Kaylee's Kittens Update

This picture is two weeks old now but here is an update (I'll get more up soon!):


The kittens seem to be doing great.  They are very active and super sweet, when they aren't waking me up (they recently figured out how to get on the bed).  We found homes for all of them, thanks to someone I knew from college.  One guy is taking two of them, the first and third in the picture (#1 and #3 from my previous posts), since he is an RN and wants them to have a playmate when he is working odd hours.  The little one, #4 (who we call Pinky because he was born really pink) is going to a couple that already has two cats, and the black one is going to a girl that I think said she was moving in with the couple, so no one is going out alone.  And I will still get to come and see them and get updates because they are all friends with the girl I know.  My friend comes and visits the kittens once or twice a week and has seen them since they were a day old, so she cares about them too - the kittens will have a large group of people who love them.  Everyone seems super so I am very happy, though I am still going to be a wreck come time to let them go.

They are 7 weeks old today, and I am a little concerned about weights, mainly #2.  From what I read they should be a little more, but #2 has me worried since he is much lower.  I see him eat just as much as the others and he is very active, but he is just so tiny.  Here is a weight chart (we stopped doing it every day).  The numbers aren't exact recently since they won't stop moving around, but they are close.
How concerned should I be?  We have to have Kaylee on a special diet because of a ulcer on her lip that won't go away, and the food isn't available in kitten form.  For a while we just had dry diet food but at least now we have wet too.  We try to feed kitten food to the kittens separately, but #2 and #4 won't eat it; they will only eat the mom's food.  #4 won't even touch and wet food, but she will eat the dry food Kaylee is eating.  #2 has eaten wet food - the kitten food only a couple times in the past when we first introduced them to food, but he will eat the special diet food now all the time.  They nibble on mom's dry food throughout the day and still nurse.  Again, he doesn't seem sick in any way, and I don't really know what kittens should weigh but from what I read I think that is really low (annd something else I just read has them more than average.. so I have no clue).  I don't know what to do since he seems to be eating the same as the others.  He is the most active so I don't know if he could just have an over-active metabolism.  He is so fast running around the room.

On a side note, I am very curious about #4.  She is a brownish black, except for her face back down through her ears and her paws, which are a true black.  She also has a gray undercoat which makes her chest and belly rather gray.  She is very fluffy and has some extra fur that sticks out at least a centimeter beyond the majority of her fur.  I've never really seen a black cat that looks like her.  She reminds me of my ragdolls back home with my parents because she is extra floppy and goes limp when you hold her like they do.  She also has always been much bigger than the other until recently (probably because she is a picky eater), and her paws and tail are huge.  I'd love some insight on what is up with her, just out of curiosity.  Clearly she has a ton of recessive traits.  I wish I knew what the dad looked like - I find genetics very interesting.

What a great report- I'm so excited they all have homes lined up!

Yes, #2 is a little small, but at 7 weeks so long as s/he is experimenting with solid food and still nursing and growing I wouldn't worry too much about it. They all grow at different rates and some kittens are just smaller (probably a sign that s/he will be a smaller cat). The weight gains are mostly important those first few weeks. Now that they have settled into their growth cycle they will each go at their own pace. So long as each makes their own gains and continues to thrive and works on weaning from Mom I don't worry about the number. 

It's common for kittens to get their first shots at this age, although you may/may not be doing that given the adoption situation. I would recommend it and take the cost of the visit (broken down per kitten) as an adoption fee. Since you know the adopters, they should want what is best for their kitten and shouldn't have a problem with that. If they would prefer to take the kitten to their own vet to have that established I would still do it now and have them cover the cost. Plus, it's always good to just have a vet look them over at this age, make sure there are no problems, and determine when they should get their 2nd shots and spay/neuter. They should stay with Mom at least another 3 weeks (5 if possible) so they still have lots of time to grow. 

I'm not surprised your black kitten has a lot of brown and grey undertones- a lot of "black" cats do it's just no one ever really looks at their fur close enough! 

You have done a great job with them- congratulations! 

They're all black. Brown tabby is genetically black, and comes in various shades so it's not unusual for her undercoat to appear "grey". Hopefully not repeating things you already know

Generally 100g per week of age, but 600g is not really a concern especially as he eats well and is active. 

I don't start vaccines until 8 weeks (neuter & microchip at 10, last vaccine at 12), just check with your vet on their preferred timing.

They're a very cute bunch

Thanks I wasn't worried until I started googling average weight, though it was hard to find good information.

My boyfriend ran in to the vet to pick up the diet food (which price went up more than double what it was a couple weeks ago ) and they mentioned vaccines, something about something having to be done before 8 weeks.  We'll call again Tuesday to figure out what to do.  We already let the people adopting know.  The guy adopting two is more than happy to do what is best for them, and I am sure the others are too but we are still waiting to hear back from them.  We will obviously do what is best for them regardless.  Everyone is happy to wait until the kittens are 12 weeks too, so no worries there.

I know next to nothing about cat genetics .  #4 is just so interesting to me because I don't think I've ever actually seen a long haired black cat in person and I wasn't expecting her to have long hair.  The brown tint also developed over time so I wasn't expecting that either.  She is so soft and fluffy!  The poor thing has to deal with me constantly pushing my face into her for lots of kisses.  I am very thankful I have no allergies .  I also have that annoying problem that a lot of parents do, thinking their baby is a unique special snowflake and the best baby ever.  But in my expert, strictly unbiased opinion, these actually are the best kittens ever - trust me, I know these things .

Oh, and I messed up some numbering in my original post.  #2 is Pinky, #4 is the black one.  The picture is #3, #4, #1, #2 in order.

The kittens went to their new homes today. :'( I miss them so much already - the place seems so empty now.  I am even going to miss them nibbling on my feet at 4 in the morning.  They are 10 weeks but I think it is time - I know everyone was very excited to get their kitties and when I went to the vet at 8 weeks they kept saying they were fine to go then so I started to feel guilty hording the kittens.  They started going crazy being stuck in my bedroom - they needed more space and I am sure they will be happy with a new place to run around in.  And, mom was getting pretty tired of them.  They would occasionally try to nurse and she would just get up and walk away, and she generally avoided them when they were playing.  I think she will be happy to have time to herself again.  Now we just need to work on integrating her with my kitties so she can get out of the bedroom.

Oh, and when we too them to the vet we were told they are all girls!  We were shocked.  The two looked like boys a while ago and the vets even agreed and I haven't really looked since, but now everyone agrees they are all girls.  The two just seem so much like boys to me, it is so odd.

They are going to great homes so I am very happy.  Since I know everyone through a friend I can even visit every once and a while.  It would have been so much harder not knowing where they were going.  The guy that is taking the two of them is even naming them after Firefly - Inara and River - so that is nice that the names are in the family .  

We didn't let them out of the bedroom much, but Wash, my boy, finally warmed up to them once he realized they weren't going to hurt him.  He was so sweet with them - he would clean them and play with them, and when Zoe was being mean and hissing at them he would protect them.  He even ran up to Zoe and looked her right in the eyes like he was telling her not to hurt them (I don't think she'd ever actually hurt anything but she can be very defensive).  I am so proud of him, and it was nice seeing him interact with the kittens before they had to go.

And thanks everyone for your help along they way!  This was such a nice resource to have when they were babies.