Becki,
 
I start feeding my babies a mixture of Sustical or Ensure and
Science Diet canned kitten food when they are three weeks old. They
love it and run (well, waddle actually) to me when they smell me
near the cage, crying and hollering for something to eat. When
they're 4-4 1/2 weeks old I take some of the cat food or ferret food
that mom eats and put warm water in it. this softens the food and
brings out the flavor in it. They wolf this down also.
 
I would be really careful using a heating pad with the babies, it
could burn them if it gets too hot and they do have very sharp
little teeth if they decide to chew on it. One of those warm water
heating pads would probably be pretty safe.
 
That breeder ought to be shot for selling 5 week old babies. Is this
normal practice for them or was it an emergency type thing where
something happened to the mother and the babies were left orphaned?
 
 
Cindy Sooy
[Posted in FML issue 0910]