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Do you own a kitten? You must know about weaning, the essential part of upbringing.
Weaning is nothing but the transition to solid food from mother’s milk. The queen cat handles this process usually. But, if you are the feline parent, weaning is your responsibility.
Kitten needs food for its growth and nutritional purpose. Proper weaning at the scheduled time is thus essential.
If weaning is a new experience for you, you must get to know how to and when to wean your kitten. Also, you must know how to make the weaning process easier.
How To Wean A Kitten?
You can wean your kitten with the help of a few feeding tips. But, you should ensure a few things before the process.
- The first thing in weaning a kitten is to deal with the separation from its mother. So, slow dealing with the separation is always fine.
- It is advisable to keep the queen (i.e. the mother) around the kitten in the initial weaning stages.
- The kitten is able to spend more time alone (without the mother) if it becomes independent.
- It is not recommended to separate the kitten from its mother before 4 weeks.
Feeding Tips
Generally, the queen’s method of feeding the kitten is different from yours. So, it is quite difficult for you to match the mother cat’s weaning method.
But, you should know the tips to feed your kitten to deal with the separation.
- Dip your finger in the milk and allow the kitten to lick it first. You can guide the kitten to its feeding bowl through this way!
- Provide milk replacers or food to your kitten in a shallow dish. The kitten will feel easy to eat food.
- Always crush the dry food into small pieces for easy chewing and swallowing.
- The best idea to feed the kitten is to blend all the ingredients and make a smooth paste. The kitten will feel easy to lick this paste.
- It is better to serve the food close to room temperature or lukewarm.
- Don’t wake up the kitten during night time. If it feels hungry, it will let you know by whining or nudging you.
- Ensure that you are feeding the kitten with patience and at regular intervals (i.e. for every 2-3 hours).
When To Wean A Kitten?
Most of the pet parents have a question on the perfect time to wean a kitten. This information is vital and every feline owner must know about it.
The start and end time of the weaning period is the most useful and essential information to pet parents. Apart from that, you should also know about the weaning schedule.
The best time to start weaning your kitten is when it is 4 weeks (i.e. 1 month) old. You can also complete this process in your kitten when it becomes 8 to 10 weeks old.
The weaning process also varies from kitten to kitten. But, the weaning period of your kitten usually lasts for about 6 to1 0 weeks.
Weaning Schedule
An important task for the feline owner is to feed your kitten at regular intervals. You must also know what to feed, when to feed and how to feed your kitten.
The weaning schedule will thus help you in a better way!
- 4th to 5th week – You have to feed the moistened food to your kitten during this time span. Slush form of food is preferable during this period.
- 5th to 6th week – Your kitten will start nibbling from this week. So, you can feed cat dry kibble.
- 6th to 7th week – This is the perfect time to start solid food. By the end of this week, the kitten is able to eat solid foods in a happy manner!
Tips To Make The Weaning Process Easier
The weaning process is the most responsible task of the pet parent. It’s not easy because the kitten may feel difficult to transit to solid food from mother’s milk.
But, you can make the process easier if you know some tips.
- Patience – It is the key to the weaning process. The transition from milk to solid food will take time. So, provide adequate time for your kitten to adapt to a new habit. Also, don’t hassle or annoying if things don’t work on the first time.
- Age and manner – Weaning your kitten at the right age and in the right manner will make the process easier. You can expect good results in this way!
- Nutrition Balance – What you are feeding is the most important thing in weaning. Packaged food (formulated for weaning kittens) is the best choice.
It helps for nutritional balance in your kitten. It manages the calorie intake and the nutritional needs of kittens. - Warmth – Ensure that you keep the weaning kittens warm. You can either use hot water bottles or heating pads to make them warmer. But, be careful using this equipment and never leave the kittens alone.
Also, wrap the hot water bottle always in a cloth to avoid direct contact with heat. - Gradual process – To make weaning a comfortable experience, make it gradual. So, ensure gradual improvement in your kitten’s transition toward solid food.
The abrupt transition from mother’s milk to solid food will always have a negative effect on your kitten. So, be patient and make your kitten to transit toward the solid food in a gradual manner.
Bottom line: Wean your kitten the right food at the right age in the right manner! This will make the weaning a wonderful experience!
