# 6 week old kitten advice



## poonsies (Apr 18, 2009)

Hello everyone,

After searching the net for a straight answer i thought I'd post on these forums. My girlfriend and I are about to adopt 2 6 week old kittens this coming Tuesday. We are both very excited and are anxious that they will want for nothing. Today I picked up a couple of "value" bags of litter from the local supermarket and it only dawned on me tonight to check if there is any particular type to use with kittens of this age. Its seems that there ARE some litters you should not use but I cant find a definite answer. The litter I purchase has only 1 ingredient - Attapulgite - which seems to be one of the common types.

I guess im asking in a very long winded way - Is this litter ok to use with 6 week old kittens ?

Also I have found out from their current owners they ahve been weened onto a mixture of kitten dried food and adult cat canned food. Should I avoid feeding them dried food until they are slightly older ? And should I try and ween them off the adult canned food to a kitten-specific wet food ?


Sorry for the wall of text,

Thanks in advance for any help.

Sean.


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## Taylorbaby (Jan 10, 2009)

Hiya I use TEsco value litter have found it the best for all my cats!

I wouldnt take them home at 6 weeks though they will still be feeding sometimes from mum & need alot more learning from her, 8 weeks if you must! 

Not sure why she has feed them adult but wait 1/2days then Id put them onto kitten, it might not even make that much of a difference Id prob put them onto it the next day :0


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## poonsies (Apr 18, 2009)

Thank you for the comments,

Unfortunately the current owner of the kittens has indicated she is unwilling to to keep the kittens for more than the 6 weeks. I will definitely follow your advise concerning the kitten food ( any specific brand recommendations ?).

Regarding the litter im assuming the Sainsburys Value ownbrand litter I bought will be similar to the Tesco one your referring to, so im assuming it will be fine for the kittens being so young ? It is non-clumping if thats any help and heres a link.

Sainsbury's online groceries

Literally the only reason i bought this was because the current owners said they used it, in hindsight i really should have checked before!

Sean.


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## Guest (Apr 19, 2009)

Hiya and welcome 
I bought two kittens home and they were 6 weeks old. I already had an older cat at the time as well and found the kittens were eating his food anyway. I found that they were not only eating the same tinned/pouch food i put down for the older cat, they were also eating his dry food/biscuits too. I use Tesco value cat litter. All in all there have been no problems whatsoever. The only different thing my kittens had to my older cat was kitten milk.


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## poonsies (Apr 18, 2009)

Thats good to know, i know the kittens will probably be fine but its better to be safe than sorry really. With food amounts, i know they should be eating 3-4 times a day but what amounts ? Pouches seem to come in 100g measures, so is that 1 days worth of food for a 6 week old kitten or ?

Sean.


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## Taylorbaby (Jan 10, 2009)

the litter is different to tescos, I prefer tescos I dont like sainsburys litter! lol

With the food its best to leave it down they will eat around 16 times Plus a day so dry food down with water All the time & pouchs aswell.

she sounds like a awful person you are getting them from 

I couldnt imagine my kittens going at 6 weeks.


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## Guest (Apr 19, 2009)

poonsies said:


> Thats good to know, i know the kittens will probably be fine but its better to be safe than sorry really. With food amounts, i know they should be eating 3-4 times a day but what amounts ? Pouches seem to come in 100g measures, so is that 1 days worth of food for a 6 week old kitten or ?
> 
> Sean.


To be honest it can vary depending on the kitten. When my kittens were younger i would feed them about 4 times a day with wet food but always had dry food down at all times and of course their kitten milk. If they would have eaten more i would have fed them more but they didn't. Dont worry too much about being exact with amounts. I would just put a pouch of food down and when it has gone, just put another one down and so on. Cats are not like dogs...cats regulate their eating themselves whereas dogs just eat it all at once. Infact cats are one of the easiest, most independant pets you can own. Fear not...lol...it will all fall into place very easily.


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## Guest (Apr 19, 2009)

Taylorbaby said:


> the litter is different to tescos, I prefer tescos I dont like sainsburys litter! lol
> 
> With the food its best to leave it down they will eat around 16 times Plus a day so dry food down with water All the time & pouchs aswell.
> 
> ...


Moggies nearly always go a 6 weeks old. It has always been that way. 
And ive NEVER heard of a cat being fed 16 times a day in my life.


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## Taylorbaby (Jan 10, 2009)

FREE SPIRIT said:


> Moggies nearly always go a 6 weeks old. It has always been that way.
> And ive NEVER heard of a cat being fed 16 times a day in my life.


moggies normally go at 8, maybe different areas different ways etc

I have had one at 5 (I was 14 and didnt know better) and at 7. But seeing my kits grow up and still wanting a little suckle (  ) at 6 weeks I think its terrible to go so early 

NO You dont FEED them 16 times a day!!! Kittens eat little & often UP TO 16times going backwards & forwards, mainly to biccis & then pouchs however many times a day, although I normally leave it out all the time when they are very young 

only have lilttle tummys!


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## Guest (Apr 19, 2009)

Taylorbaby said:


> moggies normally go at 8, maybe different areas different ways etc
> 
> I have had one at 5 (I was 14 and didnt know better) and at 7. But seeing my kits grow up and still wanting a little suckle (  ) at 6 weeks I think its terrible to go so early
> 
> ...


For over 30 years now i have always seen moggies go at 6 weeks old. Maybe it does depend on the area, i couldn't honestly say i know if that is the case. As for suckling...my kitten is now 10 months old and still likes to suckle on my clothing or bedding. I think it's just comforting to him. I find it quite cute. 
With regards to feeding...i apologise as i misunderstood your post when you wrote 16 times. Yes they do keep going to and fro from their meat to their biscuits. I also make sure there is food left down all day as no two cats are the same and dont really have a set eating amount.


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## TRU (May 16, 2009)

I was surprised to see your 6 week old kitties being fed on food. I fed my 6 week old kitties with kitten milk for at least 2 weeks, then mushed up kitten food at 8 weeks.


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## sokeldachshunds (Jun 8, 2008)

The moggy Kittens we have here at the moment where hardly touching the food at 6 weeks,they are now 7 1/2 weeks old and eating great but wont be going anywhere untill they are 8 weeks.
I get so annoyed when I see puppies and kittens advertised 6 weeks old and ready to go


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## mykittenleon (Dec 26, 2011)

I have a six week old kitten so this is what I recommend if you are having a young kitten .
litter- pets at home wood pellet cat litter 
drink - kitten milk tescos and tap water
food- whiskers kitten food half a portion per meal and and any dry food brand but only ten pieces

extras to get kitten used to litter drink/food shut the kitten in the kitchen at night and a lot of day (come in though please) where in the kitchen kitten will have litter food and drink that is how kitten will learn how to use every day stuff

toxic to kitten/cats
is onions and onion powder


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## ChinaBlue (Feb 3, 2008)

Erm think you will find these thread is from 2009 so these kittens will now be 2 years old.


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## Jiskefet (May 15, 2011)

A six-week old kitten should NOT be taken away from its mother.
The only valid reason for taking home a baby like that is if the mother is dead or has rejected it, or is too ill to feed it and take care of it, and no foster mother can be found.

In all other cases it is pure animal abuse to separate a kitten from its mother at less that 12 weeks. 
The person who offered you a 6 week old to take home with you should be prosecuted for animal abuse and cruelty, unless there was a valid MEDICAL reason for doing so.

If they want to get rid of the kittens so badly, they should give away the entire litter, including th mother. It would still be an obnoxious thing to do, but the cats would be better off with a decent, sensible cat slave, than with some back yard breeder, who is ready and willing to separate babies from their mother.


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## Iheartcats (Aug 25, 2011)

Wow! This is an old thread! My mum's cat India was an abandoned kitten at only 3 weeks old. She was found abandoned with her siblings without mum  Anyway, my mum adopted her and she grew to be a wonderful affectionate cat but always suffered from bad eczema due to lack of her mother's milk when tiny.

She died aged 15. RIP India


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## Jiskefet (May 15, 2011)

Yes, it is an old thread, but mykittenleon has a 6 week-old kitten right now, so it is a valid thread to comment on. Apparently some people still not realize that it is bad for kittens to be separated from their mother so early.

I am very happy for your mother's cat India, that she, having been abandoned, found someone to hand-rear her, but, like you state, yourself, it is not an ideal situation, and most kittens who have lost their mother too early suffer from weak health, and quite often from behavioural issues...

So it cannot be stated too often:
A kitten needs to stay with its mother till it is at least 12 weeks old.


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## Iheartcats (Aug 25, 2011)

Lots of people just aren't educated about having a kitten before 12 weeks. I always thought that between 8 - 12 weeks was ok depending on lots of deciding factors such as being fulling weaned, independant, playful, bright healthy eyes, defleaed etc. As I've had kittens before I know what to look for but many, many people just want a cute tiny kitten and it doesn't help that calendars and childrens library books always seem to depict cute kittens with their eyes still blue and really cute (around 4 - 6 weeks old). There really needs to be more awareness spread about that it really is best to have an older kitten.


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## cariad65 (Dec 26, 2011)

I know from experience 6 weeks is a very young age to be getting a kitten,
I know when I got these 2 as kittens I got them from a pet shop was told they were between 8 and 10 weeks old Chloe was ok she was good at eating and acclimationing herself, but Tabby was a very poorly kitten, she stopped eating or drinking anything I could see her getting weaker by the day, so I took her to a vet, she looked over her and told me she was about 6-7 weeks old so really she should not have been taken from her mum,


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## Bellarina (Feb 4, 2009)

I had my cat Tallie (now 7) at nearly 6 weeks. At the time I thought it was great to have such a teeny kitten. I had absolutely no idea that it was so awful to take her from her mum so young. If I'd known then what I know now I would never have had her at all but I'm so very glad I did as she is my baby & I wouldn't be without her. She does have some behavioural issues which are more than likely down to such an early separation but I wouldn't swap her for anything.

I'm not defending her 'breeder' but she had cancer & was going into hospital so the kittens had to go. You live & learn though & I would be far more selective in the future.


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## Guest (Dec 27, 2011)

I got my cat Tala at only 5 weeks  I didn't know any better at the time but I'm sure that it contributed to some of the health problems that she's had  I love Tala to bits and wouldn't change her for the world, but I'd NEVER get such a young kitten again.


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