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-   -   3 Week Old Kitten Help (http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=63065)

onster May 28th, 2009 01:48 PM

3 Week Old Kitten Help
 
Hi all

Just wanting some info for a friend. I noticed on facebook she had a new kitten and asked about it - turns out he's 3 weeks old, rescued from a construction site by a friend of hers.

I dont know how she knows he's 3 weeks old or if that is his true age - but assuming it is, is there any special care to give a 3 week old kitten?

She says "He eats his formula out of a baby bottle but he is also eating the soft tuna and chicken dinner things. Is that bad?!
What else don't I know? " (this was in response to me being kinda taken aback by his age and saying that he should prob be still eating formula)

Since I dont know much bout kittens so young, I thought I'd be best to ask the experts and then get back to her.

They also have another cat in the home - a senior kitty.

onster May 28th, 2009 01:51 PM

3 Attachment(s)
Here are pics of the lil guy. I somehow think he's older? :shrug: But what do I know, lol. The older the better IMO.
[ATTACH]52585[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]52586[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]52587[/ATTACH]

cpietra16 May 28th, 2009 01:52 PM

I like this site...it gives you a lot of info...good luck. At 3 weeks they can survive, but your friend needs to be there for all the feedings.
[url]http://www.feralcat.com/raising.html[/url]

onster May 28th, 2009 01:54 PM

Thanks so much cpietra!!

Dont you think he looks older tho?

cpietra16 May 28th, 2009 01:54 PM

he looks liek he is older than the ones I have at home who are 4 weeks old....
he seems to be 5-6 weeks. hard to see the actual size

cpietra16 May 28th, 2009 02:03 PM

look at my pictures and you can see the difference in size...

onster May 28th, 2009 02:03 PM

Thanks. that's a relief - that hes older. My friend is in the picture so you can reference to her arm I guess. But shes very petite.

I havent seem him but they live nearby so you bet Im gonna :D I sent her a link to the site you sent (thank you again!) and asked her a few questions eg. does he poo/pee by himself, is she feeding him actual kitten formula? - I think she may be feeding whiskas milk cuz I got her a few of those for her other cat a while ago. They were giving their senior kitty cows milk and he was throwing up a lot so I gave them some whiskas milk (which my guys like as a treat) yet doesnt cause them to throw up.

cpietra16 May 28th, 2009 02:04 PM

my kittens were born on May 8, I just found out and so they will be 3 weeks tomorrow.

onster May 28th, 2009 02:06 PM

Thanks--just saw the adorable pics :cloud9:! Ya he is definately older then.

:thumbs up:thumbs up

IF he is 5-6 weeks then (or somewhere around there) im assuming no need to worry about stimulation? Also is milk still needed then?

From the site it says can start to be weaned at 4 weeks?

cpietra16 May 28th, 2009 02:15 PM

here is another site that will tell you the stages that the cat goes thru from week 1

[url]http://www.arkanimals.com/2008/04/25/cats-kittens-developmental-stages-other-notes/[/url]

onster May 28th, 2009 02:18 PM

:thankyou: :thankyou:

Love4himies May 28th, 2009 02:25 PM

I agree with cpietra, the kitten looks more like 5-6 weeks old.

Quality canned cat food (maybe you can recommend Wellness or Instinct :o) and some socialization with their senior cat will be important. You will be surprised how much kittens learn from their elders, whether it is their momma or not.;)

Love4himies May 28th, 2009 02:25 PM

Whoops forgot to add, lots and lots of love :cloud9: :lovestruck:

onster May 28th, 2009 02:28 PM

L4H, I knew youd come in with great advice as well! thanks!


Unfortunately, my friends fam is not in the best financial situation. Dad's out of work and the mom was working - until she had a stroke earlier this year. She is still recovering and doing physio. My friend and her sister go to university and work as well.

Im actually a tad bit concerned knowing that this kitten didnt come from HS. I was hoping he did bc then at least there would be spay/neuter voucher and first set of shots/deworming :o Not that she isnt completely awesome for rescuing him......but I worry bc of the financial burden. Their older cat was given to them by friends who were moving. I believe he's 14 or something like that...I saw him once. Very geriatric looking but sweet guy.

Smoocherific May 28th, 2009 02:33 PM

When I had a tiny kitten found on the road that was about 3 weeks old my vet had me put her on a pediatric kitten food.

I also gave her kitty milk, my vet seemed to think she didn't need it...but thats a whole different story..love my vet...but our tiny Diana only lived to be approximately 9 weeks old because of a genetic disorder..I think someone dumped her because they knew she had serious issues.

This was her around 9 weeks
[IMG]http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk26/laiasmum/n838025433_4890487_62071.jpg[/IMG]

I think the kitteh you posted is more than 3 weeks. It should be seen bye a vet to make sure it is fine, be de-wormed..etc and maybe talk to the vet about food..but by the looks of it kitteh looks like it will be ok without mamma too me.

Love4himies May 28th, 2009 02:36 PM

[QUOTE=onster;784575]L4H, I knew youd come in with great advice as well! thanks!


Unfortunately, my friends fam is not in the best financial situation. Dad's out of work and the mom was working - until she had a stroke earlier this year. She is still recovering and doing physio. My friend and her sister go to university and work as well.

Im actually a tad bit concerned knowing that this kitten didnt come from HS. I was hoping he did bc then at least there would be spay/neuter voucher and first set of shots/deworming :o Not that she isnt completely awesome for rescuing him......but I worry bc of the financial burden. Their older cat was given to them by friends who were moving. I believe he's 14 or something like that...I saw him once. Very geriatric looking but sweet guy.[/QUOTE]

Hmmmm, do you think they would find another home for him? Not that I am saying they wouldn't provide a good home for him. Maybe the local shelter helps finance spay/neuters those who are low income. I know here in Kingston they do.

onster May 28th, 2009 02:47 PM

I know what you mean L4H. Sometimes I think im a snob because I worry when people I know of in hard financial situation get pets. But its not that i have any doubts that they would love them or care for them..its just that ..well i know how much I spend on mine and it isnt cheap!!!! Sure, I spoil my crew and they could cost me a lot less :o (sorry dad lol) but still a vet visit just for a checkup is $60 right there. I know so many great people on this forum would eat stale bread themselves to provide for their pets...but so many other people wouldnt.

I'll have to try be to tactful asking about him. I know I heard the mom tell the daughter that if the older kitty was vomiting a lot and it was getting to be a pain. She said if it continued like that theyd have to give him away. I knew at that point they gave him cows milk so I told her he may stop vomiting if they stop giving it. She said he likes it though. I dropped off a bunch of whiskas milk cartons as an alternative :o

So yeah...im def concerned.

I dont know bout our HS doing low cost spay/neuter. They adopt out without spaying/neutering and they dont spay/neuter on site. The voucher is for your own vet to do it up till a certain cost and then they return it. Ill give a call and ask tho. Maybe they could at least do vaccinations?

onster May 28th, 2009 02:51 PM

Smoocherific...sorry to hear the kitten passed away. He was a real cutie though. Im thinking with the kitten, named aladin btw, that if he is 5-6 weeks (thanks again cpietra, L4H), he should be just fine without mom too.

Smoocherific May 28th, 2009 02:51 PM

OH gosh I know how hard it is when your broke and had an animal dumped on you. Diana cost me all my savings for vet bills for my other pets..I'm still struggling to build it back up after her.

That was thoughful of you to bring over the milk, I'm sure the cows milk probably upset her tummy. Hopefully they can at least get her some good food to grow with. Maybe if they are hesitant you could call around to find vet prices?

14+kitties May 28th, 2009 05:43 PM

What a cutie. :cloud9:
The most important thing to find out is if he is defecating/urinating or not. To me he looks to be around 4 or 5 weeks. At that point he would be starting to eat solids. It's too bad they probably won't get him on a good quality food with their job issues. That would put him at a good advantage to grow and thrive. She could still give him formula for a few more weeks. It wouldn't hurt him.
The pic where he is stretched with legs over his head reminds me so much of TT when he was tiny last year. :lovestruck:

lUvMyLaB<3 May 28th, 2009 06:41 PM

doesn't look 3 weeks to me either but what a cutie!

At 3 weeks, they are usually more crawling, they are not walking with their tails up yet, still tails stretched out horizontal..

if he is eating solid food then you don't need to worry about the milk from a bottle.. He can have good canned food now.

lUvMyLaB<3 May 28th, 2009 06:46 PM

sorry.. and my guess is at least 6 weeks.. my foster that is here now is 5 and that kitty looks older... anyway he looks more than old enough for food and be a normal kitty!! Good luck to your friend!

lUvMyLaB<3 May 28th, 2009 06:55 PM

and I know it could be b/c of the flash.. but does kitty maybe have a resp infection? his eyes look like maybe and his nose looks irritated?? could just be the pics on my computer, my laptop screen sometimes makes pics look funny, but just curious.. I am sure he is at least 6 weeks if not older.. have you seen his teeth?

rainbow May 28th, 2009 07:07 PM

I agree as well .....kitty is def 5-6 weeks old and very cute as well. :lovestruck:

Chris 21711 posted a thread about a low cost spay/neuter clinic somewhere near Toronto but I think she mentioned that it also serves other areas. :shrug:

rainbow May 28th, 2009 07:10 PM

Here is the info that [B]Chris[/B] posted .....

[url]http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=60522&highlight=spay+central[/url]

onster May 30th, 2009 10:56 PM

Thanks everyone!!

Just wanted to say that the girl didnt get back to me after all the info I gave her (via msgs). I hope that everything is going well with the little guy and I will update as soon as I have more info. :grouphug:

onster May 30th, 2009 10:59 PM

thanks rainbow for the spay central (and chris of course). Ill be sure to pass it on.

ILuvMyLab -- I havent actually physically seen the kitten yet, but will def look him over for resp infection ( i know the signs cuz my bunduk has dealt with these many times).

rainbow May 30th, 2009 11:10 PM

Sending good wishes for the kitty .....hope everything works out for him. :fingerscr :goodvibes:

lUvMyLaB<3 May 31st, 2009 06:15 PM

awesome, he is so darn cute ohh I could sqeeeeeze him! Onster when you see him you could look at his teeth and that would give you an idea too on his age!

onster August 10th, 2009 11:51 AM

I just wanted to update on this lil guy, he is doing well. I saw him briefly yesterday but from outside the house (he was waiting for his mom at the window). What a cutie patootie is all I can say!

The friend and her sis are away on holiday now so its just the mom (who knows my mom). We went to a community event yesterday and she was telling me she was having difficulty clipping his nails and him scratching furniture. She also asked bout the cost of neutering etc, i told her about spay central, she was very excited (thanks again chris!).

I'm gonna go visit sometime this week hopefully (prolly thursday) and will update again then :goodvibes:

I have a Q, since he hasnt had any kitten vaccines at all, if he goes to spay central can he just get the annual vaccines? Also whats the normal cost of neutering at a normal clinic, does anyone know? Also wait times to get an apptment at spay central? I just wanna pass on all the possible info i can to her


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