new kitten

98jdougl

Oh's mother was away visiting her boyfriend when we got a call asking if we would be willing to take in a kitten- a litter of them had been abandoned in a ditch- nobody was willing to take them in, no sign of a mother and eventually there was just one kitten left so we have taken it in.
Got it yesterday and gone to the vet who is surprised at how healthy and fiesty he seems, has just turned 5 weeks old.

Got him toilet trained and he seems to be adjusting very well, just bites every now nad then...

I've only ever owned adult cats so dont know if there is anything else I need to do for him that might be different? He is on a de-worming course with one day left and getting his jabs next month.

98jdougl

Am feeding him about 2-4 times a day with a small handful of dried food, and occassionally a tablespoon of wet with it. He doesn't take it all at once and nibbles on it throughout the day- is this ok?

picklepick

Hello!

Congrats on new kitten, hes very young poor thing.
The food sounds ok to me. We leave dry food down throughout the day for our two so they can munch on it as and when they like.

Is he ok for fleas? No dirt on his skin or anything?

Other than that, all sounds ok to me.He'll need worming once a month til hes a bit older. Keep an eye on how much water hes drinking and encourage him to drink if you think you need to. especially if hes eating mainly dry food. Kittens can become dehydrated very quickly.

Is he sleeping ok through the night or does he cry a lot?
If hes unsettled you can try placing a hot water bottle (wrapped in a towel) and a ticking clock in his bed.

98jdougl

he woke up about 3am last night but had a bit to eat and a run around then back to bed.
He's drinking quite a bit... sometimes I just pop him in front of the water bowl and he'll drink away.

Vet checked for fleas and there was no sign and he's not been itching- he did have a dirty face but he cleaned it last night I guess cos it's all clean now.

He sleeps near me so think the warmth from that does him lol.

He is sooo cute

picklepick

Ahhh he sounds so sweet. Be careful if he sleeps near you that you dont roll over and squash him!

98jdougl

yeah was worried about it, but am used to sleeping with my other cats (although they were bigger) so manage to stay quite still

Lil_Me_2

When my kitten was young she liked to sleep on my chest. Took a bit of getting used to and harder as she got bigger but she's a sweetie.

Sounds like you're doing everything you need to. I can't think of anything to add that you're not already doing.

98jdougl

that's good, thanks for all your help- dont want to mess anything up- he must have been through so much already

attentionseeker1

Ha! Our kitten seemed to bite and scratch us continuously for about the first month with his teeny tiny claws and teeth! Soon grew out of it though thankfully!

Obviously make sure when he is old enough he is Frontlined, neutered and microchipped and be careful with him eating things! Our kitten just cost a small fortune in vets bills (fortunately insured) as he had picked up something from the ground, plastic or something, eaten it, and blocked his stomach! Naughty kitty!

His latest craze is frogs...

98jdougl

lol- def going to get him chipped- he is quite the explorer! and neutered obv
From what I've read m&s looks like the insurance I'll go with

medini

When we first got noodles we would often wake up and find him asleep on the pillow between me and my OH, now he either sleeps ontop of the wardrobe or at the bottom corner of the bed with the other cat. neither will sleep through the night in the basket or on the radiator bed for some odd reason

I think how you are feeding kitten is okay. Kittens need small regular meals and should always have accsess to nibbles and water, when they get older free feeding can lead to a chubby kitty, but for kittens its fine.

Good luck with your new kittie