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The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Weaning reluctant kittens

6 replies

Saffkat · 28/07/2018 10:17

I'm fostering 3 kittens and their mother who are 8 weeks old and due to go back to shelter at 10 weeks. They are due to have their first vacs at 9 weeks.
Two of them I have seen eating a bit of dried food but not much. The third one ate a mouse her mum caught in our utility room and happily devoured some roast chicken the other day but does not want cat food.
I have started giving them kitten milk which they enjoy - my hope is that mum's own supply will then reduce gradually and make them more inclined to seek out other food. I have also started adding wet cat food to the milk to flavour it and encourage a taste for meat.
I'm concerned they won't be fully weaned when they go bAck for rehoming but at the moment both mum and kittens are happy with her feeding them.
Any ideas to encourage them on to solids?

OP posts:
Fluffycloudland77 · 28/07/2018 10:36

Wont mum wean them anyway? imagine feeding a cat with a full set of teeth.

viccat · 28/07/2018 10:39

Wet food - the pate style ones are best, Royal Canin babycat mousse is the gold standard. You will need to get them to taste it - stick some into their little mouths with a clean finger to begin with or wipe it onto their paws for them to lick.

You can also make a "smoothie" out of the wet kitten food in a blender and use a syringe to get some into their mouths.

Once they "get it", they will start eating independently.

Saffkat · 28/07/2018 11:02

Thank you both.
Fluffy what I've read is kittens will wean around the 6 week mark, and so far their mum is quite happy to continue feeding. She will interrupt them with her special meow and they'll all go for a feed, so I don't think their teeth are bothering her just yet! I'd happily let nature take its course and let them all get on with it if we were keeping them all.
Viccat I'll try the food you suggested. THe mum gets Symply dry food and Whiskas pouches because that's what the shelter provides and she is used to it but I suspect the mouse and chicken devouring one is more discerning and wants something closer to nature Grin Not that I blame her, I'm planning to switch the mum, who I'm keeping, to better quality over time (although she turned her nose up at the Lily's kitchen food I got in specially for when she'd just given birth Hmm

OP posts:
viccat · 28/07/2018 11:08

As they like chicken, you could also boil some plain chicken for them and chop it up really fine.

I had a slow-weaning litter of foster kittens last summer too. The last one eventually started eating chicken and then kitten food as well.

Fluffycloudland77 · 28/07/2018 12:46

Mine wouldn't eat Lily's kitchen biscuits. I spent nearly £3 on them too. So basically you have a cat doing extended BF.

Saffkat · 28/07/2018 14:54

I have a cat doing extended BF and one foodie kitten who will only touch locally sourced and or organic meat - no processed rubbish for her Grin

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