Kittens who are 3.5 - 4.5 weeks old are at the in-between stage of being bottle fed and eating on their own. At this age their teeth are starting to come in and they are ready to learn to eat wet and dry food. There are a few steps in the process to help them transition from drinking from a bottle to eating out of a bowl. The “gruel baby” stage is the first, and messiest, step of weaning a kitten.
Offer Gruel in a Bottle
The first step is to start offering them gruel in their bottle instead of just kitten milk replacer (KMR). Gruel is a combination of canned food, formula, and warm water. Slowly introducing wet food to the kittens’ diet will help their bodies adjust to a new food and digest it more easily than a sudden change in diet. Kittens have sensitive stomachs so always try to change their diets very slowly over the course of a few days or else they will likely have diarrhea.
When you first start introducing gruel, it should be mostly KMR with a small amount of wet food added in so the gruel has a soup-like consistency. Water down the gruel mixture so the consistency is more like then KMR they’re accustomed to drinking. Heat up the gruel so it’s warm. Kittens are used to drinking from a warm bottle and they will not like it cold.
Once the kittens are happily eating that, you can add a bit more wet food to the mixture every day in order to wean them onto canned food alone. This process should take a week or two.
You can supplement the kittens with a bottle of KMR every eight hours to ensure that they are getting all the nutrients they need, but always encourage them to eat gruel before offering them a bottle.
Offer Gruel on a Plate
If your kitten doesn’t want to drink from a bottle anymore, to get them interested in trying the gruel, offer the gruel with a spoon or use your finger or a syringe to place a small amount on the kitten’s tongue. Some kittens will start licking your finger after they smell it. Then you can slowly lower your finger or the spoon to the plate and hold it right above the food. This will help show the kitten that their food is now on the floor and that they need to learn to eat with their heads bent down. Keep in mind that when kittens are bottlefed their heads are facing upward. They are not used to looking down for their food so this will be a big change for them.
Some kittens will dive right in and start eating like they’ve never eaten in their life. This makes things much easier if they are so excited to try eating on their own.
If the kitten does not seem interested in trying the gruel, put a drop of food on their tongue or their nose so they lick it. Once they taste the gruel, they will hopefully start licking it off your finger. If they're still not interested, you can fill a syringe with gruel and feed them that way. Go very slowly and follow the kitten’s lead to prevent aspiration. Some kittens take a few days to get used to their new food and their new way of eating. This is totally normal. They will get there. They just need some time to get accustomed to their new mealtime routine.
Things to Keep in Mind
Kittens who nurse after they’re four weeks old must be supervised carefully for chewing the bottle. If chewing occurs, you must stop bottle feeding immediately or the kitten could swallow part or all of the rubber nipple and develop an obstruction.
Gruel babies are very messy. They will walk right in the bowl, stick their whole heads in the bowl, and track gruel wherever they go. While this may be frustrating, please be patient with them. They are learning and doing the best they can. Keep them in a small area and cover the floor with pee pads or towels to try to keep the mess at bay.
Mom cats would normally show their kittens what to do and they learn from watching her. Without their mom, they rely on their humans to show them what to do.
Kittens are not used to eating with their heads down so you cannot just place a bowl down and expect them to know what to do. You need to actively show them how to eat and make sure they are eating enough.
Every 3-4 hours, you should discard any uneaten gruel and provide a fresh batch. Kittens will not eat it if it isn’t fresh and warm.
It is important to continue weighing your kitten every day, after feeding, to ensure that they are always gaining weight.
Moving on to Solid Food
When the kittens are 4-5 weeks old, you can start leaving out some kitten dry food and a shallow bowl of water. It is ok if the kittens are not yet interested in drinking water since they get their hydration from gruel, but water needs to be out and available in case they are curious. You may want to use a heavy ceramic bowl for water so the kittens can’t knock it over. By 5-6 weeks, kittens should be drinking water.
Ideally, by the time they’re 5-6 weeks old, your kitten will be eating both dry and wet food on their own. When kittens are this age, you should offer them wet food 3-4 times a day and they should have access to dry food and water at all times.
Teaching a kitten to eat on their own is always an adventure. Keep calm, be patient, and let the magic unfold. You are watching your bottle baby grow into a more independent and self-sufficient kitten.
Love, Nala
