runt kitten

Question
QUESTION: found 4 kittens can't get the runt to eat soft food
they are running playing using litter box but the runt will not eat,im losing my patience.

ANSWER: Hello Brenda,

Do you have an idea how old the kittens might be?  Kittens will normally begin to try eating food at around 4 weeks old.  Most will eat 80-90% of their diet from food rather than from their mother by 6-7 weeks old, and will not be fully weaned until they are around 8 weeks old.  I can't tell from your message whether the mother is around to feed the runt - if not, you will need to invest in a specialist food that is a substitute for the mother's milk, to ensure that the kitten receives the right nutrition until weaned.  If you believe that this kitten is upwards of six weeks old and is not attempting to eat, I suggest a trip to the vet, who will be able to advise on any possible medical problem that is stopping this kitty from eating.

Best of luck with this.

Take care
Annie

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: i don't know for sure how old there are my husband bought a boat they were in boat they have a lot of teeth
the other 3 kittens will eat the soft food the runt only wants to suck out of syringe.he will not even try to eat put soft food on his nose and mouth we have had them for 2 1/2 wks we are guessing around 5-6 weeks it doesn't act like there is any thing wrong it acts like it wants to suck only and not eat.

Answer
Hi again,

Kittens develop teeth at around 2-3 weeks of age so it does sound as though your kittens are now around 6 weeks old.  My only other suggestion would be to try putting the kitten's milk into a bowl with small pieces of bread and see whether he will suck the milk from the bread rather than using the syringe.  If this works, he should then begin to eat some watered down cat food.  Don't be discouraged as kittens do develop at different rates - one of my cats was nine weeks old before we stopped feeding him through a syringe.  If this fails, do seek advice from a vet.

Good luck!
Annie

Brenda - I'm so glad to hear that the bread and milk trick worked!  Wonderful news.