Kitten worries, please help?

Question

I have a litter of 8 kittens who are 7wks old.

My first concern is that there are only 4 of them that will eat kitten food. The other 4 will only eat if I give them cooked chicken or tuna and still nurse from their mum pretty much most of the time. They are supposed to be going to their new homes when they are 8wks old so what can I do to encourage them to eat instead of constantly nurse?

Secondly, in the last few days some of the kittens have been sick. I spoke to the vet on the phone and he said that I could just wait and see how they do in the next 24hrs and if all is ok then they should be fine. Well the kitten that was initially sick was fine within about 2hrs. Over the next few days I had another few get sick but again all were fine with in an hour or so. Today the 2nd kitten who had been sick has started to be sick again. She is also one of the kittens who doesn't eat kitten food. I have also noticed she is also having a little bit of the runs.

I have tried to tempt her with tuna (that she usually will eat) and some powdered kitten milk but she won't touch it but she will still nurse quite happily from mum. Can anyone suggest what could have caused the sickness? I have disinfected (i do that regularly anyway) all the litter trays and washed all the bedding in a boil wash to try and stop the spread. What else can I do? And is it normal for kittens to still be nursing exclusively at 7wks old?

I mean sick as in throwing up. And it was the vet who suggested cooked chicken as it is supposed to be bland and settle the stomach. I have only used the tuna to see (as advised again by vet) if it will tempt them and get the fussy ones to eat as it is strong smelling. I don't give them this at every meal and have only tried it twice and that was a few weeks before the sickness started. I feed the kittens premium wet food and also have Royal Canin baby cat dry food down all the time. I really love the kittens, they are from a stray that I took in that was already pregnant and I am trying to do my best by them. I have found lovely homes for them all and I am sure they will be willing to wait. I just wasn't sure if their reluctance to eat was something I am doing wrong or that they just prefer being fed the easy way by mum and them being sick has confused me as they still seem to be running around and playing.

But the one who was sick again today (that was about 3 days after she was sick the first time) she is a little quieter but she was definitley nursing from mum ok and quite vigorously.

I got worried about the little kitten that has been being sick and took her to the out of hours vets today. He said that it is most likely that she has some kind of viral infection but gave her an antibiotic jag and I have some antibiotic drops to give her for the next week too. He said she wasn't dehydrated or anything so probs nothing to worry too much about. I'm still worried though as she is still just sitting in a corner and very quiet, almost depresed looking. She is going to the water bowl quite a lot and has fed from mum at least once since I brought her back but she is still being sick so far. I have to take her back to the vets on tuesday. The other kittens are fine, but the vet has said that I may need to force the weaning with the reluctant eaters so I have to seperate them from mum once my sick kitten has gotten better. I'll update again and let you know how she gets on. Thanks for all the advice.

Answer 1

At 7 weeks old it is safe to remove them from their mother's care totally and compltely. Stop feeding the four kittens human food, soak kitten food in warm chicken broth. They won't stop nursing until you make them, that's why it's called weaning. What do you mean sick? No one can help you out if you just say sick, sick could mean ALOT of diffrent things

Answer 2

I have 2 kittens which were orphaned at a week old and I have been hand rearing them with kitten formula called Cimicat and a bottle. They are 6 weeks old today and up until a couple of days ago wouldn't lap at all they would eat whiskas dry kitten food but still wanted 4 bottles a day. I put them some milk in a shallow dish but they still wouldn't touch it until I put a small amount of dry kitten food into it and eureka. Kittens find real food difficult to digest to I would keep them on the dry and moist and remove Mum for a while until they get the hang of it.
If you keep changing their food it will give them the runs and also make them sick. The only thing you can do is persevere as I did and it should all come right in the end.
Good luck

Answer 3

i am not sure if i can help but i have recently weaned five kittens that were hand raised. the advise so far is very conflicting so maybe my recent experience will help a bit more. steam cook chicken until it falls apart and boil white rice until it is well cooked blend this with the chicken, donot use broth or seasoning if there is any juice from cooking the chicken mix with this, you can freeze this blended all down into tiny little bits almost a puree. this will settle tums give it to all the kittens. take the biscuits away, royal canin biscuits for baby cats are very rich. i use james well beloved or go-cat soaked in water. ask you vet for pro-soluble this is a probiotic and dextrose which is good for little kittens. those that don't eat from a bowl place small amounts in their mouths eventually moving your hand into the bowl until you can remove it because they know how to eat by then. once tummies have settled and they can eat kitten meat use purina it is not as rich as most kittens foods, trust me i have tried them all and found this to be the best one next to natures menu. the mother cat will wean them when she is good and ready and kittens develop at different stages not all kittens are fully weaned by the time they are eight weeks old it can take up to twelve weeks. so explain to those who are adopting the kittens they won't be ready and you will know then if they genuinely want a kitten because they will be prepared to wait. they will wean just be patient.

Answer 4

I know when I got my first kitten (who is now 1 years old) she never took with kitten food and would be sick on a regular basis. I spoke to the vet when I had her spayed at 6 months and she said that maybe the kitten food was too rich for her stomach to handle, so I put her on adult food (on the vets advice) and she was fine. I then got another kitten (when the original one was 10 months old) so obviously I was buying kitten food for her. The older one started being sick again and it was because she was eating the kitten food that I had put down for the other one.
My only suggestion as far as weaning is concerned it to try to not let mum with them too often so they stop relying on her milk so much.
Try adding some water to the kitten food so it is easier for them to digest and rub a little on their mouth so they have to lick it off and hopefully they will develop a taste for it.
Giving chicken and tuna is all very well but cats are fussy animals and could soon refuse to eat anything else but that (as I assume it tastes nicer than cat food)

If I was you I would take them to the vet for a check up just to be safe.

I know that you are doing your best for them but be careful when you disinfect and clean the area, rinse and dry everything very well to get rid of all traces of chemicals/cleaners.
It is so nice to see that you genuinly care for these animals and I wish you all the luck in the world .... keep up the good work xxxxxxxxxxxxx

http://www.cat-health-behavior.com/cat-health-issues.html

take a look at the above web site.

Answer 5

You have a lot of conflicting advice from a number of individuals who lay claim to expertise. With weaning, I don't have a lot of experience, but it is the mother who does the weaning. She will pull the kittens away and hiss at them to stop them. I know you need to get these kittens to the people who have spoken up for them, but waiting a couple of extra days probably wouldn't cause too much inconvenience for the new owners, and might make a big positive difference for the kittens. It just seems to me that you are reacting to your deadline, and you have a number of kittens in transition to a different diet, having differing digestive systems and differing responses to the new food, and to the withdrawal of mommy -- that your transition is dramatic because you care so much and are up against a deadline. I suspect that if you give it a couple of extra days, most of your problems will clear up. And I would hope that the people to whom the kittens are going would care enough about the kittens to let you have 24-48 hours more, just to be sure about the kittens and their diet and their sense of security and their well-being.

The little guy who went back to the teat really COULD be sick. Look and see if he is just clinging on or if he is nursing. If he is just clinging on, it could be that he is under the weather -- or he is just a momma's baby, and needs a little more time.

Your call.

Answer 6

First thing I need to know is: What do you mean by getting sick? Is she throwing up? Does she have the runs? Second thing is: Maybe the kittens are getting sick because you are not suppose to feed them people food. they can not handle it.
It upsets their stomachs. When they go from nursing they should just go to kitten food. I am very surprised that your vet didn't tell you that. My guess is that is why they are getting sick. Hope this helps.

Answer 7

They will be fine try and keep them away from mum as she needs time to get her own health back now. Put kitten milk down for them to have instead. They are eating if they are happy enough to have tuna and chicken they will eat the kitten food when they get hungry enough. You have keep them away from mum she will feed them as long as she can and they will try for as long as they can get away with it.
Are you giving the kittens wet food? (i have to ask as alot of people just give dry) if not then put some down and try different makes. When it comes to them going to their new homes I have always said with mine if there are any problems they could bring them back. remembering that a new home is unsettling and to expect them to not want to eat and may have an upset tummy for the first few days.
Good Luck xXx

Answer 8

Try not to be too anxious. Animals often sense anxiety in their owners and that makes THEM anxious, and in the case of young kittens they may nurse just to feel secure and comforted. Also, they may just need a little while longer with mama. They may vomit because they are eating too much solid food, and that's really nothing to worry about - they're just basically disposing of the excess.

Make sure plenty of fresh water is available for them. They will quickly learn to lap it up.

If the homes they are going to are really good, the people will be willing to wait a few extra days if necessary. I'll bet that in another week you will see quite a change in all of them.

/Good luck to you and all your kitties.

Answer 9

Go to another vet and get a second opinion. I heard that too much human tuna is not good for cats. I cannot remember why but I did read that somewhere. Sounds like antibiotics are needed. Kittens are proned to infections.

Answer 10

Kittens should nurse until they are 8 weeks old. Then they should be offered other foods. As long as they are still nursing they should be fine and it may be the other food you are giving them that is making them sick.