How Old Should Kittens Be To Wean Them
At this point the kitten s stomach has developed to the point that it can process solid food.
How old should kittens be to wean them. When to wean kittens. Normally the kitten weaning process begins at about four weeks of age. You can start weaning them at 7 weeks and have them weaned at 8 weeks. During this time the kittens will still occasionally nurse on their mother but they will also start to eat liquid kitten food.
It just needs to be taught to eat solid food. Present your kitten with replacement milk. Most people that raise orphaned kittens choose to wean them onto solid food early at around four weeks or so. Generally when a kitten s eyes are open and able to focus and he is steady on his feet the introduction of solid food can.
If you are out at work all day and aren t able to come home at lunchtime maybe another member of your family can do the midday. It is also tranferring all the positive stuff from the food to the kittens via her milk and it is the best for her at the moment. The mom needs some special food while she is feeding the kittens. By six weeks old kittens will almost always be eating only solid food and not relying upon their mother s milk for nutrition.
Some litters literally dive in the food bowl as soon as i offer them their first meal where as some litters decide that the food i am offering them is in fact poison and should not be consumed under any circumstances. But if you re weaning a kitten that has been orphaned you can start a little earlier between three and four weeks. At first your kitten will need about four to five. Certainly by five weeks old all of your kittens should be taking an active interest in more solid food.
When they start biting and chewing on the bottle they re ready. Kittens live the first 2 weeks of their lives only consuming their mother s milk. As the kittens reach four to six weeks old the queen will begin to wean them and her milk supply will become more scarce as this happens. With mom they ll start to try to eat her food and she ll push them away from her says benson.
The queen will also begin to correct the behaviour of her litter at this point telling them off if they go too far or play. You can give this to the mom. Get a bag of dry food for kittens 1st stage. The liquid kitten food should gradually get thicker until it is a watered down canned kitten food or a moistened kitten kibble.
I usually start weaning kittens by introducing my kittens to solids at about three to four weeks though i do not worry if they are not eating until about five or six weeks old. By the time kittens are 6 weeks old they will be ready to wean and starting eating some solid food. If you are in charge of weaning an orphaned kitten please remember that weaning should not be attempted at too early of an age. Part 2 of 2.
Once you start to wean your kittens it s a good idea to try and feed them about four times a day if it s practical for you breakfast lunch tea and bedtime. The weaning process normally begins when kittens are around four weeks old and is usually completed when they reach eight to ten weeks.