Maple's kitten adventures...

[maple]

...and in your heart. Imp's a sucker for strays.

 

[redhen]

Quote:
He is.. thats why he likes us...

 

[bagendhens]

ok the little orange tabby is just sooo unusual! LOVE!

 

[NellaBean]

 

[CoyoteMagic]

Boys have nuggets, girls don't.

 

[maple]

You ladies are so much fun.


Kittens are too....they are climbing out of their box and getting into everything. Ding bat orange one was found chompin on the clay kitty litter since she has learned to climb up into everything. Dorkus.

Then the mama was actin as if she was in heat tonight. Really? Already? What does this mean? I've been letting them nurse...am I supposed to let them have mushy food now? I did notice last week or so the little chompers comin in.

 

[CoyoteMagic]

How old are they now? I think they should nurse for at least 6 weeks and yes, momma may go into heat and get pregnant while she is still nursing. As soon as they start to eat solid food, momma will stop cleaning up after them potty-wise. They will potty train themselves if there is a box close to where they are. Cats are soooooooooooo much easier than dogs in that respect.

 

[Matthew3590]

When I got my kitten i guess it was potty trained by its mom (neighbors cat) and it was in the house and would cry when it had to go to the bathroom cause it was still to small to climb up the steps. I remember having to rush it up there before it went on the carpet. It also loved to play in the kitty litter.

 

[bagendhens]

chomping on the litter is very normal at this stage, just be carefull if you use clumping (it can cause impaction)

its quite normal for momma to come into heat and even get pregnant while nursing the current litter unfortunatly so watch her closely, shell likely try and slip out for a rendezvous

n terms of introducing real food, i usually start offering canned food as soon as the teeth start comming in (around 3 1/2-4 weeks) i allow momma to nurse untill she says shes done (called abundance weaning) and they typically go untill 6-8 weeks of age still taking occasional meals fro momma, but i find offering wet food early and following an abundance method the kittens get to wean at their own pace...

ive got a litter of almsot 7 week old kittens, and 1 male started eating wet food at 3 1/2 weeks and hasnt looked back, the oldest male didnt try the wet untill closer to the 4 week point and now seems to prefer it over nursing...but the female isnt too interested in food yet and stll prefers momma...
as long as momma is n good shape, theres no reason to force wean.

i never do soaked dry food for kittens, i simply feed a high quality wet food (first incredient chicken or lamb), ill add a little warm water for the first week or so to make it more of a thick soup but by 4 weeks they easily handle the wet food straight from the can...
at about 5 weeks ill start leaving a bowl od dry kitten food down 24/7 for them to pick at, but cats do best on a wet food diet as they dont naturally drink much...

doing the abundance method though sometimes you have to be a little more varied on the date you allow them to go home...
the female is staying anyway so in not worried about her being slower to wean, but at this stage id be happy to let the yonger of the 2 males thats eating fine go at 8 weeks, but will probably keep the older of the 2 males thats still accepting some feedings from momma untill closer to 9 weeks just to be certain hes ready to go and thrive.

 

[maple]

I had to go back and count.... 5 weeks today.