A stray cat I rescued had 3 kittens on June 12th. #1 %26 #2 started eating watered-down kitten food between 4 %26 5 weeks old %26 now eat it dry. #3 - the runt of the litter - is still nursing. He will eat a little bit of canned food sometimes, but won't eat kitten food, wet or dry. He's about 1/3 the size of the other two kittens. He's very healthy/active/etc., he just won't eat. Is this normal? He was separated from mama kitty for 5 days (and had to be force-fed the whole time). I finally broke down %26 brought him back home to nurse a while longer.
Answers:
Don't listen to ANYONE who says kittens should be 8 weeks before taken from their mothers. I have rescued 4 week old kittens and they were fine to eat wet food. It may be the fact that he's smaller and developing slower. You might want to let him nurse a few more weeks. You should also take him to the vet as it could also be caused by FIV/FeLV. I recently had a kitten that wasn't growing and I had to put him to sleep because he had FeLV.
yes.
kittens shouldn't be taken from their mother until they are a LEAST 8 weeks old. kittens still nurse from their mother til then. why was he separated from mom at such a young age? if you started separating them at 4 or 5 weeks you denied them essential time with their mother so she can teach them how to control their urges of biting and rough play. get mom fixed as soon as possible please.
I'd take him to the vet if I were you. Scince he's the runt, I'd say he'll eat a little later than the others. Let him nurse for awhile. You didn't include the age. My 5 wk old kitten love wet food. But sometimes it can take up to 8 wks. That's how long a mother usualy feeds her babies. But if you try mixing kitten replacement milk with wet food, mabey he'll learn! Just give him awhile longer than the others because he's the runt! Good luck.
NO. when my cat was 8 weeks old he used to eat like a pig.
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