U Runt

Why wont the runt of the litter eat like the other kittens all he wants is the moms milk?

They are 5 weeks old and the runt of the litter though he's not much smaller doesn't seem to want any kind of food besides mama cats milk and he will not eat the dry food softened with water at all. Is this normal?? What can I do do to wean him off mamas milk?

Public Comments

1. Momma cat is usually quite good at weaning her kittens when it's time. No reason to rush it, especially since kittens shouldn't be re-homed until a minimum of 8 weeks old, anyways. :) He's a runt, that means he'll probably be a bit behind the rest when it comes to switching to kibble. No worries.
2. Five weeks is the time they start eating solids but its nothing to worry about. My cat had five kittens in her litter. Four males and one tiny female. She was the runt, obviously. We fed her cat formula (yes they do have cat formula) and she got bigger. She also had the same problem as your kitten, she didn't want to eat solids. We gave her the wet food with a little milk or water in it. Eventually she ate it. Try putting his nose in it, gently. He will lick his nose and then taste it. Eventually his mom will stop nursing him so he'll come around. I wouldnt give them dry food until they're a bit older though. Just the wet stuff . Good luck :)
3. Kittens go at their own pace just like human babies. Five weeks is a little young still and nursing from momma kitty is fine. Momma will wean him when she thinks he is ready. A year ago, I had orphaned kittens and when they got between 5 and 6 weeks, I started introducing solid foods. The two littlest of them (6 in all) took about a week to convert to the solid food. You could try a little kitten replacement milk (KMR) to mix with the dry food to make your 'mush'. It will give it a little more flavor and won't hurt them. Purrs to you and kitties.