Daily Kitten Chat Forum » Cats & Kittens

1. 

   Hi everyone, about 7 weeks ago I found a baby kitten next to my garbage can in the middle of a thunderstorm. There was no mommy or siblings to be found, and he was practically drowning in a puddle, so we took him in. He was very young, most likely born that same day. We couldn't find any mom or sibling the following days, so we decided to keep him. We have been taking great care of him and have become very informed on kitten care. Toby is very happy,active,and playful and he seems to be growing well.

   However, I still have two main concerns: litter box and feeding amounts. Toby poops well by himself but still needs some help peeing. Why? I really don't know but would like to find out. I place him in the litter box and rub him with a little towel for a couple of seconds, and then he begins to pee well without my help. Because of this he still does not use the litter box well without my help, which worries me because he is almost 8 weeks.

   My other concern is food. We began weaning him off KMR we were bottle feeding him with no problem. He now eats kitten canned food by itself and really likes it. But he has been wanting more lately, so I've been giving him more. We feed him 3-4 times daily and he usually eats almost a can in one day. I didn't think that was overfeeding because the kitten cans are fairly small. What's been bothering me is that according to the can labels, we are feeding him too much. It says everywhere to feed a total of 1 can daily for every 3 pounds, but Toby is only a little over 1 pound! This confuses me even more because I feel he could be slightly underweight even though he does not look like it. Please help!

   I would really greatly appreciate any advice. I may be freaking out for no reason but I really just want to clear up my own confusion. I just want the best for little Toby although he seems to be doing well. (Another small concern is biting but I won't burden you guys with so many questions.) Sorry for the long post and thank you in advance for any advice! :)

   Posted 11 months ago by lola #

2. 

   Have you taken the little one to the vet? The peeing thing does not sound normal for an 7 week old. He shouldn't have trouble peeing after the first few weeks. He could have a UTI or a partial blockage or something like that. Try making a digging motion with his paw to help him get the idea, so you know he's not having a problems with peeing, just using the litter box. He also seems a bit small, but kitties do develop at different rates. Two pounds seems about average though. That's how much my kitten was at that age. Anyway, it's a good idea to get him checked out by the vet and have him started his shots. He needs to be dewormed too. A parasite could be causing his excessive appetite and relatively small size.

   If you want to get him to stop biting your hand, just yelp and give him a more appetite thing to bite.

   Posted 11 months ago by ladysky61 #

3. 

   Toby is probably old enough to visit the vet now. If he is having trouble peeing, he may need to be checked out just to be sure nothing is kinked or too narrow.

   So far as eating goes, kittens use up an incredible amount of energy. Plus lots of kittens have worms (get them from their mama before they are born). He could just need more food or he could be sharing his food with the worms and therefore not getting enough.

   Biting is pretty normal but you want to break him of the habit before he gets too much bigger. The best way to do that is to place your hand on his neck and push it down gently while hissing. That's what the mama would do. You can also say NO firmly while moving him away from whatever body part he is biting.

   Posted 11 months ago by CheetahBoysmommy #

4. 

   http://www.messybeast.com/handrear.htm

   http://www.petplace.com/kittens.aspx

   You might find some answers to your questions on these links, I would suggest you take the little one to the vet for a general check-up for a kitten.

   Posted 11 months ago by AZDEBRA 5/27 & crew #

5. 

   Thank you so much for the advice! Toby already got his first deworming and will get his second this week. I will also make sure to take him to the vet to get him checked out. Also, with the peeing thing I've seen him pee by himself, but he usually needs my help to start. I will also make sure this is not a more serious problem when I take him to the vet. Again thank you so much! I will probably have more questions to come soon, and I will keep ou updated if anything happens!

   Posted 11 months ago by lola #

6. 

   Sounds like everything is going well :)

   As for the peeing, i always potty train my babies on a schedule. After every feed, like clockwork i stimulate them to pee/poo, so that they learn the association right away. That way, when the time comes for the litterbox training, i just start the stimulation in the box, and then i teach them to dig a hole, and gradually taper off the amount of stimulation to a point where they just go by themselves when i stick them in the box. It sounds to me like your kitty is used to the 'cue' of you stimulating him - he probably hasnt learned to gauge for himself when his bladder is full. I'm sure he will eventually pee by himself if you stop stimulating him.

   Posted 11 months ago by Skyron #

7. 

   Okay I've been doing that too! I put him in the box and stimulate him after each meal. He poops by himself just fine, but when I see he hasn't peed for a while I have to stimulate him and then he pees fine. I will try to stop stimulating him and see if he gets the hang of it on his own. Also, how many times a day do you think he should be eating? And how much of the can? I'm sorry again for all the questions.

   Posted 11 months ago by lola #

8. 

   Dont apologise for asking questions :) thats what we are all here for. I have no idea really as to how much little kitties 'should' be eating when they are off the bottle - i feed my fosters 4 times a day, and they get to eat as much as they want. I also firmly believe in leaving a dish of mixed up kmr out for them to drink if the get hungry somewhere in between meals - as long as they need the calories, they'll keep drinking the kmr, but thats just what i believe. I havent come across any vets or literature that shares my view.

   Posted 11 months ago by Skyron #

9. 

   Sorry I couldn't reply earlier. But good news! Toby successfully used the litter box today without my help. He peed twiced and pooped once so I think he's ready to go. We have been feeding him 4 times a day and we leave KMR out for him also. We usually give him a half can of the little kitten cans each time and he seems satisfied. If we give him less than that he aclways asks for more. Also, we've tried giving him some dried food with KMR to make it softer, but he doesn't like it, so I'm not sure what to do. Should I just keep feeding him canned? Either way, thank you so much for your help! Toby seems to be doing fine now and he is more playful than ever!

   Posted 11 months ago by lola #

RSS feed for this topic

Reply

You must log in to post.