KITTENS 5 WEEKS ADVICE!

Kerryspirit

I happen to have a litter of 4 kittens and they are today 5 weeks old. God adorable! :P

Now as I never had one before and my experience is zero I need really advice! HELP!!! :eek:

Do i wean them? And how do I do that? And with what kind of food?
And toilet training?
And do i let them go out now of the box and wander around?

I really need advice as I found homes for them - how old do they have to be to go - and I really need instructions

Thanks guys!

orchidsrpretty

you should start weaning them at about 4 weeks, a little bowl of cat milk in front of them and if they are not drinking put a little on your finger and encourage them to drink, after that a little wet cat but not too much as it can cause diarrhea.

Litter training, you should put them in the litter after eating and maybe use their paw to dig in the litter, they should get the idea quick enough, cats are way easier to train than dogs

They should be able to wander around by now but make sure its a safe enviornment with no hidey holes they can get stuck in.

Kittens are usually rehomed at about 8 weeks a little later so enjoy the time with them now, they are so much fun

The Sweeper

If their mum is with them she'll teach them to use the litter box. You wean them by providing soft, mushy catfood - they'll start stealing mum's food at about 4-5 weeks so give them their own.

If by 'let them out' you mean outdoors, be aware that their mum can go back into heat at any time now and you'll be doing this all over again in two months. She needs to be kept in until you book a vet appointment to have her neutered.

Ask you vet for a worm and flea treatment suitable for kittens. They should be wormed before rehoming. The kittens also need three sets of vaccinations each, the first round at 8 weeks. Their kitten vaccs are very important so please don't miss them out.

Please make sure you home to people who understand their cats need to be desexed at six months of age. Otherwise they'll have their own kitten litters in no time.

Keep the kittens with mum until 8-10 weeks and handle them lots in his time.

electronic

Hi
I have a similar kind of problem as the op if anyone can offer some advice.We have a kitten which was found abandoned shivering in a blanket in a field.We dont know how old it is but id guess around 4 or five weeks after reading a few websites.We are currently minding it and are looking forward to fun and testing times ahead.:) Just looking for advice on when to get it vaccinated neutered etc and approx the price involved . As we only have it a few hours any other general tips to help it settle would be appreciated . At the moment its warm and asleep after having some kitten food and cat milk which it wolfed down . It seemd very scared initially but after a few snarls its seems quite happy now.thanks for any advice and sorry if it seems ive hijacked the ops thread

The Sweeper

electronic that all sounds good. Provide food, water, kitten milk if they're small kittens, and if it's eating solids then it can keep eating solids.

Provide a litter tray and lift the kitten onto it soon after eating. Use of a litter tray is heavily instinctual in cats, so you won't have much work to do there. However don't leave anything more attractive nearby - e.g. a pile of clothes, a cushion, a beanbag, a plastic bag - all of those things can seem attractive for a cat to pee on. If the litter tray is the most obvious option, they'll use it. Once they start using it, they'll continue.

In terms of price for vaccinations and neutering, ring around the vets. Kittens need three sets of vaccinations, delivered four weeks apart. If they get the first at 8 weeks, the second follows at 12 weeks and the final at 16 weeks. They should also be microchipped so if they get lost and end up in a pound or shelter, they can be scanned and returned to you. (It doesn't matter if the first vacc doesn't happen until 10 weeks or 12 weeks, as long as two more follow, four weeks apart - and the kitten should NOT have outdoor access until vaccinated.)

It can be difficult to identify the sex of small kittens as cats have a different physical appearance to dogs and males don't have an obvious penis between their legs as a male dog would. In cats, it's all in a line under the tail. If they're particularly fluffy and you've not tried it before it can be hard to figure out what you're looking at - it makes a difference only because males are usually a little cheaper to desex than females.

It also makes a difference because you NEED to desex your female cat early. You might think she's still just a kitten, but if she's a good weight and healthy, she can go into heat extremely early and be having her own litter of kittens in no time at all. Setting an appointment for six months of age is a good idea - but again you'll have to call around your vets again yourself and get prices and see if they're agreeable to desexing at six months etc.

Calling the vet for information is free and they'll talk to you over the phone. You can even pop in and ask the receptionist in person, and buy some worm / flea meds while you're there and get instructions on administering those.

Kerryspirit

The Sweeper wrote: »

If their mum is with them she'll teach them to use the litter box. You wean them by providing soft, mushy catfood - they'll start stealing mum's food at about 4-5 weeks so give them their own.

If by 'let them out' you mean outdoors, be aware that their mum can go back into heat at any time now and you'll be doing this all over again in two months. She needs to be kept in until you book a vet appointment to have her neutered.

Ask you vet for a worm and flea treatment suitable for kittens. They should be wormed before rehoming. The kittens also need three sets of vaccinations each, the first round at 8 weeks. Their kitten vaccs are very important so please don't miss them out.

Please make sure you home to people who understand their cats need to be desexed at six months of age. Otherwise they'll have their own kitten litters in no time.

Keep the kittens with mum until 8-10 weeks and handle them lots in his time.

Thanks a lot for this detailled reply!

My biggest problem is the mum cat:
I adopted her about a year ago or so and she was terribly abused I guess and I did not know that before. But I thought in a house full of love for animals, I have already 2 cats rotten spoilt lol, she will calm down. Well she doesnt! At least not so I can come close to her to neutre her. That is why i have the litter. So still I can not come close to her at all and how do i bring her to the vet??? I tried, treats in the cat basket-no, i tried in the box with the kittens-no....well any tip?

Thanks for the tips the kittens start slubbering the milk and even eating mushy kitten food.
so i dont have to put them in the litter box, the mum does that?
I still do it but....?!
they are adorable running around now.... heartbroken to give them away ;-)

The Sweeper

You'll have to catch the mother or you'll be doing this again in three months.

Cat pregnancy lasts around 65 days. She can go into heat the day after she has the kittens (but is more likely to come into heat again when they're around five weeks old.)

So there you go -

Jan 1st: heat and mating
Early March: first litter of five kittens (six cats total)
Mid April: heat and mating
End June: second litter of five kittens (11 cats total)
Early August: heat and mating for the mother
Potential heat and mating for the first litter of five kittens
Mid October: third litter of five kittens for the mother (16 cats total)
first litter of three kittens for one of the first litter of kittens (19 cats total)
first litter of three kittens for another of the first litter of kittens ) 22 cats total)
heat and mating for one of the second litter of kittens
heat and mating for the second of the second litter of kittens
Late November: heat and mating for the mother
Year end: two litters of kittens to the two pregnant kittens from the second litter, three kittens apiece, you're now on 28 cats total inside one year.

Those are genuine and feasible stats by the way, I'm not making those up. All those heats, all those litters and all those kittens are all perfectly possible.

To take any cat to the vet you need a carry box. Plastic crate with a door on the front or the top. If you leave it out in the house with the door open for a while, it'll become common place and may be explored. If you're really lucky, she'll just go in and explore and you can close the door on her.

Otherwise there are a number of options - borrow a trap from the vet or from a local cat protection agency or the council, or just bale her up in a corner of the house by throwing a towel over her. She's not going to love you either way if she's not well handled, so the onus is on you to remain calm and firm, because if you panic she'll react worse.

Kerryspirit

The Sweeper wrote: »

You'll have to catch the mother or you'll be doing this again in three months.

Cat pregnancy lasts around 65 days. She can go into heat the day after she has the kittens (but is more likely to come into heat again when they're around five weeks old.)

So there you go -

Jan 1st: heat and mating
Early March: first litter of five kittens (six cats total)
Mid April: heat and mating
End June: second litter of five kittens (11 cats total)
Early August: heat and mating for the mother
Potential heat and mating for the first litter of five kittens
Mid October: third litter of five kittens for the mother (16 cats total)
first litter of three kittens for one of the first litter of kittens (19 cats total)
first litter of three kittens for another of the first litter of kittens ) 22 cats total)
heat and mating for one of the second litter of kittens
heat and mating for the second of the second litter of kittens
Late November: heat and mating for the mother
Year end: two litters of kittens to the two pregnant kittens from the second litter, three kittens apiece, you're now on 28 cats total inside one year.

Those are genuine and feasible stats by the way, I'm not making those up. All those heats, all those litters and all those kittens are all perfectly possible.

To take any cat to the vet you need a carry box. Plastic crate with a door on the front or the top. If you leave it out in the house with the door open for a while, it'll become common place and may be explored. If you're really lucky, she'll just go in and explore and you can close the door on her.

Otherwise there are a number of options - borrow a trap from the vet or from a local cat protection agency or the council, or just bale her up in a corner of the house by throwing a towel over her. She's not going to love you either way if she's not well handled, so the onus is on you to remain calm and firm, because if you panic she'll react worse.

I am FULLY AWARE of that - and I know that i have to get her to the vet NOW. I left the plastic carrier out allthe time but she did not bother to go close to it - she is smart ;-)
i might try to put a realllll gooood treat in it so she might go in -wish me luck!

The Sweeper

Good luck with it. If the carrier and treat doesn't work, ambush her by bundling her in a thick towel when she's asleep.

Whatever you're doing, commit whole-heartedly to it. If you're a bit timid about diving on her with a bathtowel, she'll get away and let's put it this way - if she's that clever you won't be ambushing her successfully wtih a bath towel twice...

electronic

thanks for the info sweeper my kitten knowledge is slowly growing.

Kerryspirit

:rolleyes:Well this smart little.... ;-)

i lured her in with the bloody expensive whiskas and she went into the basket and when i jumped to the door to close it she went out so fast unbelieveable now she does not go in at all....man :rolleyes:

I am too timid for the towel attack ;-) wouldnt be able to do that....
any other tips.:eek:

thanks so much sweeper u seem to know all about kittens... ;-0
mine are ready to go next week and i already have a very very sad heart

dan_d

I've posted on another thread about a cat I have who HATES the cat box (runs and hides when it's brought out!) .She's much gentler but hates being picked up...
We have developed one trick though....tip the front (where the door is) of the box up on a couple of books or something so it's tilted at an angle, towards the back. It's that bit harder for them to get out then.Also put it so the door is on the edge of a chair or on the edge of a table, not a flat surface. They turn to run and they have to run and jump to get out, so it's not as easy.
Last time it took 3 attempts to get ours in - the first time she hung on to the door with her paws to prevent herself being pushed (gently) in and in the second that it took to push her in and close the door, she shot back out. Ditto the second time.The third time we tilted the front of the box up on 2 books, so she kind of slid towards the back and didn't have time to turn and get out before we closed the door.
We're going to repeat this operation this evening to go to the vet with her, and I ain't looking forward to it .... it knocks about 10 years off my life with the stress and the guilt!!!

Kerryspirit

dan_d wrote: »

I've posted on another thread about a cat I have who HATES the cat box (runs and hides when it's brought out!) .She's much gentler but hates being picked up...
We have developed one trick though....tip the front (where the door is) of the box up on a couple of books or something so it's tilted at an angle, towards the back. It's that bit harder for them to get out then.Also put it so the door is on the edge of a chair or on the edge of a table, not a flat surface. They turn to run and they have to run and jump to get out, so it's not as easy.
Last time it took 3 attempts to get ours in - the first time she hung on to the door with her paws to prevent herself being pushed (gently) in and in the second that it took to push her in and close the door, she shot back out. Ditto the second time.The third time we tilted the front of the box up on 2 books, so she kind of slid towards the back and didn't have time to turn and get out before we closed the door.
We're going to repeat this operation this evening to go to the vet with her, and I ain't looking forward to it .... it knocks about 10 years off my life with the stress and the guilt!!!

Oh i can remember the stress and guilt... :rolleyes:

I will try that it seems a good idea so it is like a slide, right? she slides into it..
Oh my god if an animal right group hears that but the horny tomcat is around already i have to act quick i guess, even my kittens are adoooorable but still.. ;-)

Kerryspirit

thanks so much for all ur advice - I DID IT.
THanks for the sliding in tip - god she is going beserk now and my guilt....i aged now 10 yrs -and now? my vet is off tonight; great!

so she has to spend the nite in the basket....and dont ask how i feel......:(:mad::(:mad:

thanks