Well, the babies are just over 4 weeks now and they are doing GREAT!!!! Their ears are about 99% erect now, their milk teeth are coming in nicely, and they are beginning to get playful with each other! :luv2: All of them have walked with their tails straight up in the air! :)

Now it is time to consider getting them weaned. I realize that 4 weeks is considered the low end of the weaning age and that 5-6 weeks is the average. But after being so well fed via syringe, how do I get them off the syringe without starving them, per se? I have squirted a few drops of formula into my hand but all but one kitten shows no interest in it. Putting down a saucer of formula elicits no response from them...except to walk through it! :lol: I have read that exceptionally wed fed kittens do tend to take longer to wean than a litter where there is competition for food, such is the case with a litter where there are more kittens than nipples. So here is my question to my fellow members. How can I "force" them to start drinking from a saucer? I would like to get them to start weaning by 6 weeks hopefully, but will try sometime next week while I am on vacation.

As always, any advice is greatly appreciated. Oh, another photo update is forthcoming. But as we know, it is hard to get an active 1month old kitten to sit still and pose! :rotfl:

Honestly, around this age I just put down a plate of wet kitten food and gently push their face into it. 95% of the time they'll like the taste/smell and start eating it themselves, if that doesn't work I'll push a bit into their motuh..

Well, guess what??? I set down some saucers of KMR first thing in the morning and they all seemed to go over and drink from it!!!! :jump: So that is a good start. And I know they got enough to drink because shortly after, they all curled up into a kitty pile and took a snooze!!! So now, I am opening the KMR 2nd Step and will set some of that out as well! :) I think that they are ready now and that weaning probably will go smoothly. :D

edit: While running around today, I picked up some canned kitten food and decided to feed some to the kitties. All but 1 started eating it as if they were already used to solid food!! :thumbsup: The one that did not, I suspect he was not really hungry. But in time, he will be hungry and by obseerving the otherr kittens, he will soon be trotting right on over for a snack. :) So once again, I think they will wean rather easily.