new kitten - advice needed

[k8bailey]

Hello all, our new kitten, who we decided to call Roxy (after Roxy Music) is settling in to our mad house quite well - big cat Elvis is quite happy to be in the same room but other than that doesn't pay her much attention. Our (nearly) two year old daughter, only just plucked up the courage to hold the kitten today, and the kitten has learned away around most of the house and has made herself very much at home!

We've got a couple of problems though, and thought that someone here mght beable to help.......
Firstly we're unsure about how much she should be eating in a day? Currently she's eating most, but not all, of 1 packet of kitten food a day, and having some cat milk. She's only 6 weeks old, but even so, that doesn't seem like much.

And secondly (this is gross, so I do appologise) she had a poo in her litter tray today, then got out and wiped her bum on the carpet - I'd heard of dogs doing this but not cats! Is it a sign of worms?
The woman we got her from, said she'd been wormed, but needed doing again this week, but couldn't tell us what she'd used. I didn't think anything was suitable for kittens this young, and hadn't heard of anything that needed another dose so soon after the first. Any ideas - should I worm her or not? and if I should, what would be suitable?

TIA k8 & Roxy

[padanarm]

Kittens are baby cats. You have to teach them how to grow up!

In terms of food, kittens will eat what they need. A bigger worry would be if she was bored and ate all the time.

You'd know if she had worms, because they'd be wriggling in her poop. She probably just had a klingon.

Have you seen <a href="http://www.simonscat.com/catmando.html" target="_blank">Simon's cat</a>?

[woofgang]

Well I don't know much about kittens, but if she was a pup, I would be taking her to the vets for a check over and worming and vaccination advice...if she's too young to be wormed then should she have left mum?...and the breeder couldn't tell you what wormer she's used AND doesn't seem to have told you what kitten food she is used to and how much she should eat?????

[20SilkCut]

Agree with padanarm said above....

and Simon's cat is just so funny......... i wet myself every time i watch ;-)

[ummmm]

They shouldn't leave their mothers before 8 weeks ideally.

I used to feed mine a pouch of kitten food...split between 3 to 4 feeds a day.

[237SJ]

I wouldn`t worry too much about what your cat eats. Providing she`s healthy she`ll eat what she needs. I asked my vet about worms. I didn`t see the behaviour that you have seen in your cat but the vet said that as long as you de-worm the cat there will be no problem - I can`t remember the name but there is a tablet that gets rid of round worm/tape worm and that should keep parasites at bay for a few months

[honky-tonk]

6 weeks is a little to early, but having said that i had my kitten when he was 9 weeks old and at 15 months old he still sucks on his blanket, vet said he doesnt want to grow up lol. Your vet will advise you on worming,feeding and injections. Kittens 6 to 16 weeks of age should be wormed every three weeks. Small amounts of wet food 4 times a day and also a little amount of dry food to leave out throughout the day such as purina kitten as cats like to graze and a bowl of fresh water.

[ummmm]

honky-tonk....my cat, 8 months, sucks on me like I'm his mother.

[goodstohand]

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[Greedyfly]

The first thing I did with my Kitten was take him to the vets for a check up and get the correct worming/flea stuff. 6 weeks is a little young to be leaving mum, another Kitten I had (which sadly died in car accident) was around the same age, I had to feed him, clean him, sleep with him, show him how to use the little box and dig he was so lost without his mum. As for food kittens/cats eat what they need, he/she is probably a little daunted by it all.

[Greedyfly]

Forgot to mention the kitten I got last year - Ripley, he had no idea how to use a little box or what to do whilst in it. We had to teach him how to dig and cover up what he had done. I think when they are taken away too early they need just that little bit mroe attention, they have no idea what to do - bless em.

[k8bailey]

Thanks all, I got her from a woman whose cat had accidentally got pregnant, so not a breeder exactly. Mother cat then disappeared leaving her 4, five week old kittens to fend for themselves! :(

She's not wiped her bum on the carpet again, so maybe it was just a one off?! Think I'll give the vet a call and see what they say re.worming tabs.

I guess as long as food is on offer so she can help herself, and she's very active, she can't be starving.

Thanks again for the advice everyone, it's been 4 years since my last kitten but they are SO different!!

[lardhelmet]

She looks lovely K8 - I'm sure she'll be a lovely addition to your family