Help with getting my baby kitten to eat hard food?

Question

I've adopted a new baby kitten I found under my friend's porch. She was 2 weeks old when I found her, totally abandoned by her mother, and I've been bottle feeding her since then. Now she's about 5 or 6 weeks old, going to the bathroom on her own, and so now I'm trying to get her to eat hard kitty food. I'll put some in a small bowl, moisten it, and put it in front of her, but she'll just stare at it, then walk away and then cry for a bottle. I'll leave it out for her and offer it to her at the next feeding time, but she still won't touch it!! I've even tried putting formula in a bowl to see if she would drink out of it, but she won't even do that. I don't know if not having a mommy cat for her to mimic is the dilema, but I've done everything I can think of and now I'm desperate for some help. Does anyone have any suggestions or know what I can do to help her start eating hard food?

Answer 1

Try using can food. It's moister and easy for the kitten to eat. Moistening the hard food may be hampering the smell that might normally intice the kitten. It it still doesn't show interest on it's own when offered canned food, take a little and put it on it's paw. Cats are fastidous and the kitten will most likely go to 'clean' it off. That may be all it will take to stimulate her appetite. Good luck!

Answer 2

Well since she is used to a bottle, transitioning into hard food is a bit much. My kitten was found when she was four weeks, and i only bottle-fed her for about a week. Thereafter i started putting the formula in a bowl. After that i mixed the formula with some SOFT kitten food. Slowly i started putting more soft kitten food and less formula, until it was completely kitten food. I still leave a bowl of milk out for her all the time so she gets xtra vitamins. Soon i will start mixing the hard stuff slowly in with the soft stuff, until she gets used to it.

Answer 3

Place formula alone in a bowl or saucer.
Put some of the formula from the saucer on your finger and hold it to the kitten's mouth until it laps it up.
Make the connection between your finger and the saucer of formula by slowly moving your finger back to the saucer, and then to the kitten's mouth several times.
Offer the kitten the saucer of formula.
Slowly start mixing the formula with a smooth-textured food such as strained baby food meats. The resulting mix should be about the texture of runny oatmeal.
Gradually use less formula in the food and add some softened kitten chow or canned kitten food to the mix.
Gradually add dried food to the mix.
Continue this process until the kitten is eating only cat food and the formula and baby food are eliminated.

Answer 4

Sometimes, when all there is to eat is hard food, then the cat will just start to eat it when it is that hungry. Of course you can't just stop cold turkey with the bottle though. Maybe give her a bottle in the morning, and then leave the dry food out if you go out for the day and see if any is missing when you come back. You will just have to ignore the whining because they will stop after a few days. My first cat only drank milk out of a cup for awhile but I always had dry food out for him and when I was gone. I started to only give him milk once a day instead of the few times and he just got used to eating other things because he was hungry. Oh, and whoever said it was too early for dry food is wrong because a cat will eat w/e they want whenever they want. My second cat never could get any of the milk from her mom (other kittens were piggies) so she chowed down on dry food right away.

Answer 5

I can relate. I was a clueless kitty buyer. I bought a 4 week old kitten and when I brought him home he wouldn't eat the dry kitty food. My vet then told me to try the soft kitty food in the can. He loved the stuff....I always had a dish with the dry food available and gave a teaspoon of can food for breakfast lunch and dinner....then he got bigger so I cut out lunch and gave only in the am and pm then I just do the am now....sooner or later he stared eating the dry stuff on his own. He still cries for the canned food but that is his treat now...he eats his dry food ...only because he has to... he is healthy and not over weight according to his vet. He also gives us love when he really wants the soft food....it is cute. Good luck.

Answer 6

The kitten is too little yet to start eating any kitten food. Continue to bottle feeding for anoter few weeks usually kittens and puppies should not leave their mothers until 8 weeks old. In a few more weeks the kitten will eat, try some moist kitten food first. Best Wishes and Thank you for caring for an abonded kitten, you have saved a life!

Answer 7

try to open her mouth and put a little in her mouth this sometimes works if not add a small amount of canned food to it.At this age seh shouldn't be having a bottle at night so i ussually start with the morning feeding; give it to her and give her 10 minutes to eat if she doestn't offer it again a couple hours later do this through the day don't give in with the bottle unless it's just a little plain water so she won't dehydrate.
seh shold pick up and eat sometimes it's just getting them hungry enough.
I have seen some kittens with their mom at 4 nmonths old because the owner didn't take mom away and the kittens didn't want to eat.

Answer 8

I think you should start your kitten out on soft canned food, its teeth may not be strong enough for dry food. The canned has a better smell to which might help it to eat better. Keep the dry out with the canned and eventually it will start to eat when it is strong enough and ready. Good luck with it 2 weeks is small. It eyes probably hadn't been open for very long. They don't start eating until about 3 weeks, maybe not even until 4.

Answer 9

take about half a handful of dry kitten food and moisten it with warm water, let it soak and get soft and keep offering it to the kitten and gradually lessen the amount of water you add to the food...she will eat it....or try wet food mixed in with dry

Answer 10

get can food and put it in a baggie and snip off the corner and let her eat it for a couple feedings and then go on to the hard food thats how I got mine to go from bottle to food. the corner of the baggie will feel kinda like a nipple to her and she will suck the food out of the bag and start chewing. good luck.