How to toilet train a kitten yourself

The appearance of a kitten in the house is exciting. The baby seems helpless and defenseless. The baby cannot feed himself, and the owner needs tips. In this article we have collected useful and important information about feeding your pet. We figured out the intricacies of natural feeding and the first feeding of a newborn kitten. We found out how to create a menu for a cat in the first months of its life and what foods to avoid. Also from the article you will learn when a kitten will start eating from a bowl on its own and how to teach it to do so.

At what age do kittens start eating on their own?

Under natural conditions, breastfeeding in kittens continues for a long time. The number of feedings is noticeably reduced by 2-2.5 months, and in cases where the cat has a small litter, she can continue feeding for up to six months. However, in order for your little pet to easily and painlessly switch to independent feeding, complementary foods should be introduced from three weeks of age.

A kitten should be taught to feed itself from three weeks of age.

The first weeks of a kitten’s life are the most delicate, so you need to pay attention to the baby’s nutrition. To start complementary feeding, liquid porridge is suitable. And when the kittens reach two months and their baby teeth begin to appear, solid food can be introduced. With the right and patient approach, by the age of 10 weeks the pet will be able to completely switch to solid food.

Remember that the diet must be balanced and contain the necessary elements for harmonious development. It is important to decide from the very beginning what type of complementary feeding you will use and strictly adhere to it in the future: industrial or natural. Both options can provide your little friend with the necessary vitamins and minerals, so be guided by your capabilities. However, they cannot be mixed: the digestion of dry and natural food requires different enzymes and an acidic environment. Alternating food will inevitably lead to gastrointestinal problems for your cat.

Without mother's milk

A newborn kitten needs to be fed with special formulas.

If for some reason a kitten cannot eat mother's milk in the first weeks of life, the owner will have to take on the responsibilities of the mother cat.

Remember that cat milk has a certain composition and any substitutes must be suitable for a young and sensitive body. You can purchase dry formula for feeding at a veterinary pharmacy. But they are quite expensive, so you can do the preparation yourself. Here are some recipes:

• 0.5 liters of concentrated milk, egg yolk and 4 teaspoons of granulated sugar;
• 50 g whole cow's milk, 15 g whole milk powder, 2.5 g dry yeast;
• 50 ml of whole milk, 50 g of boiled milk, half a raw egg yolk, a teaspoon of corn oil;
• Dilute concentrated milk powder in fennel broth to the consistency of liquid gruel, adding a little cream;
• a glass of 6% milk, 1 raw egg, 1 teaspoon of honey (instead of milk, you can take 10% cream, dilute with boiled water 2 times).

Cow's milk is dangerous for kittens!

Important! Do not feed your baby whole cow's milk. It does not have sufficient nutritional value and may cause digestive upset.

Regular food

Not all food that is common in human terms is suitable for a cat. A cat's stomach is delicate and sensitive, so when choosing natural complementary foods, carefully consider the list of products in your pet's diet. The wrong choice of food will provoke allergic reactions, digestive problems and even serious diseases, such as urolithiasis or gastritis. The following products are clearly prohibited for your furry friend:

• cow's milk. As we have already written, it differs in composition from cat milk, so do not try to replace natural feeding with it. It may be dangerous;
• fermented milk products with high fat content;
• freshwater and raw fish. A contented cat with a fish in its mouth is nothing more than a myth. Freshwater and raw fish can serve as a source of worms and cause urolithiasis. It is up to the owner to decide whether to introduce sea fish into the diet or not. In general, it is not dangerous, but its introduction as complementary food is not necessary at first;

It is better to leave the fish to the owners

• sausage and sausage products. It’s hard to resist the temptation to share leftovers from the holiday table with your pet, but remember that due to the high fat content and content of salt and spices, such a product will be too heavy for the cat;
• Cats do not digest potatoes in any form, so we will also include them in the list of cat prohibited foods;
• legumes Peas, beans, soy and other legumes will cause painful bloating;
• cheese has a high fat content that a kitten’s stomach cannot handle;
• pork;
• chocolate. Chocolate is a common cause of cat poisoning encountered by veterinary clinics. Chocolate contains the poison methylxanthine, or theobromine, which can cause tremors, convulsions in a kitten, increase the frequency of heart muscle contractions and even lead to death. Interesting fact: despite the fact that dark chocolate is considered healthier than milk chocolate, it contains 10 times more substances that are toxic to cats;
• flour.

It’s better to leave sweets for people.
The list of food dangerous for kittens is impressive, but don’t rush to panic and go for industrial food. Something in your refrigerator will probably be suitable for the diet of a small pet. For example, vegetable and semolina porridge, low-fat cottage cheese, boiled egg yolk. It is important to ensure that dishes do not contain spices or additives.

Reasons for refusing to eat

A small kitten refusing to eat is always a very serious cause for concern. The baby requires examination by a veterinarian, who is called to the house. In newborn kittens, the cause may be:

• Disorders of intrauterine development.
• Injuries received during childbirth, as well as from being crushed by an inexperienced cat.
• Low birth weight due to placental insufficiency in the cat - such kittens must be supplemented artificially, otherwise they will die.
• Intrauterine infection, for example, with chlamydia or feline leukemia virus.
• Hypothermia (low body temperature) - when keeping a cat and kittens in a cold room, and especially when raising kittens without a cat. If you have hypothermia, you cannot feed your kitten because its digestive system is not functioning. The baby is gradually warmed up by giving him a solution of pedialyte or a 5% glucose solution at the rate of 1 ml of solution per 30 g of the kitten’s weight per hour, achieving active movements in the kitten. Hypothermia is very dangerous, so you should maintain the temperature in the den at 29–32 °C, reducing it every week by 2.5 °C until it reaches 21 °C. To warm the den, lamps are placed above it, and heating pads are also used. This is usually necessary if there is no cat or she refuses to be with the kittens.
• Neonatal isoerythrolysis (hemolysis of newborns) is a condition when antibodies obtained from a cat's colostrum attack the kitten's red blood cells, resulting in the development of jaundice. The kitten can be saved by transferring it to artificial feeding for 2 days, and then returning it to the cat. The condition is caused by a mismatch in the blood groups of a cat and a kitten; its analogue is Rh conflict in humans. The difference is that in primates, the transfer of antibodies occurs through the placenta, and the course of Rh conflict is intrauterine. In cats, the transfer of antibodies occurs with milk, so this condition is easier to suppress, since the penetration of maternal antibodies into the blood through the intestinal wall of the kitten is possible only in the first 24 hours of its life.

In kittens that previously developed normally, the reason for refusing to eat may be:

• helminthic infestation;
• infection;
• in some cases, when solid food is introduced and there is a lack of drinking water, the kitten may experience constipation, which reduces appetite.

Is the kitten hungry?

It would be wonderful if kittens could tell us about their needs. But in reality, owners have to guess about the children’s desires by their behavior. How to understand that a kitten is hungry?

After feeding, your baby's tummy should be rounded and firm, but not bloated. After eating, the kitten should not meow or try to grab a finger. If he is full, he will calmly fall asleep or cuddle up to his mother. A shrill squeak and attempts to bury your face in search of the cat should be a signal for feeding. Checked on Orphogrammka up to this point

A hungry kitten will squeak and look for its mother

If the kitten squeaks and crawls around its mother, but does not take the nipple, bring a finger dipped in milk to its muzzle. If the kitten tries to suck on it, it means he is hungry and you need to help him find the nipple.

How to feed a newborn baby

An important aspect is to ensure the correct feeding schedule for newborn kittens who are left without a mother. In such cases, it is necessary to follow simple recommendations:

1. It is convenient to feed a kitten with cow's milk from a pipette up to 8 times a day (the temperature of the mixture should not exceed 37 degrees). The temperature is checked by pouring a drop of milk onto the back of the hand;
2. if the kitten has reached the age of 1 month, then for feeding you can use a regular bottle with a nipple;
3. After each feeding of the newborn, it is recommended to massage the tummy to improve digestion (light strokes clockwise);
4. A qualified veterinarian can create an individual diet that will help quickly establish the baby’s digestive process.

How to train kittens to eat on their own

If the kitten has a mother, the process of learning to feed itself will be easier. The cat itself will take its offspring to the bowl and set an example, and the kittens will try to pick it up. But if the kitten is left without a mother, do not despair: teaching kittens to feed on their own is quite simple.

It's better to learn with milk

The best product to try for the first time is milk. Dip your finger in it and let the kitten try it. Make sure he tries it. Then pour some milk into a bowl and bring the kitten to it. Gently tip its muzzle into the food. Most likely, at first he will not like it, but then he will recognize the taste of milk that is already familiar to him and will try to lap it up.

Let the kitten taste the milk

Don’t expect your pet to immediately run to the bowl and start eating from it: first, he needs to get used to the container and learn to lap. At first, the baby's attempts to lap from the bowl will look funny; he may snort and dirty his face. Be patient: he is learning a completely new feeding technique, because before this he only suckled his mother's milk.

Goodbye mommy's milk

As a rule, small kittens suck mother's milk for a very long time, especially if the cat herself allows it. But starting from the age of three weeks, they become interested in everything that is around and especially what is on their mother’s plate. But they don’t know how to eat any food other than milk, especially from a bowl, and a person must help them with this. Let's look at how to teach a kitten to eat on its own.

How to accustom a kitten to a bowl?

Owners often wonder at how many months should a kitten start eating from a bowl? By the age of three weeks, kittens show curiosity about food, or rather, about the habits of their mother. That is why you can make your first attempts to accustom a kitten to a bowl already at this age. To ensure everything goes smoothly, follow these guidelines:

• Fill the bowl with milk the first time. The milk should be heated to 37 -38 degrees. Kittens will refuse to lap if the milk is too hot or cold;
• don’t be lazy to let the contents of the bowl taste by bringing your finger with food to your muzzle;
• the kitten may refuse the bowl if its height does not suit him. Therefore, buy containers in pet stores, taking into account the dimensions of your pet;

The bowl should be the right size

• if you manage to quickly make friends with dishes, gradually replace milk with semolina porridge;

It's more fun in a bowl

• kittens can get into the bowl with all four paws, and this needs to be nipped in the bud. If the kitten climbs into a container of food, take it out, wipe its paws and place it in front of it. Hold him if he wants to climb into it again: this way you can teach your pet that his paws should not be in the food.

Why may a kitten refuse food?

Most of the reasons why a baby does not want to eat are not associated with painful conditions. There may be several reasons for refusal.

Stress. If a baby is torn away early from his mother cat or transported from a nursery, he will initially feel uncomfortable in his new home. Sometimes, when changing residence, the kitten completely stops eating and drinking, then for 2 days he never goes to the toilet. This is very dangerous because it causes dehydration and intoxication of a still fragile body.

During periods of stress, you need to show care and attention towards the new resident, take him in your arms. New food. Previously, the kitten received food from its mother, it ate milk

The loss of milk manifests itself as a shock to the kitten’s body. They removed him from the cat early. The kitten simply cannot learn to eat food because it was torn away from its mother early. In this case, he needs to be fed with an analogue of cat's milk, which is sold in pharmacies. If you can’t buy it, goat will do. Dirty dishes often become a factor in refusal to eat food not only for kittens, but also for adults. Also, the animal will not like plastic dishes with an unpleasant odor. Worms and parasites. This causes poor appetite or complete refusal to eat. The kitten loses weight, its fur deteriorates, diarrhea and vomiting occur. In this case, the help of a veterinarian is necessary.

Important! If, in addition to poor appetite, the baby exhibits additional symptoms such as lethargy, diarrhea, and bad breath, then you should immediately go to the clinic. You can’t risk the animal’s health

Cat's milk is an essential food during a kitten's early life. When it reaches 3-4 weeks, you can introduce simple food into the diet - cottage cheese, milk, porridge. You should always watch your baby and his reaction to foods. Then the kitten will grow up healthy, beautiful and well-groomed.

Kittens are born small and completely helpless, then at first all the difficulties fall on the shoulders of the mother cat, but then 3 weeks passed and she needed the help of her owner in order to cope with these little fidgets. At three weeks of age, babies begin to move, they already see, hear, and go to the toilet on their own. Now the owner will have more problems related to caring for this wonderful creature. In addition to the question of how to protect the little fidget, a person will have another question: how to teach a kitten to eat on its own. In our article we will talk about at what age he begins to eat on his own, and how his diet needs to be changed.

First weeks of life

Until the baby is one month old, he is fed about 8 times a day, or every 2-3 hours. By the age of three weeks, you can start introducing complementary foods. This should be liquid food, for example:

• vegetable and meat puree;
• low-fat cottage cheese without additives. We recommend diluting it with milk so that the cottage cheese has a liquid consistency;
• semolina porridge without sugar, also diluted with milk.

At three weeks of age, kittens are not yet able to eat on their own from a bowl, so give them their first complementary foods on a spoon or finger. At what age will a kitten be ready to start eating from a bowl on its own? If you start complementary feeding at three weeks, by the time he reaches a month he will be able to feed on his own.

When the baby is five weeks old, you should feed him 5-6 times a day. From now on, you can include boiled yolk in the menu.

Introduce complementary foods carefully, in small portions. Give your kitten time to try new foods. Despite their early curiosity about food, it will take effort for them to get used to the new feeding environment. Until the baby is one month old, stroke his tummy with your finger for better absorption of food.

How to introduce first complementary foods

The first feeding should be introduced with caution. It is necessary to offer your pet new food gradually, in small portions. Please remember that cats, like people, can have allergies. Therefore, they offer to lick new food off the finger first, and only the next day a small portion is served in a bowl.

Table: sample menu for kittens

Feeding a two month old kitten

At two months, kittens develop baby teeth. This is an excellent age when introducing a kitten to solid food is simple and natural. But don’t rush to remove liquid foods from your pet’s diet: at two months of age, they are still important for the formation of the proper functioning of the digestive system. At this age, kittens are given:

• boiled lean meat;
• natural yogurt;
• low-fat cottage cheese;
• milk;
• boiled yolk.

At two months the kitten is ready for solid food

How to switch your pet to homemade food

When purchasing a kitten, a person is usually interested in the baby’s habits and preferences, including gastronomic ones. After all, kittens that are already grown up most often end up in a new home from a breeder; they feed not on mother’s milk, but on real food or feed. How to switch a new pet to a different diet and do it as painlessly as possible? The training process is carried out according to the rules:

1. During the adaptation period, when the cat is just getting accustomed to a new place, it is not advisable to experiment with the diet. It is worthwhile to feed him for the first time in the same way as the breeder did - the baby does not need unnecessary stress.
2. It is recommended to carry out the transfer gradually. Initially, a small amount of food is added to the usual diet. Then its volume increases and, finally, the bowl contains only food that is new to the cat.
3. You can start by adding a wet diet to the kibble. Later, the pate is mixed with natural products and gradually the industrial diet is removed from the menu.
4. When a dry diet is completely excluded from the menu, it cannot be given to your pet subsequently, even as a treat. You should not provoke the cat.
5. As practice shows, kittens quickly get used to a different type of feeding, which cannot be said about adult animals. It turned out that by demonstratively turning away from the bowl, cats are not being mischievous and are not showing character. Often they are concerned about the manifestations of dependence on dry food. But this does not mean that the animal will die of starvation if it does not receive the usual pellets.

Duration of transition from one type of feeding to another.

The average period for transferring a cat from dry food to natural food is one week.

At first, your pet may turn up its nose at the bowl. Then you should calmly remove it and place it with a fresh portion of food during the next feeding.

Taking care of your pet's health. In order for the animal’s digestive tract to function fully even during changes in the type of food, it is recommended to give the pet probiotic preparations: Bifitrilak, Enterol, Zoonorm, Subtilis. Probiotics can also be purchased at a regular pharmacy - Bifidumbacterin, Normobakt, Linex.

Feeding a three month old kitten

At the age of three months, kittens' teeth change, their bones become stronger, they are playful and full of energy. They still need to be fed 5-6 times a day, but the required volumes change: for 1 kilogram of the kitten’s weight there are 200 grams of food per day. During this period, kittens need food rich in protein, and liquid food should make up less than half of the diet. For normal development of eyes and vision, taurine, which is found in meat, is necessary. Add vegetable dishes too. Enter into the menu:

• boiled lean meat - chicken, beef, turkey;
• if there are no worms, you can give raw frozen meat, chopped into small pieces;
• natural yogurt and kefir without additives;
• liquid cottage cheese;
• zucchini, pumpkin, cabbage in raw grated form. If the kitten resists, add grated vegetables to the porridge;
• boiled egg yolk;
• sea ​​fish;
• semolina and rice porridge with milk.

What to feed a kitten?

Just feeding a kitten milk is not enough. He must receive from food all the necessary microelements and vitamins for normal development. When your baby is ready to eat on his own, his diet should look like this:

• Liquid porridge with milk (semolina, ground buckwheat).
• Dairy products.
• Boiled chicken or turkey, cut into small pieces.
• Thin slices of meat, processed with boiling water.
• Small pieces of boiled fish. The seeds are first removed.

The kitten should not be given fatty meat, sweets, flour, raw fish, or smoked foods. They can harm his health.

When the baby begins to eat on his own, he can also be given ready-made food made specifically for his age.

In the first months of life, a kitten can eat up to 7 times. At the same time, he eats up to 10 milliliters of milk or a couple of pieces of other food with each approach. Gradually, portions increase, and the number of meals may remain the same or decrease.

Drinking regime

It is unnatural for cats to drink a lot of water. They have evolved in such a way that their water needs are almost completely satisfied by the moisture content of their food. So don't worry if your kitten seems to quench its thirst very quickly.

The daily water requirement for a kitten is calculated using a simple formula: body weight multiplied by 0.03. The resulting value includes the water contained in the feed. How much moisture is in the food is indicated on the product label as part of a guaranteed analysis. The moisture content is very different between wet and dry food and the owner should take this into account when feeding the baby.

The kitten must have access to clean water

Give your kitten clean, filtered water. The stale smell will scare the baby away and he will not drink. Also, milk and any other liquids other than water will not work.

Cats like wide bowls because they don't like their whiskers touching anything.

A few more rules...

There are quite a lot of opinions about what is best for a small pet and how to start teaching it to feed itself. But there are rules that need to be taken into account in any case:

• The bowl should be clean and convenient.
• There should always be water near food.
• Feed the animal according to its age and needs. If necessary, you can give him vitamins. But before that, consult your veterinarian.
• If your baby goes to the toilet regularly, then he has enough food.
• Don't force anyone to eat.
• Do not mix dry food and natural food (except when switching from one food to another is necessary).
• After eating, you can massage your pet’s tummy to start the mechanism of digesting unusual food.
• A clear separation between playing and feeding areas is necessary.

Following these rules will help your pet develop normally and grow up healthy. Teaching a kitten to feed itself is not always easy.

If something doesn't work out for you, you can always contact your veterinarian. He will tell you when the animal is ready to feed on its own and help you choose exactly the food that will saturate its body with the necessary vitamins.

A kitten has appeared in the house; not only positive emotions are associated with this charming little creature, but also inevitable worries. One of the problems that worries the baby’s owners is how to teach a kitten to eat from a bowl? The helplessness of a new family member is frightening, but do not be afraid: this is a completely solvable problem. You just need a little cunning and patience.

Anyone who is just planning to get a pet should not worry in advance. If the kitten stays with its mother for up to two months, then the cat usually teaches it to lap from the bowl. In a simple way, common throughout living nature - by example. This problem occurs in two cases:

• if the kitten was too small without a mother and had not yet learned to lap;
• if the owners fed the cat only dry food, and in its bowl there was water, which does not smell like food. Then the baby received the liquid he needed only from mother’s milk.

A small fluffy ball that ends up in your home immediately becomes the subject of attention and care. I really want him to grow up cheerful and healthy. But if the kitten does not know how to eat from a saucer, then there is no need to panic either. There are several simple ways to help deal with this problem:

• bring a bowl of lukewarm milk to the kitten’s face, dip your finger in it and let the baby lick it. Repeat this several times. Then put your finger in the bowl, the kitten will reach for it and begin to lap it;
• you can simply poke his nose into a saucer of milk or thin porridge. After licking its face, the baby will reach for the bowl. Perhaps he will not figure it out the first time - here you need to show patience and perseverance. Although, of course, this method is less humane;
• If you need your pet to not only lap up water or milk, but also eat thicker food from a bowl, then you can lay out pieces of food in a path towards the saucer. The baby, collecting them, will approach the source of food and figure out where there is more of it.

In order for the training to be successful, you need to choose a suitable bowl. It should not be very deep, but wide and stable enough so that the kitten cannot turn it over.

Monosodium glutamate is one of the causes of addiction

The food additive E621, which is a flavor enhancer, is included in most dry diets intended for feeding pets:

1. This component not only gives the product an unnatural taste, but also irritates the taste buds.
2. Cats get used to the rich taste and aroma of granules, so natural food does not arouse their interest.
3. Refusing the “correct” food, the pet will use all its charms, begging for familiar food and treats. It is important for the owner not to give up at this moment.

The fact that monosodium glutamate is very harmful to the animal’s body and can cause the development of cancer pathologies will help strengthen the owner’s willpower.

Also watch the video on how to wean a cat off food: