Weaning Kittens
Kittens use their instinct to suckle their mothers, but no such instinct exists for them to know how to eat solid food. They need to learn it, and they need your help.
Kittens can start to eat sold food at any time between 3 and 6 weeks old. You will know when the time is right because the mother cat will start to encourage the kittens to spend more time away from her. This usually takes the form of pushing them away and/or walking away from them for short periods.
When this starts, take the kittens away from their mother for half an hour at a time and offer them food. Any wet food is fine. If you only use dry cat food, soak it in water before giving it to the kittens.
You will discover very quickly that this is a messy process. Sometimes - maybe even most of the time - it will seem like the kittens have got food everywhere except in their little mouths. Paws, fur, ears, eyes and tails will often need cleaned after feeding.
If the kittens don’t appear to be hungry before half and hour has passed, remove the food.
As time passes, gradually increase the length of time they are away from their mother when feeding has finished.
After 2-3 months you should be finished weaning. The kittens will not drink their mother’s milk, and will eat only solid food. You can now give yourself a pat on the back!
As a footnote, if the mother cat doesn’t start to encourage her kittens to spend more time away from her by 6 weeks, you will need to step in and start the separation phase of the weaning.
Tags: kitten weaning, kittens