More kittens!

mira's_mommy

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Mira's litter is almost 6 weeks old now, and Kiki (my roomie's cat and also Mira's sister) had hers today. There are 3, 2 female and 1 male, just like Mira's litter. The girls are both orange, the boy is pure white. It's ironic how I've been looking for a white cat, and just applied to adopt one, and Kiki gives birth to one.
No idea how he's white either; Kiki is a dilute tortoise-shell just like Mira, and the daddy (who also fathered Mira's litter) was orange. Cat genetics are just strange, I guess.

By the way, what is the real description of a cat with "tiger" stripes? Kiki's girls and all of Mira's babies (and also the father of the whole lot) have these markings so it's just nice to know. Penny is what I think is called "ticked" too, where each individual hair has different bands of color? Correct me if I'm wrong on that please.

But they all seem healthy and are doing well. Will be keeping you guys posted as they grow up.
 

meminikitty

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wellingtoncats

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Originally Posted by mira's_mommy

Mira's litter is almost 6 weeks old now, and Kiki (my roomie's cat and also Mira's sister) had hers today. There are 3, 2 female and 1 male, just like Mira's litter. The girls are both orange, the boy is pure white. It's ironic how I've been looking for a white cat, and just applied to adopt one, and Kiki gives birth to one.
No idea how he's white either; Kiki is a dilute tortoise-shell just like Mira, and the daddy (who also fathered Mira's litter) was orange. Cat genetics are just strange, I guess.

By the way, what is the real description of a cat with "tiger" stripes? Kiki's girls and all of Mira's babies (and also the father of the whole lot) have these markings so it's just nice to know. Penny is what I think is called "ticked" too, where each individual hair has different bands of color? Correct me if I'm wrong on that please.

But they all seem healthy and are doing well. Will be keeping you guys posted as they grow up.
How come two females were allowed to mate to the same male? Is the male fixed now?

There needs to be a white parent to have a white kitten so it's possible she was mated by another stud
 

sandtigress

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I think its more likely that the white boy will turn out to be pointed given his parents, don't you think, Sam?

The gene that causes pointed cats is recessive (you need two copies) while the ones that cause pure white cats are usually dominant (only one copy necessary). So non-pointed cats can give birth to pointed cats because their other copy of the gene "hides" the pointed copy, while white cats give birth usually to at least half white kittens.

Pointed cats are born pure white because the gene that creates color in pointed cats misfolds at high temperatures. At the cooler areas of a cat - the ears, nose, face, legs, and tails - the protein forms normally, and you only get color there. As the temperature within mom is fairly uniform, the babies are born white, but develop color as they get older and their extremities get cooler.

Cats with stripes are called "tabbies". Bengals are a particular breed of cat, and since none of the parents are papered Bengals, none of the kittens can be.

I do share Sam's concern for the breeding cats though. Are they papered pedigree cats, or do you plan on spaying/neutering the cats and kittens at some point?
 

catkiki

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I had a tuxedo kitty who mated with her brother, another tuxedo (I know better now) who all 3 of the kittens were white at birth but became pointed kittens. 2 looked like shoe shoe and the one boy looked like a long hair siamese.
 
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mira's_mommy

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Originally Posted by WellingtonCats

How come two females were allowed to mate to the same male? Is the male fixed now?

There needs to be a white parent to have a white kitten so it's possible she was mated by another stud
Daddy cat was a feral I took in a while back. Someone I know had a pregnant cat sneak into a house he was rennovating. He and the other workers shooed mom out but didn't realize there were babies until they heard them crying inside the wall. They tore said wall apart but then felt bad throwing the little guys outside in the middle of a New York winter so they let them live in the vacant house until work started again. He was only 4 months old when I took him in, so I didn't get him fixed because I thought since 6 months is the usual age to do that I wouldn't have to worry about kittens until then. But I was wrong
. He did not like being cooped up indoors and escaped shortly after I realized Mira was preggers, then a couple weeks after he left we noticed Kiki was getting round as well. It is not possible that another male did this, my Kipper is the only other boy in the house and he is neutered, has been for years.

Also, I had talked to the SPCA about Mira's spaying but it was already too late and I just hadn't known it yet. The kittens will be 8 weeks old in 2 weeks so she will be going then, and according to this clinic it's okay to spay/neuter a kitten that is at least 2 months old and weighs at least 2 lbs so theorectically I can probably have the kittens taken care of at the same time, but I haven't decided yet. I just seems awfully young to me.
 

cjh27

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...three more kittens that will need homes
Try to get them neutered before they go to their new homes, please.

Make sure you weigh them on a daily basis so you can monitor their progress and kow if they are doing well or need additional bottle feeding or medical care.

regards,

christine
 
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mira's_mommy

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Originally Posted by cjh27

...three more kittens that will need homes
Try to get them neutered before they go to their new homes, please.

Make sure you weigh them on a daily basis so you can monitor their progress and kow if they are doing well or need additional bottle feeding or medical care.

regards,

christine
I am keeping Mira's 3, and the room mates plan on keeping at least one of Kiki's. I also have dibs on the white one if I am not approved to adopt Mystery. So that's only 1, possibly 2 kittens we have to find homes for. And we already have one offer.
 

meminikitty

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Originally Posted by mira's_mommy

I am keeping Mira's 3, and the room mates plan on keeping at least one of Kiki's. I also have dibs on the white one if I am not approved to adopt Mystery. So that's only 1, possibly 2 kittens we have to find homes for. And we already have one offer.
That's great! Congrats!
 

wellingtoncats

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Originally Posted by Sandtigress

I think its more likely that the white boy will turn out to be pointed given his parents, don't you think, Sam?

The gene that causes pointed cats is recessive (you need two copies) while the ones that cause pure white cats are usually dominant (only one copy necessary). So non-pointed cats can give birth to pointed cats because their other copy of the gene "hides" the pointed copy, while white cats give birth usually to at least half white kittens.

Pointed cats are born pure white because the gene that creates color in pointed cats misfolds at high temperatures. At the cooler areas of a cat - the ears, nose, face, legs, and tails - the protein forms normally, and you only get color there. As the temperature within mom is fairly uniform, the babies are born white, but develop color as they get older and their extremities get cooler.

Cats with stripes are called "tabbies". Bengals are a particular breed of cat, and since none of the parents are papered Bengals, none of the kittens can be.

I do share Sam's concern for the breeding cats though. Are they papered pedigree cats, or do you plan on spaying/neutering the cats and kittens at some point?
OOPS the post confused me - I thought that the "white kitten" was 6 weeks old, which meant it would have developed its points by then but on reading the post again, saw it was only born that day
 

otto

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Two types of tabby markings

Classic Tabby has swirls and "targets" type stripes

Mackerel Tabby has "tiger" stripes that often separate into spots. (mackerel)

Both have stripes that make an M on their forehead.

 

goldenkitty45

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Mom(s) should be spayed when the kits are 8 weeks old. If you are willing (which is the ideal) to hang on to the kittens for another month and spay/neuter them at 3 months old, then do so.

I feel more comfortable with doing them at 3-4 months old then at 2 months old.
 

krazy kat2

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I had a kitten that was neutered at about 2 months and 2 pounds, and he suffered no ill effects whatsoever. I brought him home, he slept for a couple hours, stumbled around for about 2 more, and then he was his normal adorable self. The ones that were done older seemed to take a little longer to recover.
I am glad all the kittens are healthy and seem to be spoken for.
 
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