What to feed 8-week-old kittens?

Question

Right now the babies are only 3 days old. But when they are weaned and 8wks, I wanna find them homes.

What kinda food (soft/hard/milk/water) do they need and how much of it and how often?

Also, when can potty training be taught? And can they be neutered/spayed at 8wks before I rehome them?

Should I wait a week after they are weaned (until 9wks?) to give them away to make sure they are fully weaned and eating on their own first?

Any advice at all would be great. :)

Answer 1

Cats need to be on kitten food until they're at about a year old, around the time they finish growing. Most petfood companies offer a kitten variety of their food. This can be wet or dry, or both together. They'll start eating this from about 4 weeks of age, and be eating it exclusively (no more milk from mum) by 8 (maybe 9) weeks of age.

Don't give cats cows milk. Some are OK with it, but cats tend to be lactose intolerant, so best to avoid it altogether so they don't get a taste for it! It's an old-fashioned tradition really, giving cats milk, there's no actual reason for it, and it can be bad for them.

Absolutely wait until they are fully weaned before rehoming them. You need to be sure they are fully independent from their mother before you can separate them from her - this is one of the signs of a good breeder! Another sign is getting the kittens their full set of vaccinations (at 8 and 12 weeks) before rehoming them. Potential owners will appreciate, if not expect this.

Kittens should NOT be neutered at 2 months of age - who said that?! They'd be far too small! And a male kittens testicles probably won't have descended by this age. The minimum age is 4 months, the ideal age is from 5 months. Usually the new owners will have this done.

Chalice

Answer 2

People will tell you that you ought to wait 12 weeks to separate kittens from their mother. But in reality, they could be separated as early as 4 weeks, if necessary. 8 weeks will be plenty.

Once they've started to wean away from their mother, feed them canned kitten chow...it's easy enough to find. As they get older, and their teeth strengthen, they can graduate to dry kitten chow. They should have an ample supply of drinking water, but stay away from milk.

Potty training is just something that cats "get". Their mother will set an example for them (she is already doing it), and the kittens will have an instinct to bury their waste anyway (once they have ventured out on their own). As for spaying/neutering: I think you'd want to wait until the kittens are at least several months old; best to check with a veterinarian.

I don't see why you'd need to wait an additional week (until 9 weeks) to find homes for them. Once they begin to eat, they're never going to stop!

Answer 3

Chicken breast minced up with a little soft rice mixed in and rather than cooked egg, some raw egg yolk. Canned tuna is very salty, but if she will eat a little, feed it to her. Or if you would like to go to the store and get her some low-sodium or salt-free tuna and give that a try. Some low salt turkey breast from the deli. You can get Gerbers baby chicken, mix it with a tablespoon or so of Gerbers baby rice cereal, and add a raw egg yolk and some Lactaid, Lactose-free milk. But that would represent an investment, and I don't know if you want to go to that trouble. If you have some fish in the freezer, sautee it in butter with a little garlic, let it cool completely, and try that. You are not in an emergency situation. You just have to fill in a meal or two, and if you care enough to ask this question, you are already taking excellent care of your little lady. So find something that she likes and let her eat it. One meal or two meals isn't going to hurt her at all. Basically, this is just a fill-in meal.

Answer 4

the mom will start weening them on her own around 5-6 weeks,, they'll still try to nurse from her, and every mom is different, she may still let them or not, but around that time, they will start getting their teeth and you can start offering them dry kitten food. the mom should be eating kitten food anyway while shes nurseing, will give her extra calories and calcium. they will not need to continue milk after nursing, may give them diarriah anyway, just fresh water. no dont spay or neuter them that young, let the new owners do that. they are way too young at that age. would be a good idea to take them to vet around 3weeks though for their first worming, at around 8wks they can start their first set of shots. yes wait till they are weened and eating well on their own before giving them away. leaving a clean litter box out for them, the mother will take them too it , cats learn fast. right now she cleans them herself till a certain age. good luck. they are a lot easier then pups.

Answer 5

The minimum age is 8 weeks old. The average is between 8 -12 weeks old.

The kittens have to be 2 months & 2lbs in order to get spayed/neutered.

You should feed them hard kibble, soaked in warm water to begin with, then slowly use less water, to eventually have them eating just dry kibble.

Answer 6

This site is the best! Put together by trained professionals. I've used Purina Kitten Chow for all of my kittens. Refer your kitten's adoptees to this site, also.

http://www.catchow.com/KittenChowPlanner.aspx

Answer 7

http://www.kittencare.com/askKC_LittleKittens.html
This is a great website with lots of info on new born kittens. It should answer alot of your questions. Good luck with them.