2.5 week old kittens

[willerin]

Hi all,

A little over 2 weeks ago my sister was outside (playing Pokemon Go....) and found a stray cat. The cat sat down on the side walk and started giving birth...long story short my family had the mother cat and her 5 kittens in our garage for 2 weeks. Now they have moved to my apartment due to hot weather and the fact that they're starting to become a lot more mobile and the garage is no place for kittens. 

So, naturally I have a few questions. The mom is very friendly and hasn't shown one sign of aggression. She's totally fine with us petting her kittens and moving them to change the bedding and such, but does come over and look suspicious if the kittens are meowing a lot when we're handling them. Currently they are in a laundry basket that we change the bedding in daily, but they're starting to walk and are trying to get out of the basket which is terrifying. What would be a good option for giving them more room? I don't want to take them out of the box but I feel like they need to be able to move around. Would it be a good idea to block off part of the room and keep them contained in a small area? It's a one bedroom apartment and the bedroom really isn't an ideal place for them due to power cords and its small size. I think blocking off the living room would be a better option. Any advice would be appreciated! I'm kind of flying blind here. 

 

[handsome kitty]

There are lots of options.  Keeping them in part of the room is one.  you can use cardboard boxes as 'walls'  Mom will be able to get in and out.  Some people use play pens or pet pens that have a zippered lid.   Others have used large dog crates or two combined.   It won't be long before they are climbing out so start kitten proofing now.   If you use something without a 'lid', try putting something like a scratcher for them to climb in the middle away from the 'walls'.  that way they can climb and you can be relatively sure they are contained.

Post some pictures if you can.  We love pictures.  Welcome to TCS!

Keep using this thread for any questions or concerns you may have.

 

[willerin]

Thanks for the advice! I actually have a pet pen coming in the mail...I just want to make sure mom is able to get in and out on her own. I also ordered a pet gate that I should be able to block off the room with (went a little crazy on Amazon)

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• willerin
• Jul 28, 2016

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• willerin
• Jul 28, 2016

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• willerin
• Jul 28, 2016

 

[hellomisskitty]

They are so adorable [emoji]10084[/emoji]️
You are so wonderful to help mama give them a healthy and safe kittenhood!!

 

[willerin]

Thank you so much! I've always been a big cat lover and I've been wanting a cat or two of my own for a while now. About a week after I talked to my parents about how I was going to adopt a cat, the mom cat waltzed into our lives. It just seems like fate if you ask me. 

So whether I decide to do the pet pen or blocking off the living room (or both), would it be best to keep the kittens in their laundry basket for now and keep the basket in the pen/ kitten-proofed living room? Sometimes mom seems worried/ anxious when the kittens are out of the basket. Never aggressive or anything but just concerned. She's such a sweet little cat and is a great mom. I took her to the vet this week and the vet think she's less than a year old and this might be her second litter  

mama.jpg

• willerin
• Jul 28, 2016

 

[handsome kitty]

Yes, you can keep the kittens in the laundry basket or you can get box and cut one side down.  It will keep them contained but be easier for them to get in and out as they get older.

If the mom really is under a year and this is her second litter, please make sure she is getting extra calcium.  A calcium deficiency can be fatal if not caught in time so it's best to give her some just in case.  You can give her KMR (powdered is better than premixed, avoid Hartz brand)  You can give her a dish of it a day.  You can also give her goat's milk, plain full fat yogurt, powdered egg shells mixed in her wet food.  Be sure she has lots of kitten food, wet and dry. 

 

[Sarthur2]

Actually, the sooner you can set up an area for the kittens to explore and play in the better. By 3 weeks old, they will be climbing out of that basket, and those holes are dangerous for catching little paws and legs in and twisting them, or worse.

Mom cats are always a bit anxious when their kittens begin to leave the nest, but they are still able to call their kittens to them easily. A portion of your main room will work well!

 

[willerin]

Thanks everyone! So I guess the pet pen got sent back because I wasn't here when it was supposed to be delivered...so I have to order it again and it won't be here until next Saturday. So for the next week I guess I'll hope my gate gets delivered and set up a box in the living room for the mom and kittens. How high should I cut the side of the box? 

 

[Sarthur2]

Where are you planning to put the gate?

Also, if your cat is under a year (and she looks very young), I highly doubt that this is her second litter, as your vet suggested.

 

[willerin]

Yeah, it could be her first. I guess we don't really know. The vet said she looked pretty young and had good teeth--haha. As soon as the kittens are old enough for it I'm planning on getting all of them spayed/neutered and the mom as well.

I was planning on using the gate to separate off half of the living room where they can't get into too much trouble. There's a couch, scratching post, coffee table, large window with a window seat, etc. I can move any power cords out of the area and I have blind cord wrappers so that once they start climbing they won't be able to get into those. I am a little bit worried about the couch as it was an expensive gift from my boyfriend's parents, and they're not cat people. They wanted us to leave the cats in the hot garage so the couch doesn't get peed on...of course I disagreed and there was no way I was going to set 5 kittens loose in a garage with cars and all kinds of things to get into trouble with.  Open to suggestions about gate arrangements or how to protect the couch, of course.

 

[Sarthur2]

The gate plan sounds good. I don't think there's much you can do about the couch other than spreading towels over it.

I had a brand new couch last year when my kittens were little. They never peed on it even once.

 

[handsome kitty]

Put puppy pads under the towels just in case.  You can also cover it with a fleece blanket.

 

[willerin]

Thanks for the ideas! Another question about socializing the kittens. What exactly constitutes as socializing? Any time I pick up either of the 2 black kittens they meow like crazy for mom and I just feel so bad for doing it. How much is enough and how much is too much?

 

[Sarthur2]

They do need to get used to you and your scent. What I did when mine were tiny was sit on the floor cross-legged and let them crawl on me and smell me. They will eventually want to crawl in your lap to sleep as they get a little bigger! [emoji]128522[/emoji]

 

[willerin]

I can't wait

So the pen actually came in the mail today. The only problem is mom either can't or won't jump into or out of it. I've tried putting a chair right next to it to show her, but she just looks at me until I unzip the side. Suggestions?

 

[Sarthur2]

Can you leave it partially unzipped and show her how to go in and out?

 

[willerin]

So I put a box in it for her to use as a step and showed her the way with treats. So far so good. The only problem is that mom seems stressed out. Earlier she was panting.

I'm thinking that it could be because one of the black kittens just meows a TON even when he's just walking around the pen and it seems to distress her. It could also be that she doesn't like the pen, or maybe that she's feeling anxious about the kittens moving more and having a big pen instead of a tiny box. Any thoughts/ advice? mom is still eating and wanting to be pet and is still feeding them. I just don't want her to feel stressed out.

 

[Sarthur2]

Sounds like the move has upset everyone. Maybe put the box they were using inside the pen for now so they still have it.

I hate for mom to try to jump out of the pen with a kitten in her mouth if she tried to move them. That happened recently in a thread and the kitten was dropped and injured.

 

[willerin]

So since I wrote this mom seems very content and the kittens are sleeping. I think part of the reason they meow a lot is because they're so used to just rolling over and finding a sibling, and now they're more spread out. If mom seems upset or if they keep meowing I'll put the box back in. I'm just hesitant because i was using it upside down so mom could easily jump in and out of the pen.

 

[willerin]

Mom seems a lot better now. How long until kittens can see well enough to see their siblings across the pen? I think some of them cry when they can't see where the pile is. They will be 3 weeks old tomorrow.