How to tell kittens apart for weighing?

sugarsandz · Jul 26, 2013

Ok, so three of the six kittens are almost alike color wise, all black with a white dot under their necks. I have trouble figuring out who's whi and it's stressful when I go to weigh them every night. Can I put a tiny dot of food coloring on the little white patch of fur under their necks? I read to use nontoxic marker or nail polish but have neither.

If I could load a little food coloring onto a qtip then I could dab a little on the white fur as long as it's safe of course. Does anyone have any advice on food coloring?

eb24 · Jul 26, 2013

I haven't heard of anyone trying food coloring but given that it's eaten by humans and is supposedly non toxic I'd be inclined to say it's okay. I poked around the internet a little bit and the only thing I saw was that for some reason many animals have a negative reaction to whatever is the the red dye. So, I wouldn't use that color and I would use a super small amount. After you do so keep a very close eye on each of them to make sure they don't develop any kind of allergic reaction. If they do wash it out immediately and call your vet. It may be worth giving them a call anyway just to make sure that using the food coloring is okay.

What I have always used is the paper wristbands that they use at concerts. You can find them at almost any office supply store. You can either buy white ones and then write names or color on them to tell them apart, or buy different colored wristbands.

The other common way to mark kittens is to use kid's hair ties around the neck. As the kitten grows you switch to the adult kind.

If you use either technique the key is making sure the band is loose enough for the kitten to grow and move it's head around, but tight enough so they can't get a paw stuck in there. For really young kittens if you can get one finger comfortably through then you are good. Older kittens and it's two fingers. Be sure to check it often to see if it needs to be loosened and replace it whenever necessary.

sugarsandz · Jul 27, 2013

EB24 said:
I haven't heard of anyone trying food coloring but given that it's eaten by humans and is supposedly non toxic I'd be inclined to say it's okay. I poked around the internet a little bit and the only thing I saw was that for some reason many animals have a negative reaction to whatever is the the red dye. So, I wouldn't use that color and I would use a super small amount. After you do so keep a very close eye on each of them to make sure they don't develop any kind of allergic reaction. If they do wash it out immediately and call your vet. It may be worth giving them a call anyway just to make sure that using the food coloring is okay.

What I have always used is the paper wristbands that they use at concerts. You can find them at almost any office supply store. You can either buy white ones and then write names or color on them to tell them apart, or buy different colored wristbands.

The other common way to mark kittens is to use kid's hair ties around the neck. As the kitten grows you switch to the adult kind.

If you use either technique the key is making sure the band is loose enough for the kitten to grow and move it's head around, but tight enough so they can't get a paw stuck in there. For really young kittens if you can get one finger comfortably through then you are good. Older kittens and it's two fingers. Be sure to check it often to see if it needs to be loosened and replace it whenever necessary.

I tried a little food coloring on the end of a qtip but I think I got more on me then the kittens! One of the other kittens hissed at them for a second but mama kitty was fine with them. I don't know how well this will work as I didn't get much on them. I will go in search of wrist bands tomorrow because I'm going crazy figuring out who's who lol.

I had one that gained 23grams yesterday only gain 3 today and I was a bit concerned. I guess I should expect to have some small gains here and there since they seem to follow a day where they gained a bunch. Everyone sleeps and doesn't cry much so I'll just keep watch and keep weighing for now.

Those wrist bands will make my life a whole lot easier, thanks for the tip!

eb24 · Jul 27, 2013

sugarsandz said:
I had one that gained 23grams yesterday only gain 3 today and I was a bit concerned. I guess I should expect to have some small gains here and there since they seem to follow a day where they gained a bunch. Everyone sleeps and doesn't cry much so I'll just keep watch and keep weighing for now.

Those wrist bands will make my life a whole lot easier, thanks for the tip!

Happy to help.

I have used them many times and they do make it sssoooo much easier! Sometimes for really tiny kittens I do cut the wristbands in half lengthwise- otherwise it's too much material around such a tiny head. You will be able to tell if any modifications like that need to be made.

As for the weights: the average should be 10-15 grams a day but some days with more or less is totally fine, especially like you are saying if they had a particularly big gain the day before. So long as each is consistently gaining is what matters. There are also a lot of other factors that play a role too. Yesterday you may have weighed them with full bladders versus today when they may have just been eliminated. Weighing at the same time everyday helps to account for this but of course it's not perfect. Then you have the added complication that you may be adding the wrong weights to the wrong babies. At least the wrist bands will eliminate this problem!

The fact that they are quiet is also a good indicator that they are thriving. Happy, healthy kittens are quiet ones!

It seems like everything else is going well so just keep it up! Of course, feel free to ask more questions as they come up!

maewkaew · Jul 27, 2013

I start out using food coloring , under their armpit where the mom won't lick it off so quickly.

Then after a few weeks I put on the little hair bands. I don't put those on right away because when they are newborns the mom is more likely to be picking them up by the scruff of the neck. but the paper wristbands would work OK. even if she tears them it's not likely to hurt the kitten.

How to tell kittens apart for weighing?

sugarsandz

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eb24

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sugarsandz

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eb24

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