# When bottle babies grow up.



## Kobster (Feb 1, 2007)

Just wanted everyone's thoughts/experiences with bottle babies after they grow up.

I've raised a fair few litters of kittens in my time, but I've never kept one of the ones I've raised before. I have noticed that these guys (especially if they don't have littermates raised with them) are a bit socially inept, and have difficulties with things normal cats take to quickly, like litter training.

The other thing I've noticed about bottle babies is the ones that I've adopted out then seen back in the vets office months and years later are very very fearful/aggressive. I don't know if this is just coincidence, or if there is something about bottle raising that makes a cat a little off. What have your experiences been with adult bottle babies?

The reason I'm asking is I raised a litter that weaned three weeks ago and are up at the clinic awaiting adoption. One of those babies has really wormed his way into my heart, a little black boy named Ninja. I'm thinking of adopting him, but I don't really want a cat that is going to be antisocial. Bonus is he was raised with three other kittens who were about the same age, maybe a little older, and he spent the first 10 days or so of life with his real mom.

So I guess what I'm asking is, in your experiences, what kind of pets do bottle raised babies make? Do they get along with your other cats? How are they with people?


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Kobster said:


> So I guess what I'm asking is, in your experiences, what kind of pets do bottle raised babies make?
> Do they get along with your other cats?
> How are they with people?


IME, the bottle baby I raised and kept was a wonderful cat. He grew up with my other young cats who were only older than him by about 6mo or so. At the time, I also had taken in an older and formerly feral tomcat, who took to this baby, and the baby to him, fully. None of the older kittens wanted to play with The Wanderer, but Marmalade had no fear and they were great buddies. 
I had no issues with cat social graces or socialization to people. 

IMO, most cat problems are actually *_people_* problems. 
All of my own cats, and the fosters I raise who leave my home, are well-socialized. I have no control over what happens to the fosters after they leave my home. If their new owners do not continue to practice the socializing skills with them, they can/will lose those socialized skills/behaviors I worked hard to develop into them by regression. Socialization is a process that I feel needs continuous effort until at least 18mo, and it is best to simply continue that socialization handling all their lives, or at least periodically revisit it and brush-up on those skills.


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## Kobster (Feb 1, 2007)

Ah, that makes sense. Because my bottle babies are raised in my home with my other pets and family members, and also travel to and from work with me and get handled by my coworkers, doctors and prospective adopters. So I know they are getting socialization before they go home. 

You may laugh but I'm actually torn between bringing Ninja back home, and adopting a bunny.


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

...having never had a pet bunny ... I'd go with the Ninja-kitty! :blackcat


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## Leazie (Apr 14, 2007)

I have 3 siblings who were bottle raised after we got them at about 4 weeks of age. One is needy, one of is the queen of the house, and one is so darned snuggly it is amazing. In other words, they are typical cats with their own identities. They recently turned 8 years old, so I think that we have had enough time to see if any problems would arise :lol: .


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## hoofmaiden (Sep 28, 2009)

I rescued my Jonah out of the street when he was 3-4 weeks old. He was fed formula for quite a while, then weaned to raw. He's a perfectly normal cat who interacts well w/ my other 2. He didn't interact w/ them much until he was 12 weeks old--he was sickly and had to be quarantined, and then I did a slow introduction. Even so, he knew how to be a cat! Of course, he was with his litter (I assume) until he stumbled into the street at 3-4 weeks, which may have helped some, I guess. 

I suspect that the cats who have issues were raised in homes w/out other cats? That happens frequently even with kittens who stayed w/ their litters--if they go to single-cat homes they are less likely to be able to interact well/normally w/ other cats if one is introduced later on. Cats who are raised w/ other cats can accept new cats more easily.


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## OsnobunnieO (Jun 28, 2004)

I've only raised one pair of bottle babies. They were both very sweet and lovey kittens. One did become extremely fearful at the vet's office, but it happened after a traumatic attack by the new family's dog.

I have worked with several people who bottle feed and do hear constant rumors about having problems later on in life with aggression, etc.

One kitten in particular came from a grou pf 3 or 4 kittens who were found by a girl I work with. Only one survived the first week or two. Another girl adopted her. She was great with them at home but even at a couple of months old was impossible to handle for nail trims and had to be sedated to pull blood and place an IV catheter for her spay at a few months old.

I do think they miss out on some basic skills not growing up with mom. Even moreso if they don't have brothers/sisters to grow up with. I've never had a bottle baby all grown up though so I can't speak from much experience.


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## bkitty (Aug 17, 2009)

All but one of my 6 brat cats were bottle raised and only one has an issue with being shy. I think he would be shy regardless of how he was raised. The biggest factor in how they have turned out is I have always had a strong alpha cat that enforced the basic good cat rules like using a litter box & basic good behaviour. My bottle babies range in age from 13 yrs old to 11 months. The issues I do have to deal with is the fact that they all retained the suck response (snogging) - when being held & at that point of falling asleep with the purry & kneading behavior they will grab a bite of my shirt to suck on. Can be annoying to have everybody looking for their cuddles all at the same time and drooling all over. If a shirt is not available to suck on they will attach to a strand of hair, corner of sheet or even an earlobe. The youngest Puddy-Wow likes to perch as high on my chest as he can get, a behavior from me trying to bottle feed 2 at the same time - booblet perching. Wouldn't be so bad except he is too big to fit the whole body there - he always has a foot or two sticking off into space. The other behavior that is shared by all my bottle babies, even the ones who found new homes, is all of them like to play in water. This is learned behavior since everybody got a bath as soon as they were thru eating & even the older cats got faces & paws washed if they were anywhere close enough to grab. All cats are locked out of the bathroom when I'm trying to get ready otherwise I've got cats attacking the bubbles & potentially falling in or sprawling under my feet in the shower , cats smacking the toilet water & at least 1 laying claim to the sink. :dis 
What size do other's bottle babies grow to? Mine range in size from 14 LB to 6 LB Puddy Wow was the runt of the litter & is going to stay small, Sasquatch was also the runt of his litter but is now pushing 14 lb & at not quite 2 may yet add a little more bone & muscle.


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## hoofmaiden (Sep 28, 2009)

Interestingly, Jonah doesn't suck/knead, etc. He sometimes licks me when I'm petting him, but that's about it. I was surprised by that.


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## katlover13 (Apr 15, 2008)

My Scottie was bottle raised and of all the cats he is the one most likely to bite. Who knows, that may just be his personality anyway. When he came to us Charlie began to "mother" him right away so he was socialized mostly by a cat. I fed and pottied him and Charlie did the rest. Scottie is definitely the most intelligent of all my cats.


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## Kobster (Feb 1, 2007)

Thanks everyone! All good food for thought!


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## melysion (Mar 12, 2007)

Toby was bottle fed as a futile attempt to stop him getting FIV from his Mum. He is very affectionate and, going by his interactions with the Fee at least, relatively tolerant of other cats. He is shy and timid and does have a tendency to bite when over-stimulated (although never very hard) but he is not aggressive at all. Far from it, he is a soft little dumpling. He does suck on clothes and so on if I don't watch him which doesn't annoy me but does make me sad. But all in all, he is a lovely cat - his timidness might have more to do with being shipped to countless foster homes for the first two years of his life rather than having been bottle fed - who knows?


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## aprilmay (Dec 29, 2009)

We had to bottle feed Bella. She developed diabetes, and I always wondered if not having the nutrients of mother's milk hurt her. She wasn't overweight, and she was only a wee bit over two years old when she was diagnosed.

But maybe it was just bad luck. Or bad genes.


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## Kobster (Feb 1, 2007)

So, I've decided. If he's still not been adopted by Wednesday...he's coming home with me. Wish me luck! Its been a few years since I've had a little one!


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

You'll enjoy having a kitten, I'm sure!


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## whiteghost (Apr 24, 2005)

Scooter Bug was a bottle baby. He's not shy or anything. He gets along with the other cats...and he knows who to play with and who to avoid. A couple don't care for him. :roll: So he avoids them. Of course, he's not an "adult" yet...he'll be a year old in July. Hard to believe that my baby boy is going to be a year old!!


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## librarychick (May 25, 2008)

Doran was a bottle baby. I actually have a whole thread on here about me finding him and everything. IMO it's not bottle feeding that teaches bad habits, it's what you do along with it. Doran is the least likely to play bite, claw, or use his pointies in naughty ways. I taught him from when he was teeny tiny that wasn't allowed. He gets along great with the other most of the time, in fact he's the best with Torri (who's shy).

I'd say go for it. If I ever get another chance to raise teeny babies (fostering) I'm totally going to do it! I'm just waiting until we have a bit more room in our teeny house.


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## Kobster (Feb 1, 2007)

Thanks guys, I think my mind is made up. I "happened" to be passing a petco today and just "dropped in" and bought a couple cans of wellness kitten....just in case you know.


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

Good idea!


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Kobster said:


> Thanks guys, I think my mind is made up. I "happened" to be passing a petco today and just "dropped in" and bought a couple cans of wellness kitten....just in case you know.


Of course. :wink It's always nice to be prepared, in any case... 



:luv ...my only hope is that you aren't disappointed if he does get adopted by Wed. You loved him during a very important time in his life, and that is the BEST thing...


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## Kobster (Feb 1, 2007)

Sooooo.....I'm going to go pick him up in the morning. I couldn't see waiting another day for no good reason.


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## katlover13 (Apr 15, 2008)

Glad to hear you will be giving Ninja a home. Hope to see lots of new pictures soon!


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