Kitten care and sex

Our cat unexpectedly had kittens. I was hoping you all could share some advice. Do I take them to the vet? When? What should I be doing? Also I'm wondering if you can help me determining their sex. I THINK I'm getting the idea of it but I'm really not sure. I'll post a picture of one of them and could you give me your guesses? Thank you so much!

Both are the same kitten from different angles.

I say male x

Also I'm just phoning the vets if I need advice and they will let me know if i need to come in or not x

Thank you! I called my vet when I saw her giving birth and she wasn't too helpful lol. She was on our welcome mat when I came home from the gym with a kitten! Instantly after that out came another. She's only around a year old and showed NO signs of being pregnant. We literally had just scheduled to have her fixed. Now we have 4 kittens... All different colors :-O

I'm thinking three girls and one boy. Let me know what you think.

I mean three boys and one girl*

When can I expect the kittens eyes to open. I asked my vet today what I needed to do/know and she just said the momma will handle it. Also I would really like opinions on sex. I plan to adopt the kittens out when they are of age and already have a home for one (of course the one I can't imagine parting with lol) and a potential home for another. My aunt is amazing with her cats and treats them like family so I was ecstatic when she said she will take the white one if it's a boy. Her last female cat passed away a few months ago and she's just can't imagine having another female after her passing. If I post pictures could you help me? I really believe they're all boys minus one.

You can expect their eyes to start opening usually around 7-10 days. If any are long haired (which you may not be able to tell yet) it may take a little longer. 

In a way your vet is right that in theory the Mom will do most everything but it's still helpful to have an idea of when they should be reaching milestones just so you are aware. Reading through the articles and looking at older threads is a great way to get a sense of what their overall development should be (you can find the links to the articles here). Aside from just visually monitoring them the most important thing you can do right now is weigh them everyday. Weight loss is the number one sign that there is a problem and catching it early is often the difference between life and death. Weighing them at the same time everyday (to get the most accurate numbers) on a cheap kitchen scale that weighs in grams works perfect. On average they should be gaining 10-15grams a day but some days with more or less is normal. 

As far as sexing goes, males will have a wide space between the anus and penis (so that the testicles can grow in) and it is shaped like a colon (. Females, on the other hand, have a much shorter space that looks like a semi colon or an upside down exclamation point (. If you want to post pictures we can for sure give you opinions but sometimes it can be hard to gauge until they are a little older (and even then even vets can be wrong- I had one foster who they went to spay and only then figured out that she was really a he). Do you have any tortes/calicos in the bunch? If so, know that they are almost always female and so you can use them as a comparison for the other kittens. 

I'm glad to hear you are already thinking about finding the perfect homes for them. If possible, try to wait until they are 12 weeks to let them go so they can learn as much from Mom as possible. Also, try to have them altered/vaccinated before they are adopted, and charge an adoption fee if necessary to recoup the costs. Most people are more than happy to pay knowing it's already done and that they don't have to worry about it! Finally, remember now that she has given birth she can go back into heat at any time so be sure she stays indoors and away from any intact males until she has been spayed too.

Best of luck and continue to ask questions in this thread as you need to! 

EDIT: I just noticed that you have a few different threads going so I have asked a mod to merge this one and the one you have about sexing the kittens together. Because it's kitten season and there are so many new members going through the same thing it can get very confusing trying to remember which situation is which. And, because of that, the best way to receive accurate advice is to start one thread and ask all your questions there. That way, everyone can read the backstory and what advice has already been given and it won't be so repetitive. Hopefully merging the two will make it easier for you to update us and ask questions, and for us to follow what's going on and properly advise.   I hope this make sense and helps but if it doesn't don't hesitate to say something! 

Thank you so much! I've only ever dealt with dogs so this whole thing is very new to me I worry probably more than I should when it comes to animals.



Also, when will I be able to have the Mother spayed?

And here's a picture of Esther with her kittens..

kale0812 said:

Thank you so much! I've only ever dealt with dogs so this whole thing is very new to me

I worry probably more than I should when it comes to animals.



Also, when will I be able to have the Mother spayed?

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It's normal for everyone to be a bit fussy when it comes to their pets- especially when it's new. But, add a litter of kittens to the mix and it becomes that much more intense! The best thing you can do to overcome those nerves is a lot of research and ask a lot of questions, both of which this site is great for! Internet searches can also be beneficial at times, especially when you are just wanting basic background information such as a growth and development chart. While there are many out there I really like this one as I think it gives good details and links to more in depth articles. Hopefully you find it beneficial too! 

Because you are new to cat ownership in general I think it's that much more important to just use one thread. Otherwise you are going to be repeating yourself a lot and risk getting confused with all the different threads. I think you will find just having one to manage to be much easier and that much more informative. 

She can be spayed once the kittens are weaned which usually happens around the 8-10 week mark. The majority of people just take Mom in and have her altered at the same time they do the kittens. In the US, the standard for pediatric spay and neuter is that the kittens can be done as soon as they are at least 8 weeks old and weigh a minimum of 2 pounds. So, you have awhile still! 

I saw in one of your other threads that you didn't realize she was pregnant. Perhaps you could provide a little bit of background information as to your situation? Also, since you didn't know and didn't have time to prepare how are things going so far? Do you have her set up in a quiet room with a nesting box? Are there any other animals in the house? Just trying to get a better understanding of what's going on.

So far you have done a great job of being specific with your questions (which allows us to give the best advice) so continue to ask them as they come up! 

Last summer a mother cat and her kittens showed up on our porch. They were looking for food in our trash cans. They were feral so I spent a long time attempting to tame them. We slowly started moving the kittens inside for longer periods of time (the mother wanted nothing to do with being inside) until they spent most of the time indoors. Honestly her pregnancy was just laziness on my part. We live so far out of town I just kept putting off having her and her brother fixed. I finally set up a time to have her spayed and her brother neutered and a few days later she gave birth. She is a pretty slender cat and showed absolutely no signs of pregnancy. I feel rather silly about it.



EDIT: I set up a nesting area in a clothes basket. I've been changing the bedding every day but that's all I've been doing. I keep wet food out at all times and also started feeding Esther kitten food since I wasn't sure if she needed a higher calorie food or not. She also has fresh water available at all times.

Mine will be three weeks on Tuesday