When is a kitten weened?

Answer 1

Kittens usually begin the weaning process around 6 to 8 weeks of age, although some will start as young as 4 or 5 weeks old. They begin by taking an interest, or picking at, their mother's solid food. At this age they will still be suckling and getting nutrients from their mother, but putting a tiny bit of wet food down every few hours will entice them to eat. You could see if they will lick food off your fingertip or off their own paws. This first stage can take several days.

Mashed up wet food, or wet food that is throughly mixed with a little water or kitten milk (never cow's milk) is the best type of food for them right now. It is easy for them to eat and digest. It is advisable not to try dry food as, even softened with water, kittens may still not be able to eat it. Be sure to feed them from a plate and not a bowl, as it is easier for the kittens to pick up the food. As kittens have tiny stomachs, it is recommended to feed little and often - around 6 meals a day is a common schedule for kittens learning to wean and ones that are newly weaned.

Gradually, over the course of several weeks, decrease the amount of water/milk in the food as the kittens become more confident with eating. The weaning transition should not be rushed.

Answer 2

Kittens usually begin the weaning process around 6 to 8 weeks of age. They begin by taking an interest, or picking at, their mother's solid food. At this age they will still be suckling and getting nutrients from their mother, but putting a tiny bit of wet food down every few hours will entice them to eat. You could see if they will lick food off your fingertip or off their own paws. This first stage can take several days.

Mashed up wet food, or wet food that is throughly mixed with a little water or kitten milk (never cow's milk) is the best type of food for them right now. It is easy for them to eat and digest. It is advisable not to try dry food as, even softened with water, kittens may still not be able to eat it. Be sure to feed them from a plate and not a bowl, as it is easier for the kittens to pick up the food. As kittens have tiny stomachs, it is recommended to feed little and often - around 6 meals a day is a common schedule for kittens learning to wean and ones that are newly weaned.

Gradually, over the course of several weeks, decrease the amount of water/milk in the food as the kittens become more confident with eating. The weaning transition should not be rushed.

Answer 3

Kittens usually begin the weaning process around 6 to 8 weeks of age. They begin by taking an interest, or picking at, their mother's solid food. At this age they will still be suckling and getting nutrients from their mother, but putting a tiny bit of wet food down every few hours will entice them to eat. You could see if they will lick food off your fingertip or off their own paws. This first stage can take several days.

Mashed up wet food, or wet food that is throughly mixed with a little water or kitten milk is the best type of food for them right now. It is easy for them to eat and digest. It is advisable not to try dry food as, even softened with water, kittens may still not be able to eat it. Be sure to feed them from a plate and not a bowl, as it is easier for the kittens to pick up the food. As kittens have tiny stomachs, it is recommended to feed little and often - around 6 meals a day is a common schedule for kittens learning to wean and ones that are newly weaned.

Gradually, over the course of several weeks, decrease the amount of water/milk in the food as the kittens become more confident with eating. The weaning transition should not be rushed.

Answer 4

Kittens that are six weeks old are probably only starting to take an interest, or picking at solid food. At this age they will still be suckling from their mother, but putting a tiny bit of wet food down every few hours will entice them to eat. You could see if they will lick food off your fingertip or off their own paws.

Mushed up wet food (one with a good meat source and no grains/corn/wheat in), or wet food that is throughly mixed with a little water or kitten milk is the best type of food for them right now. It is easy for them to eat and digest. It is advisable not to try dry food as, even softened with water, kittens may still not be able to eat it. As the kittens get older and bigger, you can slowly decrease the amount of water or kitten milk you use in the food, and leave slightly larger chunks for them to chew.

Be sure to feed them from a plate, as it is easier for the kittens to pick up the food.

As for liquids, they are still probably drinking a lot from mum. You can leave down a shallow saucer of water, but they may not touch this until they have stopped feeding from their mother completely.

Answer 5

Kittens usually begin the weaning process around 6 to 8 weeks of age. They begin by taking an interest, or picking at, their mother's solid food. At this age they will still be suckling and getting nutrients from their mother, but putting a tiny bit of wet food down every few hours will entice them to eat. You could see if they will lick food off your fingertip or off their own paws. This first stage can take several days.

Mashed up wet food, or wet food that is throughly mixed with a little water or kitten milk (never cow's milk) is the best type of food for them right now. It is easy for them to eat and digest. It is advisable not to try dry food as, even softened with water, kittens may still not be able to eat it. Be sure to feed them from a plate and not a bowl, as it is easier for the kittens to pick up the food. As kittens have tiny stomachs, it is recommended to feed little and often - around 6 meals a day is a common schedule for kittens learning to wean and ones that are newly weaned.

Gradually, over the course of several weeks, decrease the amount of water/milk in the food as the kittens become more confident with eating. Some kittens will wean more quickly or more slowly than others. This is normal. The weaning transition should not be rushed.

Answer 6

It depends on the mother's temperment, really; if she is young, with poor mother's instincts, she may leave the litter as early as a week, in which case the litter would not survive.... generally a kitten is weaned when the litter discovers other food-sources, and leaves her alone, which can vary from 6 to 10 weeks.

Answer 7

When kittens are about 4-8 weeks old, they graually need less and less milk from their mother and start to eat solid food.

Answer 8

between 5-6 weeks.