need advice from people who have had kittens...

[LindsayB]

Our kittens are 4 weeks old now and we have been trying to start them on canned kitten food. I've tried putting alittle on my finger and rubbing in on thier mouth but they will not eat it. Is it too early to start them on canned kitten food? Everywhere I've read says to start them at 3 1/2 to 4 weeks...All they want to do is nurse off the momma cat. Should I wait until she starts to wean them?

 

[gettinaclue]

It's been a very long time since I've had a kitten....but I say let mamma wean them. Things are usually better then.

 

[Break an Egg]

Let the mom wean them herself, you can help them get weaned by putting some tuna in a can out for them when they are 5 or 6 weeks old. They will want to eat the tuna, which teaches them how to eat solids.

 

[Yessur Ebob]

Quote:
I agree, They will eat when they get hungry.

 

[sunflowerenvy]

let mama teach them to eat. i only gave my kittens dry kitten food that is moist with warm water.mama cat eat the wet food too,
laura

 

[Ema]

when my cat gave birth last year to 6 kittens waited till they were 4 weeks old and then started putting wet kitten food down the kittens watched momma eat it and then they followed suit. a few weeks later I added dry kitten food mixed in with a bit of whiskas kitten milk and again they followed suit. each time I would add less whiskas milk until they they could handle dry kitten food all on their own.

 

[LindsayB]

Wow, that was fast! Thanks! I'll wait until the mom starts to wean them. I've never had cats before, let alone one with a litter of kittens....so this is definitely knew to me.

 

[Akane]

Don't use canned fish. Fish is actually unhealthy for cats and can cause several issues. Canned cat food with some fish in it is better since the other ingredients are there to balance it out. Just get a good wet food or moisten some kitten food with water or kitten formula. Do not feed them cow milk. Mom can eat the kitten food and the kittens will eventually start to follow along.

 

[Tam'ra of Rainbow Vortex]

Like all mamals I have raised, they don't want to eat solids at all. They won't do it till they are hungry, which means the mother has to start weaning them so they get hungry. Same is true of rabbits, cattle, mice, and maybe something else I have forgotten. Most critters I raised ate solids early because they were orphaned or abandoned when too young to survive and I took care of them. But at 12 years old my steer would still ratherdrink milk than eat solids. He would sneak up on you and suck on your shirt tails, hoping you had a bottle.
So if mother cat is still happy with them nursing, than let them nurse. No harm in it, really.

 

[Cats Critters]

We always started leaving out dry food at about 3-4 wks and let them test it out and learn how to eat by watching mom.