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Just a few kitty questions...

post #1 of 6
7/3/09 at 10:44am
Thread Starter 
ok now that they are here... I do not know anything about them, this is the first time I have ever owned a cat.

Just wondering how old they are when it is ok to let the kids hold them for a few minutes here and there?

when will their eyes open? their ears? how old are they when they are usually weaned? How long should I be keeping them until they can go to their new homes? Can mom be fixed as soon as the babies are not nursing?

Thx everyone, I really appreciate all the comments and support.
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post #2 of 6
7/3/09 at 7:57pm
Not really sure how old they can be before your kids can hold them. How old are your kids? It really depends if mom lets them, and how old your kids are. Are they old enough where you would trust them to not drop the babies?

I think their eyes and ears open after a couple weeks, but again I'm not positive on exactly when. With nursing kittens, they can nurse up until 8-10 weeks, but usually they will eat solids before then, but still nurse for comfort. You should keep them til they are 12 weeks old, so that they get proper kitty socialization, and they also learn kitty manners. Mom can be fixed when the babies aren't nursing anymore. Your vet will let you know when spaying her is okay.

Good luck with the babies! Will you keep any?
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post #3 of 6
7/3/09 at 8:59pm
The only time I had a litter I kept records....but I don't have them with me. If I remember correctly, their eyes opened when they were about 10 days old. I don't think I kept track of when their ears opened, but I think it was before their eyes. They climbed out of the nest around 20 days old. They started eating dry food at 3 1/2 weeks, but they were funny kittens. Most kittens are older than that before they attempt to eat kibble, I think. You can start kittens on mushed-up canned kitten food mixed with a bit of milk when they're around 3 or 4 weeks old, but they'll still want to nurse for as long as their mom lets them.

You should handle the kittens gently every day. Touch their paws, their ears, their tails. You want them to grow up to trust people and allow them to trim their claws, brush them, etc. How old they are when you let your kids touch them depends on your kids.
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post #4 of 6
7/4/09 at 1:29pm
Thread Starter 
Thank you for the replies, My kids are older 6, 10, 12... the reason i was asking was because i let my daughter sit with a babe in her lap while I was changing the bedding and mom went over too the kitten and put it back in the box. I was just wondering if there was a time that the kittens should be left with just the mom.

We already have homes for all of them, but they will stay with us for at least 8-10 weeks. That is the time the vet suggested, and said momma could be fixed somewhere around 7 weeks. So we will see what happens.

I think we will keep one, but im not sure yet. again, we will see what happens.
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post #5 of 6
7/4/09 at 2:06pm
That is a great experience for the kids;the whole birth and nurturing thing.Kids will learn some genuine tenderness and protective instincts..I bet ya!

I would be scared to death of having newborns! Just follow the advice of these good cat people on here and you will be in good hands!

Is that when kittens generally become socialized to people? During the nursing time? Kittens always made me nervous.So tiny and shakey.Years ago Mom and Sis found a whole litter (mom was killed)and had to bottle feed them like every couple of hours.Little darlings are loud when they want something! lol
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post #6 of 6
7/4/09 at 2:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Horychun View Post

We already have homes for all of them, but they will stay with us for at least 8-10 weeks. That is the time the vet suggested, and said momma could be fixed somewhere around 7 weeks. So we will see what happ
When I was a teenager (no cellphones these days, no computers, but we DID had tv already!) and get interested in cats, the big debate was if kittens could be adopted already at 6 weeks, or first at 8 weeks. I was one of these who supported 8 weeks.
I suspect your vet did also read some of his cat-books from that time...


Although nowadays the recommendations is at least 10 weeks, but preferably 12...
So the advice from here is, let them stay with mom and siblings till they are at least 10 weeks. Unless you have verry good reasons to do otherwise.

About the cat momma. Be sure to not let her get out, so she will not get pregnant again. Observe, if / when she is in heat, she will tend to try to get out. They can be quite vily at this!
Spaying in early pregnancy is really no problem at all, but that is not everyones cup of tea. (cup of coffe in America... ).
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