This is a YouTube video titled "DESTETE EN GATOS - ¡Edad, alimentación y más!" created on May 5, 2019, providing an educational explanation about the weaning process in kittens. The content covers the stages of kitten development, the importance of mother's milk, timing and methods for introducing solid food, and care tips for both mother-raised and bottle-fed kittens. The video is presented in a monologue style without multiple speakers or a conversational format.
Newborn kittens need nothing more than their mother's milk to develop. But there comes a time when they will switch from milk to solid food. In this new video from Animal Expert, we will explain how and when to wean kittens. Although there will be differences depending on whether the litter has been bottle fed or if it has been raised by its mother. Colostrum is the liquid that cats produce immediately after giving birth and is characterized by its immunological properties. For this reason, as soon as the kittens are born, we can see how they go to a nipple to ingest the precious colostrum, which will later be replaced by mature milk. Mother's milk will be the exclusive food for them during the first weeks of life. Milk completely covers all the kitten's needs in terms of both physical and psychological development. In addition, mother and kittens communicate during lactation. They all purr as a sign of well being. This way the cat knows that her little ones are well and feeding satisfactorily on their part. They massage the breasts with their front paws, which stimulates the milk to come out. Kittens are born with their eyes closed and will spend practically the entire day sleeping. Around eight days of age, their eyes will begin to open approximately a week. Later, at about 15 days, they will take their first steps and around three weeks, they will be able to start eating solid food, beginning a transitional stage until solid food completely replaces milk. The ideal age to start weaning kittens is around three weeks of age. Before that, as we have seen, they do not need anything more than milk and therefore we should not try to make them eat anything. We should not even offer them water. At three weeks, kittens already interact a lot with each other. They play, their mother lets them have time alone and they will increasingly become more interested in their surroundings. And this will include food. We must remember that weaning is not an exact science. There will be cats that show interest in food later, while others will be more precocious. We must respect their timing and above all, keep in mind that this is a process that should always be done gradually and naturally. It should also be noted that breast milk must be part of their diet until at least six or eight weeks of age. So nursing kittens will continue to be so until approximately that age. You can find dry food or wet food on the market, always specially formulated for growing cats, or you can choose to prepare homemade food for them. If we opt for dry food, we will have to start by soaking it in warm water to form a mush. Otherwise the kittens will have difficulty eating the hard pellets. On the other hand, if we want to offer them homemade food, it is essential to know that this does not mean leftover human food. We should contact a veterinarian who specializes in nutrition and prepare a balanced menu. At three weeks of age, we can give the kittens a plate with the food we have chosen two or three times a day. A low sided dish will make it easier for them to access. This way they will continue to suckle on demand and will only eat if they want to. If the kittens do not have a mother and we are bottle feeding them, we are interested in knowing how weaning should be done in orphaned cats. We should know that we can put the dish out before giving it to them. Then we will let them drink as much milk as they want. Little by little, we will notice that they will eat more solids and less milk. So we will always adapt the quantities gradually. If we give them baby food, we should gradually prepare it more solid. It is very important to accompany the increase in solids with the offer of water. As we have already mentioned, weaning cats and separation from their mother should be something that the feline family itself decides on. An early separation will cause socialization and behavior problems in the kittens in the future. Therefore, it is not recommended to separate them before six weeks of age. Now you know how and when weaning occurs. Do you have any questions? Do you want to request a specific video? Leave us your comments and don't forget to give us a like and subscribe if you enjoyed this video and want more. Until next time, experts.
