weaned (sp) too early

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JDix - 01 Aug 2005 03:49 GMT

i rescued a kitten at 3-4wks of age. apparently her mother died since
she was an outdoor cat. i posted earlier about her liking to bite.
...it's starting to hurt...

anyway...i bottle-fed her for a month... until she started ripping
through every nipple i gave her. she seemed to want more milk inside of
her than she could consume through a bottle.

she's 9wks now and is perfect (- the biting). one thing that concerns
me is that i always wake up to her sucking the blankets that are close
to my body. the blanket is wet to the touch in many areas she has
attempted to get milk out of. this makes me so sad i want to cry. poor
thing. i just hold her and give her lots of love until one of us falls
asleep again.

is there anything else i could do?

...what about giving her a bottle when she does this...
...or is she too old for this?...

-johnny

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sriddles@aol.com - 01 Aug 2005 06:16 GMT

> i rescued a kitten at 3-4wks of age. apparently her mother died since
> she was an outdoor cat. i posted earlier about her liking to bite.
[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]
>
> -johnny

Lots of cats suck on blankets. You could give her the bottle, but it
won't break her of the habit. Just try to get her hooked on a blanket
that isn't fuzzy so that she doesn't ingest too much fiber. I have a
10-week-old kitten right now I raised on a bottle from 2 weeks old. I'm
having the same problem with biting. You can try gently scruffing her,
get right in her face and squeal "OWW!" and hiss at her. If that
doesn't work, get a spray bottle. It's very important to break them of
this habit.
I think Angel is that way because she didn't have a mother to
discipline her.
She won't be a baby long, and it'll hurt when she bites later.
Good luck with your baby.

Sherry

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Wendy - 09 Aug 2005 01:40 GMT

>> i rescued a kitten at 3-4wks of age. apparently her mother died since
>> she was an outdoor cat. i posted earlier about her liking to bite.
[quoted text clipped - 32 lines]
>
> Sherry

When the kitten bites say 'no' and a high pitched 'ouch'. If the kitten
doesn't stop put it down. If it persists a time out for 5 minutes max in
another room might work. Either way stop playing with the kitten if it
starts biting. Don't use your hand to play. Get a toy and let kitty go to
town on that. Consistency is the key. My Boots was a gnawer when he was
little. It did take a few time outs in the bathroom but he doesn't bite or
scratch at all any more. I wasn't as strict with my Tigger and she gnawed on
my hand (not hard) her entire life.

W

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Snittens - 01 Aug 2005 06:21 GMT

>i rescued a kitten at 3-4wks of age. apparently her mother died since
> she was an outdoor cat. i posted earlier about her liking to bite.
[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]
>
> -johnny

I think she will grow out of it. Many kittens do this if they are weaned
early. You may want to get her her own "lovey", like a receiving blanket or
a stuffed animal. I dont think you need to resume the bottle. Keep giving
her lots of love!

-Kelly

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Ollie Clark - 05 Aug 2005 16:03 GMT

> i rescued a kitten at 3-4wks of age. apparently her mother died since
> she was an outdoor cat. i posted earlier about her liking to bite.
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
> ...what about giving her a bottle when she does this...
> ...or is she too old for this?...

I wouldn't worry about it. It probably is because she's been weaned too
early. We've got two cats, a brother and sister. The sister (Izzy) was
weaned at 10 weeks and the brother (Toby) at 7-8 weeks (log story). Toby
used to suckle on Izzy for a while until she got annoyed with it, then he
started on himself! They're 2 years old now and we still catch him sucking
himself (stop laughing at the back). Izzy grew out of it at about 12
weeks. I think it's just a comfort thing, like sucking your thumb.

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