Weaning is the transition from nursing milk from their mother or formula from the bottle to eating soft and wet food independently. Some obvious signs that your kitten is ready to transition are:
Excessively chewing on the bottle, but not really eating or suckling
Whining or vocalizing when they are drinking
Appears hungry, but is not eating when bottle is presented
All kittens should be introduced to wet food by 4 weeks of age, even if they are nursing from mom or being bottle- fed. This is because a kitten’s digestive enzymes change a lot during the first 8 weeks of life. They primarily produce milk enzymes in the gut until about 4-5 weeks of age, then stop making the enzymes that digest milk and start producing those that digest meat. Until the body produces meat digesting enzymes they cannot digest meat, so introducing meat too early could cause malnutrition. On the other hand, prolonged nursing or formula will often result in diarrhea and digestive upset. So, it’s important to find the balance and switch based on the kitten’s development as well as appetite. Slowly introducing wet food to the kittens’ diet will help their bodies adjust to a new food and digest it more easily than a sudden change.
There isn’t a clear 3 step process for weaning kittens as every kitten is unique, develops differently, and has its own preferences. It’s important to figure out what stage of development a kitten is at in order to determine what the appropriate next step will be. This may take some time and multiple tries, they may get it one day and not the next, or one kitten may understand before his or her siblings. This is why it is imperative to watch each kitten’s weight closely and make sure each individual is eating enough.
For the weaning stage, you can use any kitten pate canned food. Most fosters use the Friskies pate that is "complete nutrition for cats & kittens." You may also choose to use special kitten wet foods like Iams, Fancy Feast or Royal Canin which are tasty and generally higher in calories. In the end it will ultimately depend on the kitten’s taste preference. Remember kittens are used to drinking from a warm bottle or mom, so lightly heating up the slurry or gruel will boost its appetizing appeal.
If a kitten is used to the bottle, start by adding baby food or wet food directly into the formula. Mix thoroughly so they can suckle and pull the mixture through the bottle nipple. Very similarly, you may start with formula, baby food, and wet food to make a slurry (applesauce consistency) and feed them by syringe. With Queen nursing kittens, you don't have to mix in any milk replacement into your slurry since they're getting this supplemental feeding straight from the queen. Be patient—syringe-feeding can take a while. The only accurate way to determine if a kitten is eating enough is to weigh the kitten, then feed it, then weigh it.
Weigh the kitten so that you know how much it needs to consume; Kittens should consume a minimum of 5g per 100g of body weight.
Fill a clean syringe with warmed slurry
Direct the syringe into the mouth from the side, directly behind the canines so that the syringe is sitting on the tongue. Never syringe food into the mouth from the front as this forcefully directs the food to the back of the throat and risks aspiration.
Push a few drops into the kitten’s mouth onto the tongue. Keep a finger lightly on the kitten so you can feel them swallow, and then repeat this until the kitten has consumed a sufficient amount. Remember with syringe feeding that we only want to syringe a little at a time onto the tongue as the kitten licks & swallows.
Always weigh, feed, weigh. Feed the kitten as much as it will take until you reach your goal for the meal.
Clean off any slurry from the kitten's face & fur. Slurry can be refrigerated to be used within 48 hours, but most kittens will prefer a fresh warm mixture every meal, so it’s not recommended to make large batches.
Connecting the Dot
Put yourself into the shoes of these young and often orphaned kittens. Their food source up until this time has either been their mom, or you through the bottle. The key to this stage of weaning is to repeatedly offer the food in a way that connects that the bowl is the new source of their food. If they are used to the bottle or syringe, it's easy to use this tool to directly feed them in their mouth. Gradually lower their head until you're on the edge of the bowl, syringing out the food onto the surface for them to lick up. Once they’re lapping up food remove the syringe! Repeat until the kitten goes straight for the bowl!
Another Method: Spoon a little on their chin, pick up a chunk of meat and offer it by hand so they get the taste of it. In the same manner as above, move the kitten to the edge of the platter, offering the food directly from the plate until they start lapping up on their own.
As the kittens understand eating out of the bowl, eliminate the formula and gradually thicken the mixture to “gruel” (oatmeal consistency). Once the kitten understands gruel you can eliminate the water and baby food, so they are just eating pate! Any extra should be discarded after meal time and not left out as it will spoil once left out over an hour and give the kittens a stomach ache. Most kittens will not eat it if it isn’t fresh.
You will want to check their weights to make sure they are gaining every day, even kittens who are eating on their own. If the kittens are losing weight or not eating enough by themselves, supplement them with syringe-feeding and return them to their crate after they have consumed the appropriate amount. If they are used to formula in a bottle, you can supplement the kittens with a bottle every eight hours to ensure that they are getting all the nutrients they need, but always encourage them to eat gruel from the bowl before offering them a bottle.
Messy Eaters & Meat Nursers
Gruel babies are VERY MESSY. They will walk in the bowl, stick their whole heads in the bowl, and track gruel wherever they walk. Please be patient with them! They are learning and doing the best they can. Mom cats would normally show their kittens what to do and they learn from watching her. Since these kittens are orphaned, you need to show them. Be sure to check kittens over now to make sure there is no gruel left on them – if so, make sure to clean them off with a warm wet napkin – start with the face, paws, then bottom when cleaning off kittens If kittens are extremely dirty after a meal, they may need a bath.
Slurry and gruel should only be fed with supervision. It’s not uncommon for kittens to shove their whole face into the food bowl, but this can be dangerous! If they are submerging their nose into the food they are at a high risk of aspiration, breathing food particles into the nose and lungs. This can easily result in upper respiratory infections or lower respiratory infections like pneumonia. If kittens are putting their whole face in the food remove the bowl from easy access. Some kittens will be able to appropriately eat when given one spoonful at a time. If they continue to stick their nose in the food you must syringe feed them. Please reach out to a Community Pet Coordinator as this excessive behavior can be a sign of digestive upset or malnutrition due to parasites, both of which are important to catch and treat quicky
As the kittens master eating gruel on their own, you can slowly reduce the amount of wet food mixed in. By six to seven weeks old, your kittens should be independent eaters. Offer wet food 3-5x a day to maximize growth (breakfast, lunch, after school/work, and bedtime.
Around one month of age, when their back teeth come in, you can offer a bowl of kitten chow at all times. They might snack on the kibble in between meals but most don’t eat full meals of kitten chow until they are older. Every once in a while we’ll have a kitten that refuses to eat wet food but loves kibble from an early age! If you are offering dry food you should also offer a shallow bowl of water at all times. It is ok if the kittens are not yet interested in drinking water, most of cats' water intake comes from wet food. But its important to have it out and available in case they are curious. We recommend using a non-tip lipped bowl or heavy ceramic bowl for water so the kittens can’t knock it over. By 5-6 weeks, kittens should be drinking water. Ideally, by the time they’re 5-6 weeks old, your foster kittens will be happily eating dry and wet food on their own.
