Daily Kitten Chat Forum » Cats & Kittens

4 week old kitten questions

(15 posts)

  1. Hey Everyone my name is Alex im new here but love the site and really like reading about other cats and getting information. My girlfriend and I just adopted a sweet little 4 week old kitten that we named Arizona. My girlfriends boss rescued her from some hobos who's cat had kittens and they weren't taking good care of her. We took her because she wasn't getting along with the other cats at my girlfriends bosses house and she was concerned, plus it was a good excuse to get a kitten that we have been desperately wanting. When we got her she seemed a little younger then 4 weeks, but she was extremely vocal and very loving. She accepted us right away and even crawled in my shirt and slept on me for a while. Right now my questions are, We are feeding her formula but im concerned maybe my girlfriend feds her to much we feed her every 2-3 hours and sometimes my girlfriend will let her eat 30 min after the last time. Is that to much or does the cat stop when she has had her fill and just simply isn't full. Next question is she sleeps almost all day, we wake her up every time we feed her and she is up for about a half hour then goes back to sleep. Should she be more active or is this normal. She also sleeps at least 8 hours a night if not more. My last question is today is the first day she has gone poop and it was brown and like thick toothpaste, but it smelled so bad i threw up. She also was meowing while she went. This all seemed normal to me because it was brown and she isnt eating anything but milk so i wouldnt expect it to be hard but I just want to check. Thank You for reading my dumb questions I just want to make sure we are doing everything right sense she is so young. One last thing is I was wondering if anyone could look at these pics and tell what breed she might be.

    http://s36.photobucket.com/albums/e39/cookiefajar/?action=view&current=IMG_9556.jpg

    http://s36.photobucket.com/albums/e39/cookiefajar/?action=view&current=IMG_9559.jpg

    http://s36.photobucket.com/albums/e39/cookiefajar/?action=view&current=IMG_9582.jpg

    http://s36.photobucket.com/albums/e39/cookiefajar/?action=view&current=IMG_9574.jpg

    THANK YOU!!!!

    Posted 9 months ago by AlexV #

  2. OMG, Alex!!! She is adorable! She's definitely got a lot of Siamese blood, I think.

    I have no experience with kittens this age that are rescue kittens, but lots of people here do and I know that they will be able to give you good advice. It can be sort of slow on the weekends, but everyone will be back tomorrow. So if you don't get the answers today, don't give up!

    Here are a few sites that might have information to help you:

    http://www.homeatlastrescue.org/html/aboutcats/kittencare.html

    http://www.ehow.com/how_2276_feed-orphaned-kittens.html

    http://www.hdw-inc.com/tinykitten.htm

    http://www.petshaven.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=218:how-to-raise-orphan-kittens&catid=47:cat-health-a-behaviour&Itemid=69

    I hope that some of this will help. And welcome to TDK!

    Posted 9 months ago by WillowandWindismom #

  3. you're doing fine with your new kitten. kittens and cats sleep a lot, upwards of 20 hours a day, this is normal. so is the feeding you're giving her. and so are the poops. my kitten, who is now 12 years old, had her first kitten shots at 7-8 weeks old.

    kittens need milk (like KMR) and sleep to grow healthy...

    Posted 9 months ago by Cheri 12/22 #

  4. also, just like human babies, kittens and puppies need burping...

    Posted 9 months ago by Cheri 12/22 #

  5. Just out of curiosity how much would you say shots and stuff would cost, just a ballpark figure is good. Im going to need to save some money before she gets to old.

    Posted 9 months ago by AlexV #

  6. OMG, she is adorable!!! I, too , think she is part siamese - silver point, maybe - I am not a "meezer mom... but they are very vocal cats! and very athletic. It sounds like you are doing just fine... She probably still needs a heating pad or warm water bottle to keep her comgy in her bed at night - little kits can't regulate their temperature. But she should have room to move from the heat as well... All kits this young do pretty much is eat, sleep, play, eat, poop, eat, sleep, sleep and play... Keep checking back and more people will post tomorrow.

    Posted 9 months ago by nawlins catmom #

  7. Vet care costs can vary tremendously... call a couple local vets, and also check at your SPCA - you can often get sliding scale services there... including spay/neuter...

    Posted 9 months ago by nawlins catmom #

  8. Bumping so the weekday crew can see pictures of this adorable kitten.

    Posted 9 months ago by WillowandWindismom #

  9. Here's an updated link of a few more pictures of Arizona. Its crazy how big she gets everyday, she started climbing the couch yesterday and she looks like she may start trying to jump soon. I would would still appreciate any advice or tips for my question.

    http://s36.photobucket.com/albums/e39/cookiefajar/Arizona/

    Posted 9 months ago by AlexV #

  10. Arizona is too cute, Alex!

    In my town the Humane Society gives vouchers for spaying. You just have to show them the shot records and proof that you live in this county. Perhaps your local Humane Society has something similar. Also, here there are low fee vaccination clinics every few months. Watch your newspaper, or ask at the SPCA if there are any where you live.

    We still need an experienced TDKer to answer your questions. If this thread falls off of the main page, just enter "bump" and it will move it up. That's what I did with this thread this morning.

    Posted 9 months ago by WillowandWindismom #

  11. She looks like she might be a little older than 4 weeks. Maybe five weeks. The vet can tell you. Call around for pricing. Your local animal shelter might be able to give you some phone numbers. I would avoid the vets connected to pet stores. A few people have had good luck with them but there are more bad Banfields than good ones.

    If she didn't eat for a while (or was feed cow's milk) her first poop would be very smelly. That will ease up. She probably still needs to be stimulated to poop (use a warm wet washcloth and gently rub her little butt like a mom cat would lick her). There's an older cat in one of your picture albums - does she/he live with you? Sometimes a grown cat will get maternal and take over washing and cuddling the baby even if they can't nurse.

    Pretty much a baby kitten is going to be like a baby human - they eat, sleep and poop. A kitten will play more when she's awake than a baby, but she'll tire out quickly. She probably won't eat more than she needs, although I wouldn't wake her to feed her. She'll let you know (loudly) when she's hungry.

    If she is showing interest in toys (which her pictures would indicate)and responding to your voice and cuddling, she's probably doing fine. Cats just sleep a lot.

    Posted 9 months ago by CheetahBoysmommy #

  12. ok that all makes sense, she was fed cow milk by my girlfreinds boss for like 4 days but we got her on KMR once we go her, and she pooped again last night and it wasnt that bad. The other cat is my cat back home with my parents so she wont be around him at all. I am concerned about her eating still because you can feel how full her stomach is but she will still eat, its like if its put in front of her she will eat no matter what, were trying to ween her and then i'll fell better when she goes to the bowl instead of us just guessing thats what she wants and she eats it anyway when she is full already.

    Posted 9 months ago by AlexV #

  13. one more question to update on here. Over the last two days Arizona has grown more and more violent. It started by swating and biting faces, i thought she was just playing so iv been getting her to bite her mouse when she starts to get her attention on something else. But its just gotten worse latley she has started growl and hiss. We can tell when she is going to do it because she starts to stare and you can just see the look in her eye. so far iv just looked her in the eye and said no loud and firm as punishment but it doesnt work and sometimes provokes her. I dont know what to do to punish her what is to much for a kitten her age?

    Posted 9 months ago by AlexV #

  14. The mama cat would put her paw firmly on kitten's neck and press down lightly. You don't want to bruise her, just hold her in place. Then hiss at her. Then walk away and ignore her. She'll learn that certain behaviours aren't acceptable. Never hit a kitten (or cat or puppy) because they don't equal the naughty behaviour with the swat so it never helps train them.

    Posted 9 months ago by CheetahBoysmommy #

  15. thank you, i appreciate the advice I don't want her to think its not to play and bite other things so i was worried, ill try this and see if it works. If she gets a little older and this hasn't stopped is squirting her with a water bottle to much, or what age is that an acceptable punishment. We used to do that to my cat back home when he tried to climb to the top of the Christmas tree but he was fully grown and knew better.

    Posted 9 months ago by AlexV #


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