4 week old kitten wont eat please help

TobysMom

Hello, I just got a four week old kitten and i have an issue that i need some assisstance with. Toby is almost five weeks old and i have started him on his formula mixed with kitten caned food (iams). He seems to like it but the problem is that i feel he isnt eating nearly as much as he should be eating. He wont eat out of his plate i have to put the food on my finger and he will lick it off. I give him 2 tablespoons of the food about every four hours but he never finishes it and most of the time he wont even eat half. He also has a water bowl that he wont go near. He has been using the litter box often and has moved his bowels and that all looks normal, he is very playful and very good but he just doesnt seem to want to eat. I heard about giving him Gerber baby food maybe but i would love to hear what yous have to say first befor i make any moves. Please if you could get back to me as soon as possible it would mean the world to me.

Thank You so much
Concerned mommy

Chessmind · Posted: Tue May 11, 2004 5:20 am Post subject:

Hello.

How long have you had Toby? I'm sure he's very cute. I hope you can post some pics of him for us. Anyway, going back on topic, whenever you get a new cat/kitten you always want to take it to the vet as soon as possible for a full check-up to make sure they are in good health. This is so important. I would call your vet and schedule a visit for little Toby as soon as possible. You can also save yourself a little bit of money if you bring one of Toby's stool samples in a zip-lock bag to the vet (the fresher the better Sick

)

Also, regarding the food, IAMS is not quality food and we are what we eat, regardless if we are people or animal. If you want your kitty to be as healthy as possible you may want to look into other foods such as Wellness, Innova and there are a few others. When my cat was a kitten he was eating Max Kitten soft with KMR powder and I had hard food left out for him at all times. I thought it was pretty good food. Now, he gets Wellness hard and soft. Had I known at the time about other quality foods he probably would have been eating Wellness hard and soft food. Oh well, at least he's eating good food now. Very Happy

Here is a link below on Wellness. Again there are other quality foods out there, besides Wellness and they are in the same price range as IAMS.

http://www.omhpet.com/cats/wellness_detail.asp?pCode=canCatChicken

TobysMom · Posted: Tue May 11, 2004 1:49 pm Post subject: 4 week old kitten wont eat

Hey there thank you so very much for your reply you have no idea how much that ment to me. Laughing

I got Toby on saturday and he seems a ok the only thing is that he just does not seem to want to eat all of his food. I am planing on takeing him to the vet once i get my next paycheck.... Would you know how much i would be looking at for a vet visit so i know how much to save? He is such a playful little thing too and just seems to be so very very happy. This is my very first kitten i never thought i would like them but behold i am so in love with this little guy. I will be posing some pics of him next week also. Once again thank you so much for your advice and help. I will be planing on buying some of the foods you listed for me.

Thank you so much again

Tobysmom

TobysMom · Posted: Wed May 12, 2004 2:41 pm Post subject: 4 week old kitten wont eat update

Well for the past two days i have been feeding Toby Iams caned food with KMR formula and yesterday and today he ate everything that was in his plate almost everytime i set his food out, Which in my mind i think is better then nothing at all... Right? I am going to stop and shop today to buy some new food cause i figured that maybe he is not eating it because he doesnt like how it tastes and is just eating it cause he has nothing else. Im just wondering if any of you can tell me of some brands that my kitten might love??? and is it ok for me to change his food? i also found out that my kitten is actually five almost six weeks old. Smile

Lol You must all think im such a retard lol sawwy.

Well if any of yous can help me out that would be great thanks.... Smile

Tobys Mom

Mary_NH · Posted: Wed May 12, 2004 5:00 pm Post subject:

stick with kitten food. Where did you get a kitten this young? Should still be with its mom which might explain the problems you are having. Did somethign happen to its mom?

I would avoid switching foods but stick to a good kitten food. Adult foods are much too rich for such a small baby.

charmedagain · Moderator Joined: 19 Mar 2004 Posts: 2341 Location: uk

Hi you can also give him a substitute milk which is designed for bottle feeding and weaning kittens mixed in with his food.
At 5weeks old he should still be with his mum.
Dont worry if he wont eat all his food try small amounts say a table spoon of food every couple of hours see if that helps.
At the moment his stomach is very small and not able to hold alot of food.
As he grows so will his appetite playing with toys with him will also help make him hungry.
Whatever you do dont let get his own way as at such a young age they soon learn that if he dont eat whats put out for him you will change it.
Also warming his food a little will make it smell and taste alot more which he also might like.

Good luck with toby and hope you have many years of joy from the little guy.

I so love kittys but my dogs dont lol

mike