Are my fosters gaining enough weight?

jennyr

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I have been weighing my foster kittens daily and am a little concerned at their rate of growth. I have a date of May 1st as a birth date so they are now coming up 4 weeks old. But I know very little about their circumstances or whether they may have been premature. They did seem small for two weeks when I got them. And the mother is small, though healthy.

The good news is that they all do gain - there has never been a day when anyone has lost weight. But all the kitten calendars say they should be gaining at between 10-30 grams per day, and none of them do anything near that. Here are their weights and averages over the last ten days:

----------------Current weight----------------- Average gain per day
Grey1...............277 grams.............................. 9 grams
Grey2...............199 grams.............................. 6.6 grams
Black1..............279 grams.............................. 5 grams
Black2..............205 grams.............................. 6 grams
B/W.................243 grams.............................. 8.1 grams

All of them seem active and healthy. The fact that the biggest kitten (black1) has slowed down his gains makes me wonder if Charlotte (as I have named the mother) has enough milk for 5 babies. She is eating well on a diet of Nature's Menu wet food (3 sachets per day, more if she finishes it) and unlimited dry kitten food, with kitten milk mixed with Whiskas cat milk as she doesn't like it on its own. She is a really good mother and feeds her babies every couple of hours, rarely going far from them at any time. She likes lying on top of the cage watching them!

Yesterday I took the two biggest ones out of the nest for a couple of hours to let the small ones get a good feed, and the gains reflected that. But I think maybe I should supplement with some KMR direct to the kittens. Can anyone advise me as to how much I should give them so as not to spoil them for their mother's milk? Or should I leave things be and only intervene if they start losing weight?
 

abymummy

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Any sort of weight gain about and above 5 grams is good. As far as I can see only two kittens bear watching Grey (blue) 2 and Black 2. If necessary switch them with the #1 kittens or let them feed off mom 1st before letting the #1 kittens feed. (Did that make sense?)

I don't see a need to supplement yet unless there is no weight gain for 2 days.
 
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jennyr

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Thanks! That is very reassuring - the books/online links had me worried. Taking a couple of kits out of the nest for awhile is what I thought would be the best approach - I cannot take three out as Charlotte then realises they are gone, and doesn't settle. As long as she has three with her she seems content. Although she makes a great fuss of them when I bring them back - a whole lot of licking going on!
 

cc12

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I am caring for some little ones too and I know how worried we get about them thriving. You are doing a good job if they are gaining.
I am anxious to see if your solution works.
 

abymummy

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You shouldn't worry so much since the bubs are learning how to walk and RUN! they usually gain less weight during 3-5 weeks because they are expanding energy in exploring.....
 
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jennyr

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I had the two big ones on my lap this morning and they were licking me like mad. So I got a shallow saucer with a little goat milk and the black one knew immediately what to do! I rubbed a little milk on the grey one's face and paw but he didn't get the idea this time. But it's a start. You are right about the energy - these two certainly are beginning to explore. The others are still content to stay in the nest.
 
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