Yes 7 weeks is the correct age, i realise this is very young for a kitten to leave his mother and littermates and i did not plan to take him so early but there was concern with regards to his safety and well-being. In my heart i thought the best thing would be to bring him home but got a professional opinion from 2 different vets who both gave pretty much the same advice - if there was any concern with his safety he would ultimately be better off with me, especially as he was already starting to eat kitten food and was not drinking much of his mothers milk.

The first night we brought him home he didn't seem to miss his mother or his littermates infact he has settled in really well and loves playing with all his new toys and exploring his new home. He is eating well and drinking plenty of water so I do not regret taking him from a young age as i know in my heart it was the best thing for him.

I know that some people may not agree with this but i hope you can understand.

Every circumstance is different as is every kitten, I completly understand your reasons and you were aware of what you were taking on which not everyone is. In effect you have fostered him and are now providing all the care that his Mum would have given and his breeder should have given. Your kitten has clearly bonded very closely with you and is expecting you to provide the warmth and comfort that he needs when he sleeps.

I think you've got two options, accept that he is going to sleep with you and probably will until it is too warm for him in the summer - unless he's a Siamese where nothing is ever too warm! Or else shut him in another room with a heat pad and lovely cosy bed set up - but he will probably cry for you and that can be difficult to ignore.

It is generally right to look at the bigger picture and walk away if a kitten is so poorly looked after that their are concerns for their health or safety, or the breeder will just carry on doing it. But it is not an easy to do, i'm not sure that I could either. Please try and minimise the stress on his imune system though, keep him away from other cats and ensure visitors use antibac before touching him. You sound to have a good relationship with your vet, so do take their advise about worming and vaccinations etc.

Best of luck and I'm sure that it's better that he cuddles up to you than is cowering under the bed.

Katy

The last 2 nights he has actually slept on top of the duvet next to me not underneath so i will continue to monitor his behaviour. 2 days after we brought him home we took him for a health check at the vets so he has already been given his first worming treatment and his first vaccinations will be done at 9 weeks. We have no other cats around so that will not be a problem. He seems very happy with us so thats a bonus. Thank you for your advice.

Rowan has just started going under the duvet - the girls sleep on top, if they actaullay sleep on the bed.

He snuggles next to my tummy,- with his claws out kneading before he goes to sleep.

He got under this morning after OH left for work (at stupid o'clock) so I went back to sleep. Woke up about an hour later (still stupid o'clock) and Rowan was still under the covers but had his head out

So in conclusion, I think they can make sure they are OK and can breath, they just want a bit of snuggle time

__________________

Aw bless! Gotta say though i love it when he snuggles in and gets close!