Feeding Kittens
Feeding Kittens
So I just got two 8-week old kittens 3 days ago. I have found that they have not taken to eating the kitten food I bought for them. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on how I could either make the food more appealing or just entice the kittens themselves to begin eating. Thanks in advance.
Are they eating at all? They may not like it, but are they at least trying to eat it? Also, is it dry or wet food?
Make sure the food is small of course easy to chew. I got my cats when they were 4 weeks old or so. I started with formulated kitten milk.
Shiva.Owns said:
So I just got two 8-week old kittens 3 days ago. I have found that they have not taken to eating the kitten food I bought for them. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on how I could either make the food more appealing or just entice the kittens themselves to begin eating. Thanks in advance.
Try ham >.> When my cat won't eat I give him that and he eats all of it lol (cheese too)
Edit: I have no idea if kittens can eat that though :/
If it's dry kibble type, you may need to switch to wet food until they are a little older and able to handle the crunchy pieces better. I know when two of my cats were still babies, I could only get them to eat a tiny amount of wet food every day, but they would go through the little juice-box sized packs of kitten milk (not cow's milk, and fed through a newly bought eye dropper) like no tomorrow.
Just put some water or milk in with the food to moisten it. Just refresh the food twice a day so it doesn't get gross.
Its Kitten Chow. Dry food but very small and easy to chew. I havent yet seen them eat any of it. I try to stay away from feeding them "people" food if I can. I was thinking that if I dont see them eat any of it by the end of tomorrow, i'd switch to wet food for the time being. I'm kinda puzzled because my first cat ate dry kitten food almost immediately.
I've been told that you should not separate kittens from the mother before they are at least 10-12 weeks old :/
I got mine even younger and he had lots of problems with wet and dry food at the beginning. He would eat it but get diarrhea and/or barf it all out >_> good times..
I ended up buying some baby kitten dried milk 3: That stuff you just put in hot water, and he loved it.
I got mine even younger and he had lots of problems with wet and dry food at the beginning. He would eat it but get diarrhea and/or barf it all out >_> good times..
I ended up buying some baby kitten dried milk 3: That stuff you just put in hot water, and he loved it.
Shiva.Owns said:
Its Kitten Chow. Dry food but very small and easy to chew. I havent yet seen them eat any of it. I try to stay away from feeding them "people" food if I can. I was thinking that if I dont see them eat any of it by the end of tomorrow, i'd switch to wet food for the time being. I'm kinda puzzled because my first cat ate dry kitten food almost immediately.
Touch of milk would tempt them to lick the food at least.
Don't give them cow milk! One of my cats almost died because the people we got him from when he was a kitten were bottle feeding him the stuff! Try the baby on wet food, just a little bit, or water down the kibble with H20 or kitten formula.
Your vet can recommend you the best meals to give to your kitten. That is really the best advice I can give you, consult your vet! They might have softer/squishy food available for your kitten.
Make sure that the kitten always has fresh water available (more necessary than milk, milk can even give kittens diarrhea. If you get milk, get the special cat milk!) - especially since it's dry food that she's getting.
http://www.medicinenet.com/pets/cat-health/kitten_feeding_basics.htm
Make sure that the kitten always has fresh water available (more necessary than milk, milk can even give kittens diarrhea. If you get milk, get the special cat milk!) - especially since it's dry food that she's getting.
http://www.medicinenet.com/pets/cat-health/kitten_feeding_basics.htm
Thanks for all the input. I'm going to go through these suggestions until I find out what works. If it really comes down to it, i'll get a hold of a vet. (Moved to Tampa a year ago and still havent set the cats up with a new vet lol).
A good way to entice them to eat solid food is to dampen it a bit then put in the the microwave not long enough to make it hot but to make the smell stronger.
I mostly bottle fed my kitten goats milk (on vets advice) till he was able to handle normal solid kitten chow. To much cow milk can do harm. Found him and his mother starving to death, they'd been abandoned and the rest of her litter had already died.
...He got pretty huge. Still tries to squeeze into my shirt pocket where he used to sleep though. He gets this funny disappointed look when he can't get his head in.
Obligatory joke image:
I mostly bottle fed my kitten goats milk (on vets advice) till he was able to handle normal solid kitten chow. To much cow milk can do harm. Found him and his mother starving to death, they'd been abandoned and the rest of her litter had already died.
...He got pretty huge. Still tries to squeeze into my shirt pocket where he used to sleep though. He gets this funny disappointed look when he can't get his head in.
Obligatory joke image:
Having extensive experience with cats, I'd like to suggest that you supplement each of their meals with one or two souls taken from any human source. This should promote healthy normal growth and will prepare them for adulthood.
[+]
Valefor.Forgotten said:
...He got pretty huge. Still tries to squeeze into my shirt pocket where he used to sleep though. He gets this funny disappointed look when he can't get his head in.
He was pretty upset when i wouldn't let him do that anymore, cause he got too fat 3:
Where I live the weather is like 100 degrees throughout the day. Recently a small kitten has appeared on my back deck and just roams around in the morning and in the evening. We left out a small bowl of water and a can of tuna. Hopefully the coyotes don't get it O_o
Cat's love melted cheese
Kittens would probably like milk at that age, and you'll want to feed them soft/mushy food, since their teeth and jaw muscles aren't developed enough to chew the crunchy kind of cat food yet. I would take them to a vet and get better advice there.
get kitten formula. mix it and feed them with a bottle. after a few days try putting the dry food in warm formula so the food gets soggy.
This is the internet. You can't start a thread on a forum with "So I just got two 8-week old kittens 3 days ago" and not post a single picture.
I can't believe no has called you out on this yet.
I can't believe no has called you out on this yet.
[+]
Just to reinforce what others have said... Keep away from giving them people food. A little bit here and there isn't so bad but perticularly as a kitten their bodies are not able to handle alot of foods and can lead to a ton of problems... I can't remember any cat specific examples atm but dogs for example can go blind from eating cat food...
As for encourageing them to eat, try the wet food as that might be a bit easyer on them to eat, rubbing a little bit on their chin so they taste is can help too if they are refuseing to even try it. It is also possible your cat is just a picky eater, if the people you got him from were giving them food ask what it was and try to get the same stuff. Reward them with some cuddle time after they do eat well as well.
As for encourageing them to eat, try the wet food as that might be a bit easyer on them to eat, rubbing a little bit on their chin so they taste is can help too if they are refuseing to even try it. It is also possible your cat is just a picky eater, if the people you got him from were giving them food ask what it was and try to get the same stuff. Reward them with some cuddle time after they do eat well as well.
*update*
It's been a few days and thankfully they have begun to eat. I returned the food I bought from the store and bought a more expensive brand (which i tried to do in the first place but the gf wouldn't let me). Turns out they just plain didn't like the food we got them. Crisis averted. I'd like to thank everyone for offering sound advice and taking an interest in the well being of my new pussies.
As for.. I offer this as a reward for all who offered some input
First is Beatrix
Second is Lulu
Three and four are the two together
Five is thier older sister Shiva
It's been a few days and thankfully they have begun to eat. I returned the food I bought from the store and bought a more expensive brand (which i tried to do in the first place but the gf wouldn't let me). Turns out they just plain didn't like the food we got them. Crisis averted. I'd like to thank everyone for offering sound advice and taking an interest in the well being of my new pussies.
As for..
Fenrir.Terminus said:
This is the internet. You can't start a thread on a forum with "So I just got two 8-week old kittens 3 days ago" and not post a single picture. I can't believe no has called you out on this yet.
First is Beatrix
Second is Lulu
Three and four are the two together
Five is thier older sister Shiva
Shiva.Owns said:
First is Beatrix
Second is Lulu
Three and four are the two together
Five is thier older sister Shiva
Hmm. You wouldn't happen to be a fan of Final Fantasy, would you?
[+]
Shiva.Owns said:
*update*
It's been a few days and thankfully they have begun to eat. I returned the food I bought from the store and bought a more expensive brand (which i tried to do in the first place but the gf wouldn't let me). Turns out they just plain didn't like the food we got them. Crisis averted. I'd like to thank everyone for offering sound advice and taking an interest in the well being of my new pussies.
As for.. I offer this as a reward for all who offered some input
First is Beatrix
Second is Lulu
Three and four are the two together
Five is thier older sister Shiva
It's been a few days and thankfully they have begun to eat. I returned the food I bought from the store and bought a more expensive brand (which i tried to do in the first place but the gf wouldn't let me). Turns out they just plain didn't like the food we got them. Crisis averted. I'd like to thank everyone for offering sound advice and taking an interest in the well being of my new pussies.
As for..
Fenrir.Terminus said:
This is the internet. You can't start a thread on a forum with "So I just got two 8-week old kittens 3 days ago" and not post a single picture. I can't believe no has called you out on this yet.
First is Beatrix
Second is Lulu
Three and four are the two together
Five is thier older sister Shiva
Those names are epic :D
Lulu <3 and Beatrix <3 ftw
Bismarck.Magnuss said:
Shiva.Owns said:
First is Beatrix Second is Lulu Three and four are the two together Five is thier older sister Shiva
Bottle feed them was gonna be my suggestion. They seem really young for any type of dry food.
Very cute! I'm glad they're doing well and finally eating. :3
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