You are here:
Cats/Cat
Advertisement
Question
QUESTION: I have an older pregnant cat and an abandoned 3 week old kitten, can the older cat nurse the kitten?
ANSWER: Anna,
Yes, the pregnant cat can nurse the 3 week old kitten, if she has milk. However, at 3 weeks, to make life simpler for everybody, you can start to wean the kitten. If the kitten is nursing when it is time for birth of the kittens, things may get a little hairy as the 3 week old kitten may be in the way.
If you need weaning instructions, please get back to me for a follow up.
Best regards... Norm.
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: We are bottle feeding the kitten's (3 of them now). How do I wean them?
Anna,
We like to wean our kittens using a good strained meat baby food (only ingredients strained meat and broth or gravy). We put a little in its mouths and, in time, it will develop a taste for it. Usually, it only takes a couple of days. After the kitten is eating the baby food, ,make sure it has access to a suitably kitten sized litter pan!
Once the kitten will eat the baby food from a spoon or plate, you can begin to mix a little wet cat food with the baby food and gradually change to all cat food. Once the kitten gets the hang of eating cat food, just feed it however much it will eat at a sitting. The whole process usually does not take much more than a couple of weeks.
BTW, one advantage of using baby food is that you can now use it for special treats and also to medicate when you may have to.
Please let me know if any of the above needs clarification.
Best regards... Norm
Related Articles
- Your Kittens First Year - What to Expect
- I Keep my "Fosters" - Reader Stories: How I Became a Foster Parent to Rescued Cats and Kittens
- Tracking Kittens Development- The First Six Weeks
- Cats Photo Calendar - March 2003 - Tabby Cats Pictures Page 19
- Kitten Food for Kittens - Give Them the Right Start in Life
Answers by Expert:
Norman Auspitz
Expertise
I can answer most non-veterinary questions about cats. My particular expertise is pedigree cats, breeding and showing. However, I am versed in feline behavior, cat breeds and their characteristics, general feline husbandry, and the like.
Experience
I judged for the Canadian Cat Association from 1975 until 1982. I am currently an approved allbreed judge for the Cat Fanciers'' Association (the world''s largets cat registry), and have been judging for them since 1991. I have been breeding pedigreed cats since 1971 and have been exhibiting pedigreed cats in shows since 1970. I obtained my first pedigreed cat in 1970 and have never looked back. In 1971, I obtained my first Abyssinian which has become my primary breed. In addition, I have bred Manx and Persians. Currently, besides the Abyssinians, I am also breeding Maine Coons.
Organizations
Cat Fanciers'' Association, inc. (CFA) and the Manx, Maine Coon, and Abyssinian breed councils. I am currently Abyssinian breed council secretary.
Publications
Cat Fancy Magazine, The Abyssinian Chapter in The Cat Fanciers'' Association Complete Cat Book, and Articles for various editions of The Cat Fanciers'' Association Yearbook
Education/Credentials
I received a B.S. from Drexel University in 1968, a M.Math from University of Waterloo, in 1970, a Ph.D. from University of Waterloo in 1975, and a MBA from McMaster University in 1980. I received my approved allbreed judging status in the Cat Fanciers'' Association in 1999.
Awards and Honors
We have produced a number of Cat Fanciers'' Association (CFA) National winning Abyssinian and Maine Coons. We have produced a number of Abyssinian and Maine Coon Distinguished Merit females (an award for a top producing cat), including the first Distinguished Merit Abyssinian in the red (sorrel) color. I am the CFA Abyssinian breed council secretary and belong and/or hold office in a number of cat clubs. I am also a member of the CFA Judges Association.
©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.