@crits4cats.bsky.social @ckshowalter.bsky.social Mama seems to have decided she’s pretty much done with nursing, kittens were 5 weeks on Friday. They still aren’t interested in any of the gruel options I’ve offered, even though they’ve all lost 20-30g over the last 36 hrs. How do I jump start them?
I will take a 1ml syringe full of pate and stick it in their mouths via the direct route (a little bite at a time). It sometimes takes a few syringe fulls but usually they figure out it is food and start seeking more.
This.
You can do it babies! Sometimes when one of them has figured it out, bringing the siblings around the plate can encourage competitive eating
The only one who kept eating without constant encouragement was Naboris, and Rudania didn’t quite get it yet, but I’ll try again in a couple hours.
Also it’s normal for kittens to lose a little weight during weaning especially if mom is cutting them off (or they don’t have a mom), so don’t panic right away as long as you see them making strides at learning. Hunger & instinct are powerful motivators!
It’s a process until their little carnivore brain clicks over, they’ll get the hang of it pretty quick especially when they get a little hungry without mom’s constant top offs.
Kitten psychology…
Likewise, can add powdered formula and water to the gruel so it’s not all meat and transition to wet food over 1-2 weeks. Some kittens get it right away, some need syringing longer (1-2 weeks). They all figure it out in the end, each at their own pace
I know with mine the mama cat hated wet food, so the kittens refused anything I tried to transition them. Was about to despair when one randomly fell face first into the mama dry food bowl & started chowing down. The others followed suit. So they went straight from nursing to dry food🤦♀️
