Adopting a 5-week old kitten is a good idea because they are still baby and therefore easier to train and because they are already able to eat food other than their mom’s milk.
So, the two most basic aspects of kitten care, i.e. training for development and nurturing for growth, can be handled perfectly.
As a baby, however, a 5-week old kitten is considered weak and fragile. You need to know how to take the role once played by their mom and how to be a good master for your new tiny pet.
Here we will explore all aspects of 5-week old kitten care, including what to expect from a 5-week old kitten, their physical and behavioral features, their feeding and medical needs, their training, and their basic care.
The physical characteristics of a 5-week old kitten
Your kitten should acquire their first pound on week five because 1 pound is considered the normal 5-week old kitten weight. Female cats wane their kittens when the latter are 4 weeks old.
If you decide to take the kitten and make them your pet, you will start to feed them when they are 4 or 5 weeks old. The food that they eat will add 1 pound every month.
Although your kitten has already had baby teeth, they still look chubby like baby. At the age of 5 weeks, they will also start to learn to walk on their feet, although their gait is still shaky; however, it will not take very long before they can finally walk gracefully and even make a steady gallop.
If you want to know what the gender of your kitten is, you should consult your vet. The sexual organ of a 5-week old kittenhas not been developed fully, so it is rather difficult to find visual clues that determine your kitten’s gender.
How to feed a 5-week old Kitten
A 5-week old kitten is above all a baby, but they are a baby that you can safely take from their mother. Nursing female cats generally stop giving their milk to their baby and start weaning them starting from the age of 4.
Although the ongoing weaning process generally ends by the time your kitten reaches 8 weeks of age, after the age of 4 weeks, your kitten can actually take any alternative to their mom’s milk.
Giving them proper 5-week old kitten feed is thus an extra responsibility for you as a new “mom” for the cute baby.
Your 5-week old kitten will need a steady supply of food that is rich in nutrients, especially protein. Because they are recently weaned, kitten formula should be the best nutrition for your kitten.
Although they already have baby teeth, giving them dry food to accompany the formula might not be the best idea. Instead, give them wet and soft feed that they can easily munch and digest.
How to train your 5-week old kitten
A 5-week old kitten is becoming more active and aggressive. If they grow with their mom and litter mates, they will spend most of their time playing with them. If you let them grow with you, you will become their mate.
You may think that this will become another extra duty that you have to deal with, but playing with them is actually an important aspect of 5-week old kitten care that strengthens your bond with your kitten and allows them to know that you and they are in the same family.
Just like human baby, kitten also uses their teeth and claws when playing. Although their teeth and claws are not fully developed yet, they are sharp enough to hurt or even wound you.
Therefore, make sure that you train your kitten not to bite you, anyone or anything. Give them teether or toy so that they can have an interesting object to bite.
You may also need to scold them if they start to bite you and to praise them when they don’t use their teeth when playing with you.
If you continue to train your kitten this way, they should eventually be able to understand proper behavior and manner.
Lastly, take your kitten out and introduce them to other kittens and people. This 5-week old kitten training is important to expand your kitten’s social life.
5-week old kitten’s medical monitoring
A 5-week old kitten also requires intensive medical monitoring. Although they will not get their first vaccination shots until they reach 8 weeks of age, addressing flea problem and possible diseases, such as problem with immune system, is an important aspect of 5-week old kitten care.
How To Litter Train a Kitten
Take your kitten to your vet to find out about the best non-toxic flea treatment for them and to test whether your kitten suffers from dangerous diseases such as feline immunodeficiency virus.
Don’t forget to take a fecal sample to find out whether your kitten eats properly or whether they have some problem with their digestive system.
