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Old September 27th, 2007, 05:43 PM
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Exclamation When do I feed kittens dry food?

The kittens are four weeks old now and are getting into mom's dry food. They seem to have a hard time chewing it and I'm not even sure if they are actually eating it.

Should I look into getting them dry kitten food? Or is it still too soon for them? Right now I've gone to putting mom's food up high because I'm worried it will upset their stomachs.

Also tghey are biting at everything they can get their paws on, is there anything I can get them to convince them not to bite me? They have several soft toys to play with and strings but they don't seem too interested in them.
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Kane (Dog)- Age 3-ish
Vega (Cat)- Age unknown, but is full grown
Psycho 1 & 2 (Cockateels)- 4 years
Scaredy & Vermillian- Couple months, Vega's first semi-feral batch.

Owned by a litter of Kittens - 7 weeks:
Kit- Male. Mine
Oakley- Male. My brother's.
Mittens- Female.
Denali- Male. My brother's roommate.
Spuffy- Female.
JD- Male. Mine
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  #2  
Old September 27th, 2007, 06:00 PM
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Quote:
The kittens are four weeks old now and are getting into mom's dry food. They seem to have a hard time chewing it and I'm not even sure if they are actually eating it.

Should I look into getting them dry kitten food? Or is it still too soon for them? Right now I've gone to putting mom's food up high because I'm worried it will upset their stomachs.

Also tghey are biting at everything they can get their paws on, is there anything I can get them to convince them not to bite me? They have several soft toys to play with and strings but they don't seem too interested in them.
I am most definately not an expert, but I have been researching like crazy for weeks now. Kittens start eating a little solid food at 4 weeks old, so that won't really hurt him. However, from what I understand, it really isn't good for kittens (or even adult cats) to eat dry food. This is due to the fact that felines have a very low thirst drive and must be 5-10% dehydrated before they will drink water. Cats evolved in a desert environment and natually get their water from their prey. If you are comfortable feeding commercial food, might I suggest feeding a quality canned instead?

As for the biting, I trained Amber off it by simply removing my hand and giving her one of the toys in its place.
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  #3  
Old September 27th, 2007, 06:50 PM
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I agree about feeding them canned food rather than dry. Perhaps you can leave out a plate of canned kitten food and see if they start eating that instead?
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Old September 27th, 2007, 11:18 PM
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I took your advice and fed them a can of salmon that their mom has been eating all through pregnancy and after. They adored it! At first they were hestiant, but the two females attacked it voraciously and the rest of them finally gave in. They ate almost the entire can themselves, mom helped a bit though.

^^ Thanks for the advice. ^^
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Owned by:
Kane (Dog)- Age 3-ish
Vega (Cat)- Age unknown, but is full grown
Psycho 1 & 2 (Cockateels)- 4 years
Scaredy & Vermillian- Couple months, Vega's first semi-feral batch.

Owned by a litter of Kittens - 7 weeks:
Kit- Male. Mine
Oakley- Male. My brother's.
Mittens- Female.
Denali- Male. My brother's roommate.
Spuffy- Female.
JD- Male. Mine
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  #5  
Old September 28th, 2007, 08:31 AM
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The kittens should be eating a watered down, high quality kitten canned food. Wellness makes a tasty grain free canned for kittens. I started feeding them at 3.5 weeks as per the advice of my vet. They didn't eat much, but watched their momma wolf down most of their food. They learn from watching momma's actions.

I feed them 5 times a day, both momma and kittens.

Momma will be wanting to start weaning them at about 5-6 weeks so they should be eating mostly canned food at that stage. My foster kittens are almost 10 weeks old and I am still watering down their canned, much easier for them to eat and it ensures they are getting enough to drink.

Good luck and can you post some pictures?

I do keep a small bowl of Wellness kitten kibble out for them during the day because I am work and don't want them to be hungry.

Last edited by Love4himies; September 28th, 2007 at 08:33 AM. Reason: Additional comment
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Old October 2nd, 2007, 05:42 AM
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They seem to be doing alright on the canned cat food I have them on. It's supposed to be for cats and kittens (Purina Friskies). I've been feeding them Catfish dinners and Ocean Whitefish & Tuna Dinners. They seem to pretty wet and have sauce on the bottom as well. The kittens don't seem to be having any trouble.

I've been watching their bowel movements and such. They whinned a bit the first few days, but seem to be going well. So I'm thinking I should keep going with this...Unless someone knows whether or not this isn't good for them?

(Also no pictures of them eating food, but here's a few of them snoozing and chilling ^^ I intend to snap a few eating photos of them next time they eat. ^^)
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Owned by:
Kane (Dog)- Age 3-ish
Vega (Cat)- Age unknown, but is full grown
Psycho 1 & 2 (Cockateels)- 4 years
Scaredy & Vermillian- Couple months, Vega's first semi-feral batch.

Owned by a litter of Kittens - 7 weeks:
Kit- Male. Mine
Oakley- Male. My brother's.
Mittens- Female.
Denali- Male. My brother's roommate.
Spuffy- Female.
JD- Male. Mine
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  #7  
Old October 2nd, 2007, 07:19 AM
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OMG,beautiful pics,beautiful kittens
What is going to happen to them as they grow?
I hope they'll all be spayed/neutered and get good homes.
As for the biting,that's what kittens do,they are not biting because they are agressive,they are biting because they are kittens.
My hands are a road-map of tiny scars
Try to avoid playing with them with your hands,it's hard,they are just soo cute,soft and cuddly.
OOOPS,I read your signature and see you have homes for all the kittens..
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Last edited by chico2; October 2nd, 2007 at 07:21 AM.
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  #8  
Old October 2nd, 2007, 12:51 PM
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Love4himies Love4himies is offline
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Aww they are so sweet. I prefer a canned food that is grain free and no by products. My foster kittens are eating Felidae Cat and Kitten, canned, and Wellness Kitten, canned, and dry for snacking. They are currently 11 weeks.
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  #9  
Old October 2nd, 2007, 02:03 PM
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Very cute kittens. I don't know which one the last one is but that pic is adorable.
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  #10  
Old October 2nd, 2007, 02:07 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Love4himies View Post
Aww they are so sweet. I prefer a canned food that is grain free and no by products. My foster kittens are eating Felidae Cat and Kitten, canned, and Wellness Kitten, canned, and dry for snacking. They are currently 11 weeks.
I agree with feeding a premium/holistic cat food if you can. The canned foods mentioned are good choice. If you want to leave kibble out for snacking on I would recommend Orijen (www.championpetfoods.com). It is grain-free as well.
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  #11  
Old October 3rd, 2007, 10:52 AM
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Chico- Yeah. I'm super happy most of them will be around for me to watch them grow up. I let them nibble a little at my hands, but if they bite hard I pick them up and move them away. It seems to discourage some of them from all but nibbling at me (usually ^.-).

Grain free and no by products? I'm going to have to look into that.

Rainbow- That's my Kit. ^^ He has a fascination with eating my blanket.

Also for the moment they can't reach my desk so I have mom's dry food up there. Until I get a dry kitten food that mom and kids will like.
__________________
Owned by:
Kane (Dog)- Age 3-ish
Vega (Cat)- Age unknown, but is full grown
Psycho 1 & 2 (Cockateels)- 4 years
Scaredy & Vermillian- Couple months, Vega's first semi-feral batch.

Owned by a litter of Kittens - 7 weeks:
Kit- Male. Mine
Oakley- Male. My brother's.
Mittens- Female.
Denali- Male. My brother's roommate.
Spuffy- Female.
JD- Male. Mine
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  #12  
Old October 3rd, 2007, 12:06 PM
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Kit'sGirl Kit'sGirl is offline
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On a side note, when I tried to water down the wet food the kittens snubbed it for a day. They refused to eat it that way. I'm going to go hunting for some grain-free, no-by product catfood because I'm just a wee worried. Usually they are fine, but now and then one of them will whine when going number two like it's painful. It's never the same one and doesn't happen regularly...
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Owned by:
Kane (Dog)- Age 3-ish
Vega (Cat)- Age unknown, but is full grown
Psycho 1 & 2 (Cockateels)- 4 years
Scaredy & Vermillian- Couple months, Vega's first semi-feral batch.

Owned by a litter of Kittens - 7 weeks:
Kit- Male. Mine
Oakley- Male. My brother's.
Mittens- Female.
Denali- Male. My brother's roommate.
Spuffy- Female.
JD- Male. Mine
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