Young Kitten - advice needed!

tkrysiak

Hi Everyone

Yesterday I picked up my new kitten :):):):):) Now the ad said that kittens were 7 weeks old and that was two weeks ago so according to that my kitten should have 9 weeks now. In my opinion ( I had two cats in the past but never younger than 9-10 weeks) this one is not even half that age !!!

If any of you can advise please post your replies, I appreciate your help!
I know she might be too young to leave her mum but she was the last one and they already gave the rest of them away so I thought I'll take that one and at least she will have a good home and someone who cares
She was exhausted when we took her in but wasn't scared at all which seems strange for that age and now she follows us everywhere and plays all the time so I guess she accepted us straight away which is good.

Couple of questions as I might not be able to go to the vet for a few more days:
- should I buy some pills for worms straight away or is she too young?
- first vaccination should be at 8 weeks (which in my opinion is a long way away) right?
- what should I feed her? I bought that thick creamy cat milk and she loves it but would it be enough for her for now?
- anything else I am missing? advice/directions/ideas welcome folks !!!

Here are a few pics just so you can judge how old she is - please post what you think.

cotton

It's so hard to judge by a photo but she could just be small. Can you weigh her?
I've a girl here that is half the size of her brothers, she's teeney.
She needs more than catmilk. Boiled chicken & rice mashed up or you can try her on kitten nuts & see how she goes. Royal Canin Babycat is very good.
The best advice I can give you is go to your vet as soon as you can. He'll be able to answer your questions.

tkrysiak

Cheers for that Cotton!

I bought a few small packs of kitten food ( I know she is way too young for dry food) maybe I will give it a try today and see what happens.
Yeah I totally agree that a vet visit is a must but like I said might not be able to do it for a few days and wanted to make sure I don't hurt that little fur ball in the mean time ;-)

Glowing

Did you not double check her age when you took her from the breeders?

MsFifers

She is a little dote - but it is really hard to gauge age or size from photos.

Kittens are usually fully weaned at 8 weeks - so appropriate kitten food should be fine. You should be feeding her whatever her previous owner was giving her - or else she might get a tummy upset.

Just remember the kitten has a tiny stomach and needs to eat small amounts v. frequently. She should be able to manage dry food if weaned - just make sure its good quality kitten food as it has higher levels of protein and fat (which they need.)

Kittens can be born with worms so she'll need a treatment - but do bring her to the vet for that as her dose will need to be appropriate for her size. Don't delay with this! I got kitties at 12 weeks and although they were wormed they weren't treated for other parasites and they ended up with serious ear infections due to ear mites.

tkrysiak

That's the problem that the "breeders" just wanted to push her through the door really - a bit uncomfy situation really. It was the last of their kittens and they had nothing to say about her, but she was so cute we decided to take her in anyway. Thats why I am not sure if she was even ready to leave her mother...
She seems to be doing fine so far playing all the time (when she is not asleep hehe)

siobhan.murphy

easy on the milk she might get the runs,try breaking up some bread in water,u can get kitten nuts in vet shops,she is lovelt though:p

OrangeDaisy

What kind are her teeth? We have a cat who's 8 months old but is still teeny . Also if you can visibly see that it's a female then the chances are it's over 8 weeks

tkrysiak

OrangeDaisy wrote: »

What kind are her teeth? We have a cat who's 8 months old but is still teeny . Also if you can visibly see that it's a female then the chances are it's over 8 weeks

Thanks for that - actually took us a while to decide whether it is a female or not

OrangeDaisy

Check the teeth as well esp the canines cos they should be getting longer than the front teeth. Also the kitten looks very alert I'd say it's about 7 - 8 weeks it just might be a little small for its age

cotton

Where are you based?

tkrysiak

Yeah the kitten is very alert, actually I was surprised to see how much stamina she has for her size! All right well thanks for your advise it looks like maybe you are right that she is just a bit small for her age.
I will see if I can convince her to eat something besides that cat milk and then after the weekend we will go to the vet for a check up.

@Cotton I am from Dublin why?

cotton

I was going to say if you're near me, I'd have a look at her & sex him/her for you.

tkrysiak

Thanks for that, much appreciated ;-)
Oh well, we will see what the vet has to say about her...

Sage'sMama

They say a kitten is ready for re-homing once the can eat solid food. Try the kitten food and see if she can keep it down rather than milk. I got the ISPCA kitten book when i got Sage and it was very helpful didn't realise so many houseplants are dangerous to cats. When we got our kitten they told us she was old enough to be homed but when i took her to the vet the next day he said she was less than 6 wks and was very small and malnourished she got her worm tablets but the vet said to us to bring her back for her vacvinations if she survived! :mad: Thankfully she was fine and is now two and a half and a completely spoilt psycho kitty!:p

luckat

Don't start medicating such a young kitten for worms yourself. Take her to a vet and let the vet tell you the exact age, worm her (if she's old enough) and set a schedule for vaccination, chipping and spaying.

bigpinkelephant

tkrysiak wrote: »

my opinion ( I had two cats in the past but never younger than 9-10 weeks) this one is not even half that age !!!

She is at least 8 weeks. If she was only 4-5 weeks as you say, her eyes would still be blue.

Also her ears are very straight-a 4-5 week old's would still be on the side of her head. Kittens are born with FA Cup ears which gradually turn into devil horns as they get bigger and bolder!!!

See here for how a kitten grows week by week:

http://images.google.ie/imgres?imgurl=http://www.mjollnir-cats.co.uk/Upload%2520Main/pictures/4%2520week%2520nash1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.mjollnir-cats.co.uk/Upload%2520Main/html_pages/Nashira.htm&h=654&w=638&sz=84&hl=en&start=6&um=1&tbnid=gQnQl6mCx_Q-6M:&tbnh=138&tbnw=135&prev=/images%3Fq%3D4%2Bweek%2Bold%2Bkitten%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN