Serious question: can a six-week-old kitten survive without its mother? That's extremely young and probably not weaned.
"Serious question: can a six-week-old kitten survive without its mother? That's extremely young and probably not weaned."
No problem. Kittens generally begin to eat solid food at about 4 weeks. At six weeks, they're adoptable, although it's usually better to wait until 8 weeks.
One of my stray cats had a litter, then got sick. She recovered, but couldn't provide milk any more. I hand-raised the kittens, starting from three days after birth. At four weeks, they started wolfing down wet cat food, and my job was done. Momma kitty lived a good long life after that.
Feed it milk with a dropper. But it will probably always have attachment disorder and try to nurse.
I took in a five-week-old male kitten that was part of a litter one of my co-workers found at a job site back in September. Today he's a very healthy and rambunctious four-month-old. I started him out on a paste of canned kitten food mixed with replacement milk, and then just gradually got him onto his current diet of dry kitten food. Had a great appetite right from the start.
Even if they're younger and haven't really started eating regular food yet, you can still use the replacement milk (available at pet stores or even at Wal Mart) and let them nurse on that until they are ready to start eating solid food. But be prepared to feed them often.
Since my kitten was a boy, and since he was orphaned by one of the many hurricanes we dealt with this summer in Florida, I felt it only appropriate to name him Charley.
I brought a four-day old kitten home. She was at a garage, and had been stolen by the mechanic's girlfriend's dog.
They had no idea where she belonged. He wasn't feeding her
and was just going to let her die. - I bottle fed her for
two months with a formula from the vet's. I tried to wean
her, but she was anemic and the bottle had caused formula
to get in her lung. She died at eight weeks. She and I both
worked for her to stay alive; up during the nights for
feedings and all that. Her name was Tuffy, and she was the
sweetest little kitten you ever saw. She was a playing
maniac, and my husband and she would play until they
dropped. (If I ever have to bottle feed a kitten again, I
will add an egg yolk to the commercial formula to give it
iron. - Can you believe the stuff didn't contain a bit of
iron? - - and I will use one of those feeding tubes that
goes in the throat far enough not to fill the lungs with
fluid.) I still can't take her picture off the refrigerator
even after a year and a half. Mercy. . and what made it so
difficult was that she suffered not able to breathe. We
had taken her to an all night veterinary clinic, and he
sent us home with me thinking she would be okay. I tell you
that was enough to really make me hope our little pets are
in the Kingdom of Heaven with us.