off, just so they get the idea. 

Honestly, with kittens, they go from milk only to canned food to screaming for canned for in about the blink of an eye. So when it happens, it will be fast. I've bottle fed some and they went from "what is that" to "canned food is good" to "stealing food off the human's plate" in about 48 hours. 

[stephanier.1765]

1 hour ago, Ktgrok said:

You can mix it with water to thin it out, and even rub a bit on their paw for them to lick off, just so they get the idea. 

Honestly, with kittens, they go from milk only to canned food to screaming for canned for in about the blink of an eye. So when it happens, it will be fast. I've bottle fed some and they went from "what is that" to "canned food is good" to "stealing food off the human's plate" in about 48 hours. 

😆😆 I can just see them doing that. LOL This is good to know. We'll keep offering it and if they want it, great, but if they don't that's okay too.

[Guest]

No weaning advice...just...awwwwww! Kitties! 💜

[Ellie]

When we have kittens, we don't make an effort to wean them. We just put out dry kitten food and water where they can easily reach it, and by the time they're about six weeks old, they're pretty much weaned.

[Tanaqui]

Kittens with their teeth in will never starve themselves when there's cat food around, I promise. Grown-up cats can be picky about their food, but that's learned. Kittens aren't picky when they're ready for solids. You don't need to do anything special.

[kiwik]

I was going to say maybe wait until they show interest in mum's food and she shows a lack of interest in feeding them.

[stephanier.1765]

19 hours ago, Ellie said:

When we have kittens, we don't make an effort to wean them. We just put out dry kitten food and water where they can easily reach it, and by the time they're about six weeks old, they're pretty much weaned.

Can I just say - you are brilliant!

Every night DH and I play with the kittens before heading off to bed. As we were putting them back in their pen, one of them hopped in their litter box and took a bite of litter (non-clumping). We were shaking our heads over the weirdness of kittens and lamenting how they'll bite down on that but not on real food, when I told him what you said about dry food. He said lets try it and we did. Oh my word! They went at that food like they were starving. After they finished, we offered them water. They showed no interest in it so I dipped on of their little paws in the water. Once they got a taste of that they went crazy over the water too. Whew, I feel so much better now! I can't even tell you how relieved I am. Their mother is driving us insane with her constant whining to go outside so the sooner they are weened the sooner we can get her fixed. We are pinning our hopes on once that happens that the whining will stop. 🤞

[Ellie]

1 hour ago, stephanier.1765 said:

Can I just say - you are brilliant!

Every night DH and I play with the kittens before heading off to bed. As we were putting them back in their pen, one of them hopped in their litter box and took a bite of litter (non-clumping). We were shaking our heads over the weirdness of kittens and lamenting how they'll bite down on that but not on real food, when I told him what you said about dry food. He said lets try it and we did. Oh my word! They went at that food like they were starving. After they finished, we offered them water. They showed no interest in it so I dipped on of their little paws in the water. Once they got a taste of that they went crazy over the water too. Whew, I feel so much better now! I can't even tell you how relieved I am. Their mother is driving us insane with her constant whining to go outside so the sooner they are weened the sooner we can get her fixed. We are pinning our hopes on once that happens that the whining will stop. 🤞

Well done!

And FTR, the babies don't have to be completely weaned for the mommy to be spayed. That mom can go into heat *while the babies are nursing*, so you want to get that done!

[fairfarmhand]

9 minutes ago, Ellie said:

Well done!

And FTR, the babies don't have to be completely weaned for the mommy to be spayed. That mom can go into heat *while the babies are nursing*, so you want to get that done!

Yep, I was going to say this. Call the vet and set up the appointment for a few weeks from now so you don’t have to worry.

[Tanaqui]

Without copious human intervention, more than just putting out food, I've never known kittens to be "completely weaned" at six weeks unless Mama was neglectful, but eight weeks happens. I'm reluctant to advise pushing the timetable any faster than 8 weeks in most situations, including this one. I'd call the vet and make an appointment for two or three weeks from now for for the neutering - since she keeps wanting to go outside, it's imperative you get it done sooner rather than later. She'll wean once the surgery is done.

Edited April 4, 2020 by Tanaqui