Hi,
We got Max three weeks ago from someone my aunt knows. At the time of getting him we were told that he was seven weeks old, all his brothers and sisters were gone, but he'd been the smallest so she'd kept him back. My aunt, who has knows a lot about cats saw him a week ago and said she thought he was younger than the nine weeks he should have been then.
He was booked in to the vets for his first vaccination this morning, and the vet said she thought he was probably seven, maybe eight weeks old now (by the information we got he should be ten). This means we got him at about four weeks, which obviously is far too young to have got him and for him to have been separated from his mother.
Apart from this he's ok, but just wondered if anyone had any advice to make sure he's ok in later life. I ask this because we rescued a kitten about fifteen years ago who was about five weeks and she had problems with discipline etc when she was older because she hadnt had her mum around to teach her. Is there anything we should be doing differently because he's been so young?
Any advice would be appreciated!
Thanks!

Do you have other cats? The youngsters will learn the ropes from the older ones if you do. If not and he's eating and using the litter tray ok, then he should be fine.

We have a 16 year old rescue cat (Sammy) who was found dumped at 4 weeks old, and he's never been a problem, apart from his lack of personal hygiene, which we put down to not being taught by his mum/siblings!

Ian F.

__________________
"Always turn and look when your cat gazes behind you with that intent look in her eyes. Some day there might actually be something there." - T.S. Eliot

He'll probably be fine. Actually though I often suspested that one of my two rescue sisters was younger than the other as she was much much smaller, but she's fine, whether or not that was the case I'll never know. Either way though, she turned out ok. Maybe your's is a runt!

My Indy was 5 weeks when we got him (his mum was too poorly to look after him) and he is now a big, healthy 10 month boy!

He actually ended up being adopted by our elderly dog, who amazingly enforced his early hygiene lessons, we also got him a friend when he was 7 months old and he learned how to be a cat too.

maybe after his injections you can arrange playdates with a friends cat so he can have a feline roll model?

__________________