On May 24, 9:46*pm, "Yowie" wrote:
No, not me.

A friend found an approximatley 3 week old kitten in a dumpster. They named
her Vicky (not after me, though) They're currently giving her kitten formula
milk, and have to 'stimulate' the relevant areas so Vicky can poop and pee
in appropriate places. They'd like to know how and when to toilet train her
properly when stimulation is no longer required. Also, when to introduce
solids? Any advice?

Yowie

I've bottle-fed kittens several times. About when they could walk
relatively steady (that is,
without their little fat bellies dragging the floor)....I used to put
them in the box after feeding
them and just watch for a bit. They'll catch on. I also took their
paws and scratched in
the litter so they'd get that idea, too. I'm not really sure *I* was
teaching them anything -- it's
probably instinctual. IIRC this was around four weeks.
Also around four weeks you can start introducing them to solid foods.
I remember buying
a special "step-down" food that was formulated for this. It was a
powder you mixed with
the formula that formed a kind of gruel. You can also let them have
Science Diet kitten
formula, also mixed in with the formula milk.
One thing I wanted to mention that I learned early on is not to lay
the kitten on its back to
feed it, as you would a baby. Let it lie down in a normal position so
that it must reach its
neck up to suck the bottle. That keeps the chance of liquids going
down into its lungs at a minimum.
Gosh, so many memories & so much info. She needs to warm a washcloth
and wash it's
behind area so that it doesn't get urine burns (mom would normally do
this).
I also remember the only real problems I had was the kittens were
either constipated, or their
stools were too loose. There are remedies for both, and it was always
an ongoing thing getting
a balance.
Tell you friend good luck and she is doing a marvelously rewarding
thing. And I'm sure there's a
plethora of info. on google, too.
Keep us updated!
Sherry