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Q. I am living in Egypt and rescued 3 abandoned feral kittens at about 3 weeks old that are now about 3 months old and I have another rescue feral kitten I rescued at about 2 weeks old and is about 4 weeks old now. The problem is that access to pet foods here is limited and also extremly expensive when it can be found. My kittens eat well but have become accustomed to eating fresh meats (chicken). My husband and I have a trip planned and will be leaving in 1 week to be gone for 2 weeks. We had planned on leaving them enough food and water for them for 2 weeks as we managed to buy some dry food and an extra litter pan. Over the past couple of weeks I slowly tried introducing them to the dry food by slowly moistening it. They would reluctantly eat it but only if they became very hungry. Now the older 3 kittens refuse to eat the completely dry food and if I moisten it while I am gone it will get molded and go bad. The little one that is 4 weeks, although eats fresh meat with no problem, will not eat the cat food at all. If we leave enough dry food and water for them, will they eat if they get hungry enough? Will they starve themselves? They are normally very hearty eaters when it is something they like such as fresh chicken or fish. I am extremely concerned over this for all of them, but speicially the little one. There is no way for us to cancel our plans, as we made them and paid for them several months ago before we ever took in the kittens. Our original plan was to take them in and nurse them to health and release them, as feral cats run rampant here in Egypt, but they became attached to us and we are afraid they cannot fend for themselves, and now we want to keep them and bring them back home with us to the U.S. next year. What is your advice on this? I look forward to hearing back from you as soon as possible. Thank you. -- Lisa A., Egypt

A. Remember that cats are amazing survivors. If the little kitten is already weaned (eating solid food), I believe it will eat when hungry. You need to check this theory before you leave by not feeding them fresh food for 24 hours and observing. If they still refuse, you may need to find a friend to take care of them or pay someone. Two weeks is a long time to go without food or fresh water, especially for such young cats, so even if you get them to eat the dry food on their own, I encourage you to find someone to look after them while you are gone. One other quick point, be sure to research a complete diet for the cats if a prepared cat food is not available. By the way, weren't cats first domesticated in Egypt over 2000 years ago? Surely, they have cat food! Good Luck! -- Dr. Mitch

Mitchell Spindel, DVM, Animal Ark Veterinary Hospital

Dr. Spindel earned his Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from Oklahoma State University. He practiced in Syracuse, New York before he and his wife and children relocated to beautiful North Carolina. Dr. Spindel is a past President of the Forsyth County Veterinary Medical Association. He is the veterinarian for Sci-Works in Winston-Salem, NC and is active with the Forsyth Humane Society, Animal Adoption and Rescue Foundation and Greyhound Friends.

Animal Ark Veterinary Hospital

 

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