Expert: Norman Auspitz - 4/13/2011

Question
Hi! I took in a stray cat that belonged to my neighbor who moved out and left the cat outside to fend for itself. I knew she was pregnant by her big belly. She is a very friendly cat whom I know very well. I made her an appointment to get spayed after her kittens are weaned. My question is, she had these kittens 3.5 weeks ago. They are starting to run all around the house now and get into things. But they seem to be terrified of me. They back up in corners and shake. I usually pick them up and put them back with their mother when this happens. I try petting them gently and speaking in a quiet nice voice to them. Is this normal kitten behavior? I want to get them used to people so when they go to their new homes, they are more comfortable. Is there any way I can get them to feel more relaxed around me? There is one kitten that doesn't meow or back away. I can even hold her and she seems fine. I'd really appreciate any help you can give me. Also I'd like to know do all kittens have to be dewormed? Are they born with worms? And my last question is will the mother wean the kittens herself or do I need to interfere? I'm pretty sure she will do it herself but I just want to make sure. Thank you very much!

Answer
Eileen,

Yes, this is normal kitten behavior.  By 5 weeks they should be weaned.  You can help out, if you like to speed the process along as some mamas don't wean the kittens and some do! We use a good strained meat baby food to start them weaning, this helps get them used to you and solid food as well. You also need to confine the litter, since when you take mama away, you want to have some idea of where the kittens are, so they cannot go looking for mama. Once mama is gone, the kittens should warm up to you.  We like to just sit around and wait fort he kittens to come to us.  Once the kittens are comfortable approaching us, we like to hold them, stroke them, and speak to them gently. If they begin any aggressive behavior, we stop the "game", put them down, and walk away.

If mama does not have worms, the kittens will not have worms. Kittens usually acquire worms from mama via the normal worm life cycle. You can have mama's stool checked for worms.

Please let me know what happens or if you have any more questions.

Best regards... Norm.