Wean Kittens:

Weaning kittens needs a lot of patience and also determination.



Since the kittens only known mother's milk since they are born solid food are different for them. Introducing any solid food to the kittens requires time and patience. Weaning is an essential piece of kitten care.

How to Wean Kittens:

First do not force a kitten to eat by shoving the food near its face.



This may cause accidental inhalation leading to severe health problems and also the kitten will then have abhorrence to any solid food it is being fed. Secondly do not confine the kitten when it comes to meal times. They can actually end up getting more food on themselves than in their stomachs. The mother may lick them clean but they may need to be cleaned further with soft tissues.



It is important to know if the kitten’s digestive tract is ready to digest solid foods. Hence one should know the kitten’s age. After 4 weeks is a good time to start weaning the kittens. Try using a bottle to start with. Give the kittens only small portions of food initially like food in a tablespoon from some canned kitten food product. This can be placed near the kitten. Microwaving helps the kitten smell the food before they eat it. Try starting of with one kitten at a time preferably the boldest or the leader. Once you succeed with this one it is easier to get the other kittens to follow suit. Dabbing a little morsel of food on its mouth can help too. If the kitten resists try again in a day or two. Another way is to try to gently coax the kitten into sampling food of the owner’s finger itself. This procedure can then be repeated once it is successful. Once the kittens are able to eat food or lick the food of the owner’s fingers then try putting the food into a dish and gradually inching the plate closer to the kitten. It may take a little longer but it works. Once the kitten is able to digest canned kitten food they can then be moved on to dry foods. This can be achieved by first mixing the canned food with the dried food. Gradually the amounts can be increased once the initial portions are accepted by the kitten.

Most veterinarians will recommend that the kittens be fed half dry and half canned food during each feeding or in the morning feed only be given canned food and for the evening feeding only dry food to maintain a balanced diet.