Expert: Norman Auspitz - 10/4/2009

Question
I have rescued a kitten 3 days ago.  The kitten was really skinny and at first would not take to the bottle.  The day after, I got it to drink from the bottle.  The kitten seems to be about 4 weeks.  The first day it didn't seem to be able to hear or see, although it had it's eyes open.  On the second day it seemed to grow over night and it can hear and see.  Now the kitten, during feeding time, gets really excited when it sees the bottle but also attacks it and meows aggressively when he's drinking.  I thought maybe the nipple wasn't big enough or the hole wasn't big enough.  But that didn't seem to be the case.  And also, is kitten feces watery or is it formed yet?  I have gotten it to use the litter box but it doesn't look like he's pooed yet.  Also tried the warm washcloth and stuff but didn't work either unless it is kind of watery like urine.

Answer
Lisa,

This type of kitten aggression is normal kitten play.  If you have ever seen a litter of very young kittens play, they are terrible with lots of biting and scratching.   The thing is that cat skin is very, very tough, so the biting/scratching behaviors are normal play for kittens.  They have to learn that human skin is much softer and they need to be gentler with us.

We like to pick up, stroke and speak softly to our kittens.  If the rough play begins, they get scruffed and, when relaxed put the kitten down and walk away, so the holding/stroking/soft talking game ends.  Kittens love to be picked up and held and stroked and spoken to softly, so it does not take long for them to figure out to be gentler with people. You have to be absolutely consistent with this behavior modification technique as does everyone else in the household. Also, there must be absolutely no rough housing with the kitten as this encourages the biting/scratching behavior.

At 4 weeks, the kitten can be weaned and can begin eating solid foods.  We like to start with a good strained meat baby food (only ingredients strained meat and broth or gravy). The baby food becomes a super treat and a great way to give medicine, if necessary, later on. Once the kitten is eating baby food, you can mix it with some cat food and gradually give only the cat food.

Color of stool is not so important as is consistency (they should be formed) and the kitten should be defecating about once a day. Now, this kitten is a bit stressed, so it may take a couple of days to defecate.  Once the weaning process starts, the kitten should defecate more regularly.

Please let me know how it goes or if you have any questions on any of the above.