Hi guys I bought a Bengal kitten I was initially told he was 9wks, that he was weaned and litter trained. It's now become apparent that the kitten is only 6 wks. He will not eat/drink out of a bowl and I'm having to syringe feeder. I cant get him inoculated for another 3 weeks and I'm petrified he will die. I spoke to a very well known reputable Bengal breeder and she is disgusted with these people. I am buying a retired queen from her which we are hoping will help him and show him the way. I spoke to the lady I bought him from she swears he was weaned, using litter tray etc and he just needs to get used to his surroundings. Any tips welcome please

Personally I am not sure introducing a new cat is going to help - to me this would only put stress on a very young kitten and as he is not vaccinated then he is not going to have full immunity. Also because you would be bringing in from another cattery you straight away open yourself up to different bacterial strains that could make him very ill if not managed correctly.

Most breeders I know do not even mix kittens with their own cats in their own environments until at least the first vaccination has been given to the kittens due to cross contamination from other breeding cats.

Maybe others have different ideas - but for me the stress levels of your kitten really need to be kept to a complete minimum whilst in such a vulnerable stage

I would agree re the risks of infection in such a young kitten - which are very real. Also, the Bengal mum may think he is wonderful and adopt him, but she may just as easily hate him and be a danger to him.

How long have you had him?

what if retired queen will not accept young kitten? Although at this young age there is no reason she wouldnt, but you never know. Her hormones will be all over the place after spaying and is a bit of risk here. Poor kitty...

My heart goes out to you. You were really taken for a ride by this lady. Who separates a 6 week old kitten from its mother? The kitten still has so much to learn. I commend you for taking over for its mommy as it has to be difficult to syringe feed a kitten and try to deal with training it to use a litter box. I only have a single Bengal, so I don't know about introducing an older female to the mix. You'd like to think she would take over the mothering instincts, but you just never know. There are a whole lot of people more knowledgeable than me in this department. Lots of great information here on the forum. Welcome and hope you somehow find the time to read through some threads.

If he is six weeks old he shouldn't need to be syringe fed. Give him something good and stinky - warmed up wet food. Put an ice cube in his water bowl to get him to interact with the water. I took in a stray at four weeks. It really isn't the ideal age to get them but a lot of things in life aren't ideal.

As far as introducing a retired queen, I have adopted two. I would advise keeping them seperated for a few weeks and be vigilant about her and the kittens health before introducing the two. Make sure neither have any parasites, fleas, ticks, etc. Realize that she will have a strong personality and introduce them slowly, even though they may be anxious to get at each other from the beginning.

Kitten milk replacement may also be good for the kitten. I don't know how long they nurse from mom, someone here who is a breeder can comment as to if that would be beneficial for him.

Thanks guys you've been very helpful, thankgod for this forum. He's doing extremely well and we are having a few meets with the queen I might get to see how things go, he's eating solids woo hoo, but my god have I got scratches lol but ya gotta love em. Is it true that original brown n black coloured bengals are not supposed to have blue eyes?

So glad he is doing well - his eye colour will change as he gets older - most kittens start off with blue eyes

_________________
Bengal Beauties