# New mommy of orphaned kitten!



## vivstah (May 1, 2013)

Hey everyone! My name is Vivian and I'm so excited to interact with all you fur baby parents! I just brought home a 4 week old orphaned kitten today and I'm so excited for the road ahead=] :cat3


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## Marcia (Dec 26, 2010)

Hopefully he is eating solid food by now, or you will not get much sleep! Welcome to the forum and best wishes with kitty!


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## vivstah (May 1, 2013)

See that's the thing, she hasn't been weaned yet so I'm starting that process right away, BUT she slept all through the night without a peep! I guess I got lucky=p
Thanx for the kind words!


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## Mylita (Jan 23, 2013)

Welcome!

Congratz on becoming a new cat mommy/slave! :worship Have you named your new kitten? 

Bottle feeding, if it isn't already up to solid food, is an intensely time consuming effort, but worth it in the end. I would at least try giving it (boy or girl?) soupy canned kitten food, meaning mix in a bit of water and see if it will eat it on its own. You will probably have to teach it about kitty litter use, if it has never seen a litter box. Of course this is all contingent upon what you already know about him/her.

Mylita


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## Nell (Apr 7, 2005)

Welcome and congrats on your new kitten!

You may already know these things already, but just in case you don't...
For weaning, you could try putting the KMR on a saucer and see if the baby will lick it up. If so, you could then try adding a blob of soupy canned food to see if she'll eat it, then start adding more canned and less KMR each feeding. I would keep her in a small room for now with food, water and litter box, and some toys as well. Make sure there isn't anything where she could get hurt or crawl into and not get out of. 
Cat's even young kittens tend to naturally use a litter box even if they haven't been trained, so that may not even be an issue, but keeping her in a small area for now will help remind her to use the litter box. Like little kids, baby kittens sometimes don't realize they need to go until they really need to go, so having it close by is important. You may have some hygiene issues though as far as the kitten learning to cover her waste and clean herself up. Don't use clumping clay litter with a young kitten due to the risk of ingesting it (since they tend to get litter stuck to their feet when first learning to use the box.) Regular non clumping clay litter is fine and so are more natural litters made of wheat, corn, wood, etc. 

But anyway... Please share pics! We love pictures of cute kittens!


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## vivstah (May 1, 2013)

Thank you all for the replies/advice! My baby girls name is Kahlua and she's about 5 weeks old. I have introduced her to dry food soaked in water and mush it up so it's an oatmeal consistency and she LOVES it. She does make a huge mess and requires a mini bath after every meal, but that was to be expected
I'm feeding her Royal Canin babycat and so far so good. My only issue is trying to teach her to drink water. Its not clicking with her yet and I'm concerned because its hot out and I'm not sure if the moist food is enough? =[ Any tips on teaching the little ones to drink water?


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## vivstah (May 1, 2013)

Also I am using feline pine as her litter, but she only seems to poop and pee twice a day. Taking her to the vet on tuesday for a checkup but I'm not sure if this is normal or not? Just want my baby to be healthy!


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## NebraskaCat (Jan 15, 2013)

Kitty Cuteness!!
And another great name! Makes me thirsty though.


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## vivstah (May 1, 2013)

NebraskaCat said:


> Kitty Cuteness!!
> And another great name! Makes me thirsty though.


Thank you! Your babies are precious as well=]


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## Mylita (Jan 23, 2013)

Kitties do not naturally drink much, if any, water. That is why many of us think wet food is better than kibble ever is, even with water added to it. Canned food provides the extra water needed. You could try any grain free baby kitten canned food and she will probably do well. You can do some more reading on nutrition on that board for additional information. 

Kahlua is a cute name!! Such little kitties are quite labor intensive, but can ultimately be that much more bonded to you. You are in for quite an adventure!

Mylita


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## Mylita (Jan 23, 2013)

I don't think you can really teach her to drink more water, you could try, but kitties just don't drink much water as a rule. They get their water from their prey normally. So, didn't evolve needing to drink water.

Mylita


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