Kittens, help please :)

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aimeeq94

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okay, im very excited, getting two kittens for at the stables, they will be mine when im there, but kept there as farm cats
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they are 6 week ols, but mother came in to vets to be spayed today anbd was not lactating, so they cant be on milk anymore.. so a few questions.

they are being kept in a large cage to start with, as they are very small..
1) should i feed them with cat milk or food? i thought cat milk to start with, as they are so young..

2) it is a half an hour drive home, i have a cat box thing, what doesn it need in it?

3) general looking after tips?

i did have a few more questions, but ive forgotten them now..
im sure theyll come back,,
any help would be greatlty appreciated!
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x
 
6 weeks is a bit young to be taken away from mum
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They should really be older, and eating proper food before they go. In which case I would feed a complete dry kitten food (something like James Wellbeloved) rather than tinned meat, and stay away from cat milk. Make sure they are wormed every month until they are 6 months old, then every three months. And frontline them regularly as well to prevent fleas and ticks. If they are farm cats they will be probably be very nervous so will need lots of TLC and playing with every day to make them nice and friendly before letting them out!

Oh and also, they should really be kept inside until they are 6 months old and they can get speyed/neutered but obviously being yard cats that probably wont happen...

Good luck
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NO NO milk!!! definitly not cat milk the only thing you could try would be the milk replacement used for when you get orphaned kittens to hand rear etc, hopefully where ever they have come from have started them on solids.

Yes you need to transport them in a carrier, its actually ilegal not to.

Kittens are so exciting!!! Bet you can't wait
 
Ask the vet regarding feeding, they will need feeding frequently.

Get a cat transporter box thingy in case of poos/wees and sick and to keep them in safe in one place. Line the cat box with newspapers, to help the kittens to keep their balance and to make cleaning up the above accidents easier.

They will need vaccinations, monthly flea treatment and 3 monthly worming. As they are going to be stable cats, its still very important that they get used to a variety of different people and they are used to be handled and they are happy and confident with it. Start things off slowly for them as they are so young, out of their environment and probably scared without their mum.
 
i know its young
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but the farmer that owns them now really doesnt care, id rather have them and them be cared rfor properly
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he doesnt even see them, they just roam around.

i am using a carrier, but what does it need in it?
i dont know what theyre eating tbh, as i say he doesnt really care, so what shoud i start them on?
i dont know if our other two are neutered, and i dont know what sex these two are either..
x
 
[ QUOTE ]
i know its young
frown.gif

but the farmer that owns them now really doesnt care, id rather have them and them be cared rfor properly
smile.gif

he doesnt even see them, they just roam around.

i am using a carrier, but what does it need in it?
i dont know what theyre eating tbh, as i say he doesnt really care, so what shoud i start them on?
i dont know if our other two are neutered, and i dont know what sex these two are either..
x

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If you already have two cats that might not be neutered at the yard is it really a good idea to get two more?
 
its not my yard, they just wanted 2 more as over the years theyve lost some..
and i think they are neutered..
in fact, i remember the most recent one being done, the other one will be
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x
 
The kittens need to be kept at home with you to continue to be fed several times a day. If they have not been weened, you will need to ween them yourself - or hopefully with the help of the vets, on to specialist young kitten food.

Once they are older (10 - 12 weeks ) you'll be in a position to start introducing them to their new life at the stables. You will need to ensure that they have started their course of vaccinations.

These are very, very young - and are not ready for the big wide world yet.

They should most definately not be fed milk (no cat should).

Your vet will/should give you very detailed information on how to look after them.
 
Oh right, well in terms of food most vets reccommend James Wellbeloved but Im sure thats because they get commission for it...Royal Canin is very good but I just feed mine Whiskers Complete (they also do a kitten version) and mine have been fine on that. If they struggle to eat it then you can wet it with a little warm water until it goes soggy.
 
What are the kittens fed now? Continue with that and slowly introduce kitten food. If they are on a milk formula, start mixing some kitten food in with it and wean them off the milk.

As you do not know what they are being fed (have just reread your post), then start them on a mashed up kitten food or a dry kitten food with some water added in.

Cats are in tolerant to milk sugar (lactose) and it causes diahorrea and tummy ache, so avoid this.

Do not let the kittens out until they have had all their vacs and are neutered. Its very important they are neutered. I am not sure what age this is done at, the vet will be able to advise on vacs and neutering. My cats have all been rescued and already had this done.

There is a good website on cats called the Feline Advisory Bureau and I strongly recommend having a look at this especially when it comes to finding out the gender of the kittens. I can tell by looking, but its difficult to describe.
 
i cant keep them at home :/ theyve always lived outside and are not really mine, im just looking after them while im there, as i volunteered to help out
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but at the moment they are just living on a farm, im the builidings and stuff and tbh i dont even know if they get fed :/ x
 
[ QUOTE ]
i cant keep them at home :/ theyve always lived outside and are not really mine, im just looking after them while im there, as i volunteered to help out
smile.gif
but at the moment they are just living on a farm, im the builidings and stuff and tbh i dont even know if they get fed :/ x

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I thought they'd been given to you?

Totally confused now.
 
Blimey 6 weeks is young to be taken away from mummy cat
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Unless you are going to be feeding and weaning them yourself then they really should be on solids before they are taken away from their mum.

They may already live outside, but they can't be expected to be able to fend for themselves at such a young age without mother cat around.
 
lol sorry, theyre farm cats..
im on work experience at a vets and someone brought his cat in today (the mother) to be spayed, and asked if i wanted two kittens.. because they were farm cats, i asked at the stables as i knew they were looking for a couple more.. and they said yes!
so they are the stables yard cats (stables i helpy at) and i said id look after them when im there...
unconfused?
 
[ QUOTE ]
lol sorry, theyre farm cats..
im on work experience at a vets and someone brought his cat in today (the mother) to be spayed, and asked if i wanted two kittens.. because they were farm cats, i asked at the stables as i knew they were looking for a couple more.. and they said yes!

so they are the stables yard cats (stables i helpy at) and i said id look after them when im there...
unconfused?

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Well that to me says that you are taking responsibility for these kittens - and that means some hard work for you for quite a few weeks to come. Starting with them at home - and then introduced to the yard.

If you can't have them at home - leave them with the vets. The veterinary nurses are bound to take them on. Or the Cat's Protection League.

If you can't give them the care they need at this young age - then you should not have them.

Sorry, blunt and to the point.
 
I always put an old but clean small towel in the bottom of my cats carry basket thingy! Bit softer than paper. Also i would get them used to people but not let everyone pull them around or keep picking them up at first because it will scare them. Especially the children, if any. Good luck and i'm sure they will fit in and love being in the yard, all those mice!
 
QR

If you are keeping these kittens feed them on a mixture of cimicat which is a milk replacement we feed orphaned kittens and mashed up kitten wet food. Its not idea but if they dont have a mum you will have to.

They need to be indoors, they can pick up all sorts outside.

If you cant look after them please contact your local CP, we have experience of young kittens. Its amazing how quickly they can go downhill and die.

They are not so young that you need to syringe feed hopefully, but if they cant grasp feeding on their own you will have to.
 
thankyou Sarah, there arent any children, im the youngest i think
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and im 15..
ooh actually theres one younger, shes 13..
mice, i hate them.. i hope the kittens like them
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I wonder how much of this advice you are actually taking on board or whether you are only listening to what you want to hear??

Fed my orphans cimicat while I was hand rearing them from two weeks old. Do you realise how expensive it is??
 
They're not that young really. I actively removed kittens from a feral mum at five weeks old, on the advice of vets and Cats Protection. Had I left them any longer I'd not have been able to catch them, therefore they'd have remained feral.

For the first couple of days I did offer watered down kitten milk that was warmed up. Just a little bit to tempt them. They also had fresh water at all times too.

As they were so young, mine did wean onto kitten meat that I chooped up even more finely than it comes from the pouch. Put it on a shallow saucer so they can walk through it to start with. They find that easier than feeding out of a bowl.

They come pre programmed for litter training if you keep them in a more confined area. Just make sure that the litter you use is non-clumping as they may eat some.

I would keep a little hot water bottle under their fleece blanket for warmth too, just for the first two weeks.

I weighed mine daily, just to be sure they were gaining weight. Any that seemed to gain less than the other two (as I had three) I would separate and feed it alone, just to make sure it wasn't being bullied out of the way at feeding times.

Wormed mine at 5 weeks, 8 weeks and they're due again soon (they're 11 weeks now).
 
[ QUOTE ]
Blimey 6 weeks is young to be taken away from mummy cat
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Unless you are going to be feeding and weaning them yourself then they really should be on solids before they are taken away from their mum.

They may already live outside, but they can't be expected to be able to fend for themselves at such a young age without mother cat around.

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Totally agree.

I believe they may die if mum isn't watching out for them. How many cats are in the colony? Tom cats are notorious for killing kittens when they reach this sort of age. We had it happen in our colony before we trapped and neutured them.

The latest lot of kittens we have ended up with are from a cat that was either a very young kitten when we had ours neutured or it's another cat that has turned up over time. We're actively trying to trap her.....but so far have only managed to catch some of the already spayed cats. ***rolls eyes***

Mine are nearly 12 weeks old now and I won't be letting them outside at all until they've been neutured.

If you get these in the house now and socialise them, they will remain tame even when introduced to their stable life in the months to come.
 
i am taking it all on board.
thanks for the advice, i only asked for some advice, dont need criticism..
thanks to evryone whos given the advice i ask for..
and btw, what does feral actually mean?
apparently the mum is "/
but i have no idea what it means..
 
Feral is semi-wild. She will not have had much (if any) human contact and probably hunts for her own food and looks after herself. Because of this she will probably be impossible to approach and will not take to being handled.
 
[ QUOTE ]
i am taking it all on board.
thanks for the advice, i only asked for some advice, dont need criticism..
thanks to evryone whos given the advice i ask for..
and btw, what does feral actually mean?
apparently the mum is "/
but i have no idea what it means..

[/ QUOTE ]

No one is criticising. Feral means 'wild'.

Good luck - sounds like a little chat with mum and dad about how best to proceed.
 
oh :S
i thought they sed today she was feral, but she was lovely, loved the attention, wa very quiet, but the farmer did say she was hard to catch :/ x
 
I got my first kitten when he was 7 weeks old, and he was already on hard food then (some sort of kitten version of a commercial cat food brand).

I wouldn't worry so much about the contents of the cat carrier for the 1/2-hour trip home (a little newspaper will be fine).

If you can't keep them at home for a bit, but have to take them to your yard, is there a room where they can be confined for a while (such as a tack room)? Or a stall that is sufficiently secure?

We had ours neutered at 4 or 5 months old.
 
If mum is feral then kittens will be too. I rescued a feral kitten she had to be kept in a cage for a week as I couldnt get near her without her attacking me, then it took about 3 months for her to trust me (she lived in my house but I never saw her just heard her tearing round the house at night!). If you dont have these kittens inside where they can have constant one to one attention I doubt they will become tame and you will end up having colonies of wild cats down at your yard!
 
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