Hi Guys, sorry for writing in the congratulations section. I just noticed that I had to write in here. Lisa is going really well with Gary and they are always chasing each other and rub their noses together Two problems which are worrying me are that they are eating each other´s food. Although Gary is an adult, he basically can eat ´everything´ but Lisa is eating his food. Do you think its bad for her? Is it good to eat each other´s food? Another problem is that in these from the time we got her till now, we noticed that she did not pee/poo anywhere, is it normal for a kitten? Thanks

Hi, Joan1! I presume you´re feeding Gary adult food and Lisa kitten food. Neither one will "hurt" the other, but kitten food is formulated to promote growth and weight gain, so Lisa really needs to have the recommended daily amount of it. Perhaps you could feed them separately to make sure she gets all the kitten food she needs each day.

Five weeks is very young for a kitten to be separated from its mother. Mother cats lick their kittens´ anuses to cause bowel movements. I´m not sure at what age of the kitten they stop doing that, but you could try rubbing her there a few minutes after she eats a meal to see if this will cause a bowel movement. Maybe she has peed and pooed and you just haven´t noticed where she´s done it. It´s a good idea to keep a close eye on her, because if she really isn´t doing her business then something is wrong and she should see a vet.

Thanks for the post, I try to separate them to make sure that she is eating kitten food. At least I can put my mind at rest that adult food would not make her feel sick. You are absolutely right, 5 weeks old is too young but unfortunately her mother abandoned her because she was hurting everytime her kitty everytime she breast feeds. It´s a pity but the strange thing is that she did not cry once. I think because she has Gary´s company and ours as well. Regarding the pee problem I will try to rub her and see what happens. Thank you

Iams have started doing hard food for homes with multiple cats suitable for various ages.

Well you could just feed them both kitten food it wont hurt the Gary to eat it and if they do end up eating out of each others bowls then you will at lest know that Lisa is getting the food she needs to grow and keep healthy, I did this when my cats were kittens and it didn´t harm the older cats. xxx GOOD LUCK xxx

Joan1, I have a suggestion - if you´re going to attempt to stimulate Lisa into peeing or pooping, I think you should first bring her to the litter box and then try. Because her reaction might be.... very quick.

When i got pipsqueak he was about 5 weeks also and i noticed for the first few days he had no bowel movements but as suggested by wolfie i took a wet facewasher and dabbed around his anus and it worked very well.
enjoy the kitten stage it is very fleeting!

About 2ml of extra virgin olive oil helps to free up a constipated CAT but not sure about that remedy for a small kitten. just watch the kitten as like mentioned above they are not pooing they need to see a vet!

I believe that feeding Gary food formulated for kittens will enduce wieght gain due to the extra nutrients plus it will be higher in calories needed for a kittens growth. Best suggestion is to feed each darling separately.

Not only would I feed Gary and Lisa seperately, but I would feed them at seperate times...like maybe 30 minutes apart so one finishes eating before the other one starts. If Lisa does not apparently poop and pee within the next few days, I would definitely telephone the vet.

Hi Guys, thank you once again. Yesterday we both took them to the Vet to make sure that they are OK because for some reason she had no fleas but we were still scratching but according to the Vet, they should take some pills and everything will be back to normal. Thank God, Lisa is peeing on her own and using the cat litter with no problem at all. I was really happy because for a 5 week year old kitten, she is very intelligent. Unfortunately, the food is still my major problem. You won´t believe this, Lisa is taking Whiskas and Gary was taking his usual adult food (forgot its name) and he is not eating at all if I don´t give him Whiskas. What shall I do? I worry when he doesn´t eat and I know he´s not sick because when I tried to mix Whiskas with his normal food, he just ate the Whiskas and left the other one, its unbelievable!!! I don´t know whether he´s jealous or not but I treat them the same..no preferences at all although its my first time dealing with 2 cats. Another question, how is the best way to feed cats? I mean, should I remove their plate after they eat or shall I leave it there? And how many times should they eat per day? Thanks alot guys, I appreciate your help

Lisa is doing fine and I can assure you that she has a very caring brother The food is the only problem :/

There are 2 schools of thought regarding feeding. One is to leave out dry kibble for them to snack on throughout the day. The other is that you feed them at specific times and let them eat for only 30 minutes then remove their food. How much you feed them will differ as one as a kitten and one is an adult. The kitten will, of course, need more food as it´s still growing and more active. Your vet can advise you on the amount of food each needs. Also, many bags of food list the amount of food each needs on the back of the bag.