Daily Kitten Chat Forum » Cats & Kittens

1. 

   A friend of mine found the sweetest kitten a couple of days ago, but couldn't keep it so I said I would take her =) I just want to make sure I am doing everything right...

   I'm struggling a little with the feeding. She loves kitten formula and I think she would drink it all day if she could. That being said, she FREAKS out when the bottle is coming near her. It seems like excitement, but makes me nervous because she has literally chewed the nipple off of the bottle.

   I also want to make sure that it is okay to put her in a crate for an hour or so sometimes. I would love to hold her ALL DAY, and I've been trying to, but I have to get some work done.

   Any advice in general(not just the 2 questions above) would be great! I'm excited to have this baby kitten in my life and I want to make sure I'm doing everything I can for it.

   Posted 8 months ago by Anna #

2. 

   Oh I forgot to mention. I took her to the vet the day I got her(Wednesday and they said everything was fine. Gave me some eye drops and Amoxicillin to give her. I also brought in a stool sample the following day.

   Oh yeah another question. Her tummy always seems so big(if that makes sense). Is that normal? I was reading and a bunch of sites kept saying worms, but the doctor said he would call me if she had them, and I haven't heard from them, so I should assume its not?

   Posted 8 months ago by Anna #

3. 

   Anna, her full tummy might be that she needs to go the bathroom. Has she had a BM?
   Here are so links that might be able to help you in caring for her.
   Elijah would act like a little beast with the nipple too. He bit off the tip of 5 bottles. So I switched him to a bowl of formula.

   http://feral-kitten-rescue.blogspot.com/2008/10/feral-kitten-how-to-story.html
   http://www.messybeast.com/handrear.htm
   http://www.kittenrescue.org/pages.php?pageid=15
   http://www.fanciers.com/cat-faqs/orphans.shtml
   http://www.feralcat.com/raising.html

   Posted 8 months ago by Stevi K #

4. 

   Yep she has had several BM's. Maybe I am feeding her too much. =/ She was found on the side of the road by a friend so maybe she is just nervouse she won't get food again...?

   Another question, there are some sites that I've seen that say do 3 to 4 feedings for her age, and others that say 5-7 times a day. What do you suggest?

   Posted 8 months ago by Anna #

5. 

   Anna:
   If the kitten is really 3 or 4 weeks old, it should be starting to eat solid food. It is likely drinking so much milk because it is always hungry. Milk just isn't enough to stick to its ribs right now. You have a couple of options. You can put some soft kitten food on a plate, mix a little kitten milk in it to make it mushy and see if the kitten will eat it. You might have to dab a very small amount on its nose or paw so that it will lick it off and recognize it as food.

   The other option is to mix soft kitten food with enough milk to make it thin enough to give in the bottle. You will need to cut the nipple open wide open so that when the kitten sucks, the milk/food mixture can go through it easily.

   Did the vet not give you feeding instructions? I would not hesitate to call and ask for advice. But I am quite sure that if your kitten is 3-4 weeks old, that it is hungry and needs to start learning to eat solid food now. I raised a kitten from the time she was 3 days old and at 3 weeks she was eating kibble without any prompting from me. I guess she was imitating the big cats. But she still got bottles of milk morning, noon, and night until she was 6 or 7 weeks old, even though she was eating solid food too. She pretty much weaned herself, in retrospect.

   Posted 8 months ago by Lily #

6. 

   I forgot to mention. I have been giving her wet food that the vet gave me. So I've been feeding a mixture of formula and that wet food, but it still doesnt seem like enough. Maybe I'm just worried because she's my first kitten.

   She definitely likes that wet food that the vet gave.

   The vet hasn't been very helpful with answering questions since the appointment. The appt was very rushed and I felt like I couldn't ask anything. The next day when I came in with her stool sample. They just went "we'll call you if if we find anything, so if we dont call, its good" Ugh wish I would have gone somewhere else.

   Posted 8 months ago by Anna #

7. 

   maybe you should find a different vet, one that you are happy with, i know i would...

   Posted 8 months ago by CSBM #

8. 

   Yep, going to do just that tomorrow.

   Posted 8 months ago by Anna #

9. 

   Well, that does put a different light on it. If your kitten is eating solid food, it might be time to let her have more solid food and less milk, so that she gets enough of the "stick to your ribs" food. But I would suspect parasites in this case, now that I know she is eating solid food. Please do find a different vet. I have a great one and there are plenty of really good, caring vets out there. If you ask around your pet owning friends who they like and would recommend, you are bound to find someone who will give you the time and attention you and your kitty deserve.

   Posted 8 months ago by Lily #

10. 

    Anna,
    I too am new to kittens this young. Elijah's belly is very rounded and feels hard right before he has a BM, afterwards it is still nice and round but soft and pliable (sp). He has no worms. I started him on Royal Canin baby cat 34 in the can, and Wellness in the can. I also give him dry Royal Canin Kitten 36. He eats a 3 oz can a day a long with about 1/4 cup to half a cup dry. At first I was given him 1/4 can 4 times a day. Now (about 7)weeks I give him 1/3 of the can 3 x's a day and he has access to the dry whenever he wants it. Elijah is now drinking water on his own. The last couple of days he has had no interest in his formula.
    If you are worried he still may have worms, by all means give them a call back. They could have got busy and over looked calling you back. But I would still look for a different vet, one that takes time to answer your questions is important. You paid for the time slot so they should not rush you through it.

    Posted 8 months ago by Stevi K #

11. 

    I actually bought the Royal Canin wet and dry kitten food last night =) I've started with the wet food and she seems to really like it! I have not introduced the dry yet. Do you or have you mixed the dry food with weaning formula? I was going to try that...

    PS I wish I could type more, but she is laying on my chest and its hard to type with one hand! lol

    Posted 8 months ago by Anna #

12. 

    So totally understand Anna, Elijah liked to sleep on me in the beginning.

    I only mixed it once and it seemed to take so long to moisten the kibble. It did not take him long though to start eating it by itself, the shape and size is nice for this. I did add formula to the RC can for the first week.
    I am actually switching Elijah from Royal Canin. At least the dry. The third ingredient is corn gluten meal, the 4th, is corn. I started today to mix the dry with Wellness kitten dry. Wellness Kitten is a grain free food. I plan on keeping Wellness as the Elijah's base diet. I bought 3 can's of Natural Choice Kitten today but do not know if I am going to give it too him or not. I could not read the fine printing on the can at the store and now that I am home I see that the 4th ingredient is wheat gluten. Not for sure about that.

    Posted 8 months ago by Stevi K #

13. 

    hmmm I havent opened the dry Royal Canin yet, maybe I should return it and get the Wellness one. She has had a couple cans of the royal canin wet food. Would you recommend that I stick with the Royal Canin wet or switch her over to the Wellness canned kitten food? Or have you only tried the dry?

    And thank you for answering all these questions for me!! I greatly appreciate it!

    Posted 8 months ago by Anna #

14. 

    Yes, it is very hard to moisten kibble and you need to let it soak for 30-40 minutes or so. If you do this, do just enough for one feeding and let it sit in the refrigerator because you don't want the milk to go sour. Then set it out for 10 minutes or so before serving. But, frankly, I wouldn't bother. Once your kitty starts eating regular soft kitten food, I think you would be better off mixing a very small amount of kibble in it and letting the kitten try it for herself.

    My vet is very in favor of not giving cats dry food at all. I think I basically buy his argument that it is an unnatural diet and too high in carbohydrates. But after all these years, my cats are not about to stop. I think if I had it to do over, I would only give my cats a high quality soft cat food.

    Posted 8 months ago by Lily #

15. 

    You could also try A/D cat food. I get mine from my vet and Mischief LOVES it. It's very high protein so it'll help her gain weight too.

    Posted 8 months ago by mischief #

16. 

    I bought a couple of the A/D cans from the vet, but my Petsmart didn't have any when I went to get more so I decided on the Royal Canin. Now I'm thinking Wellness would have been a better choice.

    Okay so one more question everyone, do you kitten eat like its never had a meal in its life? My kitten is like a vacuum. It looks like she's just eating it as quickly as she can. Is this normal?

    Posted 8 months ago by Anna #

17. 

    It is simply too hard to give good advice long distance. What happens if you simply keep dishing the food out? Does your kitten continue to eat? If she stops, does she go back for more a couple minutes or an hour later and eat as much? Do you leave the food down so that she can help herself? If you do, and measure how much you put in her dish, then you can tell your vet exactly how much she is eating and find out if that is normal or not. Under the circumstances, I think another trip to the vet (a different one!) is in order if only for your own peace of mind.

    Posted 8 months ago by Lily #

18. 

    I think another trip to the vet(a different one I agree) is a good idea. I've been researching all day and asking around and I think I've narrowed it down.

    If I keep putting more food, she keeps eating. I've tried to leave her food dish out but she finishes everything I give in one sitting.

    Posted 8 months ago by Anna #

19. 

    Anna: Here is a link to the Wellness site. Me, if I had not open the Royal Canin, I would return it and switch to Wellness kitten. But that is just me.
    http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/product-details.aspx?pet=cat&pid=1&dm=completehealth#ingredients

    Here is a link to a cat food rating page.
    http://www.petfoodratings.net/cats.html

    At first Elijah did eat like he never ate before but now it is more in the morning and just a little noisy while waiting to get to the rest of his meals. Have you been weighing her? Up till Elijah was about 5 weeks I tried to weigh him every day or so. Now I can just lift him and till he is gaining.

    Lily, I am trying to get away from filler's and that is what the corn gluten is. When I had my last cat, I honestly do not remember what I feed Player (our cats name) but it was a totally dry diet. I am trying to do better by Elijah and though I cannot afford a totally wet diet. I still want to try to give him the best I can afford.
    I do not know much, but I am reading all I can between different cat forum's, cat food sites and other articles I find on line. This is a link to one page I read about corn and cats.
    http://cats.about.com/od/catfoodglossary/g/cornglutenmeal.htm

    Posted 8 months ago by Stevi K #

20. 

    I am definitely going to go with the Wellness. I love everything that I'm reading about it.

    I have not been weighing her. Do stores like petsmart sell small scales? Or where did you purchase yours?

    Posted 8 months ago by Anna #

21. 

    Mine is a digital postal scale. I used it for my tortoise. I also have a food scale but he fell off it twice.

    Posted 8 months ago by Stevi K #

22. 

    Oh, I bought it at Walmart or Meijer's not for sure which one. It has been awhile. Son said he thought I bought it at Office Max. It goes up to 5 pounds.

    Posted 8 months ago by Stevi K #

23. 

    Oooh I just realized I have a digital food scale I could use! =)

    Posted 8 months ago by Anna #

24. 

    Fantastic! That will help in seeing if she is gaining.
    Anna, have you given your little girl a name yet? Hate calling her 'girl' all the time.

    Posted 8 months ago by Stevi K #

25. 

    Haha I haven't actually. We've(my boyfriend and I) have been calling her random nicknames but they're such silly nicknames, we would never say them in public! LOL

    Now if she would stay still on that scale of mine...

    Posted 8 months ago by Anna #

26. 

    I used a small basket to put Eli in, even then he moved around a lot. But I would repeat it 3 times and watch carefully where it goes. About all you can do. Maybe get her when she is sleeping. I tried that too but Eli would wake up.

    Posted 8 months ago by Stevi K #

27. 

    Ooh a basket is a good idea. I'll have to look around the house for one. Thanks for all your input! I'm going to go to Petsmart in a bit and return the Royal Canin and buy the Wellness food.

    One last question though(at least for now lol). I was looking at the Petsmart website and it said the Welness kitten canned food is an online only thing. Where have you found your Wellness food?

    Posted 8 months ago by Anna #

28. 

    No, at least at my store it isn't. I buy the kitten can and small bag at our local Petsmart.

    Posted 8 months ago by Stevi K #

29. 

    Okay I'll have to look when I go to return the Royal Canin. If not, I can always go to Petco and look there too.

    Posted 8 months ago by Anna #

30. 

    Another dry and wet cat food I want to try is the Blue Buffalo Spa Select Chicken & Brown Rice for Kittens. Will pick some up next week when I go.

    Posted 8 months ago by Stevi K #

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