Can I take a 5-week-old kitten from an unhealthy home safely?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is the pet peeve of all veterinarians I know. In general, I recommend taking the advice of people who have advanced degrees in animal health and medicine. Breeders have no required certifications or education, and often no actual evidence for their recommendations. In this specific case, I will say that for PUPPIES, I prefer 8 weeks of age. However kittens seem to be able to wean, transition to kibbles, and potty train earlier than dogs. Six weeks with their first vaccine and deworming on board is a perfectly safe and reasonable time to get kittens into their new homes! Best wishes to you, the kittens, and their new families!

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Gaiman. Congrats on your new kitten! At six weeks of age, he will be fully weaned and does not need formula. Keep feeding him the wet kitten food, and you can start introducing small amounts of dry kitten for him as well. Give him the same brand of dry food as the wet food. He is not too young to be adopted out. I would consider six weeks the minimum age to be adopted out. I hope this helps!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Congratulations! I recommend at 5 months for the first visit to consist of: fecal test, deworming even if the fecal test is negative, feline leukemia and FIV testing, the FVRCP vaccine every 3 weeks for a total of 2 and the Rabies vaccine. I also recommend spaying and neutering after 6 months of age. I recommend feeding ahigh quality kitten food like Purina Proplan, Hill's Science Diet or Royal Canin until 1 year of age. To watch the weight after 6 months I recommend meal feeding. I wish you the very best!

I would recommend having the kitten checked out by a vet. It likely needs to be tested for intestinal parasites (worms and coccidia are common), get started on vaccinations, and be evaluated for congenital issues. It is old enough to go on kitten food, so I would mix kitten milk replacer with wet kitten food. You can also use a nutritional supplement like NutriCal. If it has any fleas, use an age appropriate flea preventative as fleas can cause anemia in tiny kittens. Pet probiotics are also a good idea. Here is a link to a chart on aging kitten teeth: http://www.ruralareavet.org/PDF/Physical_Exam-How_to_Determine_Age.pdf And here is a link to raising orphan kittens: http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=576

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Babies! At almost 5 weeks old these kittens can be completely weaned from a bottle. I always recommend bottle fed kittens start being weaned at 3 weeks old due to constipation or diarrhea side effects of the kitten formula. At this time, with them being so sick, I doubt they will start eating kitten food but you can try. Make sure their noses are clear from discharge so they can breath. Tube feeding is some what risky and you should be shown by a vet or an experienced tech before attempting. Once you are shown it is something you can do on your own but for kittens this old they may fight you on it. The risk is putting the tube down their tracheas instead of the esophagus and putting the food in their lungs causing death or aspiration. I overall recommend these kittens be re-evaluated by a Vet. Maybe they can teach you how to give subcutaneous fluids or teach you how to tube feed. They can consider starting an appetite stimulant. I hope this helps and I wish you and the kittens the best!

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sorry to hear about Storm. Applying some Karo syrup or honey to her gums and tongue will provide some rapid glucose for her body to burn. You should try to force feed her with a good kitten milk replacer via bottle or syringe but if she is weak she might not nurse. Your best bet would be to get her to a vet immediately so they can evaluate her and then treat her accordingly while trying to figure out what is going on. Make sure she is nice and warm since small kittens cannot regulate their body temperature. Their normal temp should be around 99 degrees to 102 degrees farenheit. Not sure how old she is but you need to be stimulating her genital area also to get her to eliminate. Again these little guys can get sick very quickly and it's important you get her help as soon as you can. Good luck with her. I would also advise deworming her unless that was already done. Deworming should be done every 3 weeks after 2 weeks of age for at least 3-4 times.

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Depending on her age, the kitten may not be able to break down the milk sugar called lactose much like people with Lactose Intolerance. I wouldn't advise giving milk since it can cause cramping, diarrhea, and gastrointestinal upset. I would advise getting her to your veterinarian right away for an examination. Depending on her age they will advise you on pertinent testing (Feline Leukemia, Feline Immunodeficiency Virus), vaccinations, and deworming to get her off on the right track. Great job saving her and good luck