kitten now 8 weeks, longest 3 weeks(PHOTOS NOW ADDED)

bkca1230

hi just thought i'd post this. we got a kitten 3weeks ago, was told she was 8 1/2 weeks . we went to vets day after we got her as she was being sick basically he said she was 5 weeks (400g) so i have been her mum for last 3 weeks and syringing milk, wiping bottom(long haired) bathing her etc . she is now 8 weeks (715g) and im so pleased that we got this far. she feeding well now on wet/dry food. izzy purrs if i have to bath her bottom area. she is so lovely and best of all my other 18mth cat plays with her now aswell.
why cant people tell the truth when selling animals, it really makes me angry. all i can say is she better off with us now.

Pinkdebster

I totally agree with you!!! What a terrible thing to do. I can only assume the role of "parent" becomes too taxing for some people!!

I'm just glad your little kitten ended up having such a lovely "Mum" as you and I hope you have a lovely life together x

feefeelalabelle

why would people do this, im sure if someone not as attentive as you would have ended up with her she would have died, at that age they need their mummies (although now she has you too ! x)

925dancer

This is why we need proper regulation of breeders, someone being irresponsible and not spaying their pet who then gets pregnant by the local wayward tom, who has goodness knows what infectious diseases and then they get fed up with the kittens costing them a lot of time and money so try and sell them on as early as they can get away with. It makes me fume. Kittens should be with mum till 12 weeks and you'd be hard pushed to find a reputable ped breeder allowing them to leave any earlier than that.

Add onto that people selling animals this way do little to no vetting/checking of their buyers then who knows where the majority of these pets end up.

This is why I wish free ad site didn't allow the advertising of pets for sale and we should not be buying them. There's a saying amongst rescues "Don't breed or buy while shelter animals die". There is a crisis and these "breeders" are making it all the worse.

On the other hand, this little kitten seems to have gotten very lucky and landed on her paws with you. I'm so pleased to hear she is thriving.

lallysmum

It's not always an irresponsible cat owner that allows their cat to get pregnant.

Missy came to us from CPL, apparently spayed. 3 months later she gave birth to 5 kittens. I did not want kittens. She didn't want kittens. I kept all the kittens until they were 12 weeks as the vet advised, and then found it impossible to rehome them. All anyone wanted were the cute and cuddly 6 week old bundles of fluff advertised for £100 on Preloved and the like.

I ended up keeping all 5 until they were 6 months old, fully trained, spayed, vaccinated and chipped, and then giving them away (to vetted home.. people thought I was crazy)

It's not only irresponsible sellers, it's irresponsible buyers too.

(CPL gave me a voucher to pay for the cost of her spaying which was done as soon as kittens were 12 weeks)

ETA

Not meaning to imply that OP is an irresponsible buyer.. You've done a wonderful job with your kitty.. we need pictures!

925dancer

But you would have to admit you are the exception to the rule?

I know a fair few independent rescues and through their rescue grapevine hear a lot of stories. Back street breeders are a huge problem and free ad sites make it far too easy for them.

However, this is a debate not for this thread I feel, sorry OP! I'm just a bit passionate about it.

bkca1230

how do i post photos

leoetal19

oh bless, she sounds lovley!!
i bought three kittens from a woman who had rescued them from a colleague of her husband-he was going to drowned them so she offered to take them-the man said they were 8 weeks old but when i got them to my vet she said they were 5 weeks too!! i had to mother buddy (mine) and the other two who were for my son and his girlfriend but they went on holiday an hour after we collected them
thay had awful diarrhoea so i had to follw them round and wash them a few times (long haired too)
anyway they survived and thrived. buddy is a mischievous devil of a cat, long haired, chocolate brown, looks half persian, i wouldnt be without him xx
there are some awful people around
but i alos have twin cats who i got very young too but this was because there mum was killed, so theres so many reasons for too young babies to be seperated from their mum
what they all have in common is the need to suck an blanket (or fleecy dressing gown) and tread-like kittens do with their mum to let down the milk, as they were never weaned properley they still do this despite one being 5 and the other 2 being 3!!

soupdragon10

Well done to you - I've been through this as I adopted a 5 week old kit that had been rejected by his mum. He's now a huge lad and you'd never know what a hard time he had to begin with.

rising_from_the_ashes

awww, both mine came when they were 5 weeks so have also been through this.

The "big" one and his brother were rejected by their mother at 5 weeks so he arrived early. He's now a huge strapping lad so no ill effects there.

The "wee" one, well this is another story of stupidity.... The girl who had the mother cat was worried about her getting pregnant again (and rightly so) so she took her to the vets and they neutered her... Great, but the kittens were only 5 weeks old! I can't believe a vet would do this as it must've been obvious she was a nursing mother and, not surprisingly, she didn't want anything to do with the litter when she got home - would you want 6 babies jumping all over your sore side? - so she arrived early too.

She was only 360g so very teeny. She's also grown up into a big beautiful adult too.

Well done on taking this on as it's hard work - however, this will be well paid back over the years to come. Both mine are extremely affectionate and I can "do anything" to them (ie towel dry like a dog, get them to take medication, pick them up/carry them around without a fuss).

Wishing you and your wee one a happy life together.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

I've done it twice. You can't beat the bond you have with them when you have been their mum. They were both rescue kittens as well. One died recently at the age of 18 and a half [sniff], the other is 13. I was given a kitten about 9 weeks old around the same time as getting the second one, and he is also very sociable, but obviously didn't require anywhere near as much work as Spice or Mitzi did. The most unsociable cat I have ever taken in was about 6 months old when she was rehomed; she took years to become a 'proper' cat. She went to her initial owner from the reputable breeder at around 12 weeks and just didn't seem to engage with them at all.

If I had the choice of taking a kitten at 7 - 8 weeks rather than 12, I'd take the younger cat: obviously, 5 weeks is far too young, but 12 seems too long to me. I'm used to dealing with them - I've also cared for puppies from around the 7 to 8 week old stage successfully, so it would be strange to get one older than that (except for the rescue ones, who were around 14 months old - they were seriously more work than a whole litter of puppies).

Perhaps this is because I get cast offs which are better off with me than where they are now.