How long does a kitten need to have a milk replacer ?
Gina . asked:
I am getting a 3 and a half week old kitten soon and my parents and I are going to go to petsmart and buy milk replacer since it probably cant eat dry or canned food just yet . When can i stop using the milk replacer and give my kitten dry or wet food ?
I am getting a kitten without the mommmy cat so formula is my only option .
I am getting a 3 and a half week old kitten soon and my parents and I are going to go to petsmart and buy milk replacer since it probably cant eat dry or canned food just yet . When can i stop using the milk replacer and give my kitten dry or wet food ?
I am getting a kitten without the mommmy cat so formula is my only option .
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November 9th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
Kittens will usually nurse until they are well above 8 weeks old. If you want to do it completely right, you should nurse them until then, with food added as well. You can stop nursing at 6 weeks though, if it is too much trouble. I would not stop before 6 weeks however. You can introduce some kitten food at about 4 weeks but still nurse the kitten until at least 6 weeks. Good luck! Steppietoes
November 11th, 2009 at 5:14 pm
Not until around 6-8 weeks. Some cats will eat kitten food a little earlier or later than that. Unless you have no other option it’s better for the cat to have it’s mums milk rather than formula. shaycos
November 13th, 2009 at 11:09 pm
If you can, you should wait to take the kitten. If it is motherless then you should try to find a mother that will nurse it for a few weeks. It’s survive while its a kitten, and it’s health in the long run with be much greater. Also, kittens that do not nurse their mothers long enough tend to try to nurse people’s hand, faces, clothes or pillows their whole lives, which can be disgusting because it will leave everything wet and slobbery.
If it will not bottle feed, then try feeding it kitten canned food with some milk replacer mixed in. You should be mixing it into it’s food at least for another 4 or 5 weeks. You will only need to bottle feed it for a couple more weeks though. abaker29
November 15th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
why are you getting a kitten so young? you do know that in almost every state it is illegal to buy, sell, trade, give away, or otherwise transfer ownership of a companion animal until it is 8 weeks old at the bare minimum.
the best chance that this kitten has is if you leave it with it’s mother until it is at least 8 weeks old- 10 to 12 would be even better.
kittens need to learn how to clean and potty and cat manners from their mother.
I have fostered several neonate kits this year. it ain’t fun and games. you will be up every 4 hours day and night keeping kitten bottle fed, burped, pottied, cleaned and warmed. no sleep for you.
it will cry because it is lonely. it will be susecptible to diseases and the cold and to parasites. if you overfeed it it will get sick and get diarrhea or constipation (often happens with bottle babies). if you underfeed it it will starve to death before your eyes. a kitten this young may even still need help going potty so be prepared to stimulate him to potty.
KMR is expensive. it will run you about $20 for a canister and you will go through a canister and a half every week.
Please, for the sake of the kitten, leave it with it’s mom for a while longer or find a rescue or foster group that specializes in young kittens. dances with cats
November 16th, 2009 at 8:04 pm
I’ll answer in a minute but first I have to grill you - sorry. What do you mean by soon? where is this kitten now? Are you taking it away from its mother or did she die? What about the other kittens?
Kittens need to be with their mothers until they are at least 8 weeks old, if at all possible. I’ve fostered them as young as 3 weeks and they were very traumatized and are for life. Their immune systems are compromised and they can get any number of diseases. Everyone I’ve had this year has had coccidosis, a protozoa parasite, and two very nearly died of it. One of my own cats is asthmatic because of the early trauma of losing his mom and litter to abuse when he was 3 weeks old. No responsible person would release a kitten at that age unless the mom was dead.
I’m glad you know about kitten replacer. Never substitute puppy replacer or use cow’s. If you ever can’t get formula, you can use goat’s milk, if you make a formula of 1 cup goat’s milk, 1 cup water ( pedialyte is eve better) and the whites of one egg. ,
KMR says on the side of the can how long you use it, and it comes in newborn and step two. You can mix the powder, but I find kittens take the ready mixed much more readily.
Good luck. laurel p
November 19th, 2009 at 5:30 am
Good luck. Our 17 year old cat passed away. We got two 6 week old
Kittens . But they are not litter trained. So good luck. Why are you
talking them so early. They need 4 hour feedings. I have two 6 week old Kittens
November 21st, 2009 at 11:56 am
What happened to the mother cat? If the mother cat is still there, then the kitten should be left with her until about 7 or 8 weeks. This is very important for the development of the kitten. Otherwise, you will need to bottlefeed the kitten until it is about 8 weeks of age. This will be important for the kitten. You can make a larger hole in the nipple, so the formula will flow easier. Be prepared for a hungry little kitten. They just love their little bottles, so wrap the baby in a wash cloth to avoid little claws all over. (But do keep baby with mommy, if at all possible). You will also need to wipe its butt, in order to get it to urinate and poop. At this age, they will not do this on their own. Make sure you continue using the kitten formula for the entire time, because if you switch to normal milk the kitten will get diahrrea and it is very hard to treat, big vet bills. It costs a lot less money to keep using the formula, than to try to treat the sick kitten. If the kitten does get sick with diahrrea, take it to the vet, right away, because they can get dehydrated very quickly. This is very important. PRINTS
November 21st, 2009 at 11:48 pm
Is there no way to get the mother as well? The kitten needs the mother for development. Not only for her milk, which is more nutritious than any other substitute, but also for learning important things that they will need when they grow older. If you really can’t get the mom, then you can stop giving them milk between week 5 and 6 week and give them wet food or wetted dry food that is soggy. After that around 8 weeks they can eat dry food. Good luck! =] My kitten is 6 weeks old and she is doing really well on wetted dry food. Get some kitten chow from Iams or Purina if you can afford it. If not, Meow Mix is cheap and nutritious. Oh and a lot of people have been saying that you can’t get a kitten until at least its 8th week…Sadly, most humans give up their kittens as soon as they can and shelters have no alternative than to take them in. My kitten was among those, sadly. There were some other kittens her age there but not from her litter, who were with their Mommy in the shelter. It SERIOUSLYYY broke my heart!!!! =[[[ THEPurpleFlutterby!