FOOD TRAINING
At 4 weeks of age, kittens/puppies do not require bottle feeding. Actually, because they suckle too fast and too hard, they can aspirate formula easily!
Here is how to teach kitten/puppy to eat wet food. Mix wet food with some chicken broth or some formula and water… make it really mushy, the consistency of a milk shake. Then smear some food in the mouth and lips making sure you do not put any in the nose.
Feed them every 4-5 hrs depending on their age.
Let them lick more off of your finger… as they are doing that you keep lowering your finger towards the plate where the rest of the food is. Kittens/puppies eat best from the flat plates and NOT bowls. Try this technique a few times and they will get a hang of it. Also, this is good time to introduce water.
The kittens need a high protein diet, no grain. Watch for ingredients as canola oil, soy, carrageenan ! You do not want any of those ingredients in the food.
My choices for kitten food are outlined on Homemade Food For Dogs & Cats
The more economic brand is Fancy Feast
They also have NATURAL line. Chose chicken or turkey. Fancy feast all have some fish in it even chicken or turkey flavors. Fish is not good for any cats on daily basis so avoid fish as it is loaded with mercury.
Always check around for pricing.
Then there is least expensive and best food… homemade !
Please see the page on Homemade Food For Dogs & Cats
POTTY TRAINING
This is also a good time to start potty training. Just put litter in a shallow box and place them in it a few times a day. One of mine were trained for 2 days before they got a hang of it. Other kittens did not need training at all and the box was used overnight by all kittens for multi reasons. The safest litter is PURE CLAY or PINE PALLETS. WALMART sells 5 lbs of pure clay bag for about $1.50 or 20 lbs bag for about $5.00. Make sure the clay is fragrance free !
This is how to set up litter box for them…
(no handles on those liners from Dollar tree store)
This is the best set up. You can get cardboard boxes like this from costco or make it look like this so if kittens kick the sand it is all contained nicely. Here is the set up I made in a soft crate while I had two baby kittens in rehab…
For puppies start using training pads. The best price for those is Costco 100 pads $17.99.
