New litter concerns.. mom was feral.. kittens are 14 days old now..

So as a little backstory, I started taking care of a feral cat this past winter. She showed up at my doorstep crying and freezing on New Years day which happened to be below zero temperature here in Ohio. I, of course, brought her in (as I have a habit doing with all strays). I figured I would let her back out when the weather warmed up.. we happened to have had a particularly harsh and long winter so that ended up being about 2 months later after days and days of her screaming to get back out I let her go. My neighborhood is safe enough distance away from main roads and she was part of a litter that was born in my backyard the previous summer so I knew she'd be safe. She, of course, stuck around close by because she knew where the food was. I gave her a big plastic tub with blankets on my front porch for shelter and she had a daily supply of food and water. I would have just let her in to eat but I have a 4 year old cat already and although he was friendly and wanted to make friends with her, she felt differently (being feral) and just hissed and growled and fought him.. so needless to say I had to keep them separate.

So fast forward a month or two, I noticed she was pregnant. I kept a close eye on her, still giving her food and water, and make sure she was warm and comfortable. On June 6th or 7th I made the decision to bring her in and keep her in my bedroom. My mama intuition told me she was going to have the kittens soon and I wanted to make sure they were safe and warm. Sure enough, on June 9th as soon as it turned midnight the first one was born. At first, mama cat was real freaked out and running in circles as the baby was coming out. I talked to her calmly and kept a close watch for safety. Thankfully, as soon as the first one was out, her mama instincts kicked in and she took the first baby under the bed (her safety cave as I call it) and laid down in the back corner to have the rest. Within about a hour we had 4 healthy kittens. I let her nurse and rest for the first day and then when she finally felt safe enough to leave them to go eat, drink and use the litter box I took the opportunity to check out the kittens. All four were healthy, no runts, no defects. The whole thing was such a beautiful experience to witness.

So now the kittens are 14 days old. Mama has been doing wonderful with nursing them. She's comfortable with me being around them. The kittens spend their day on my bed, out of their cave. Mama nurses them and then she comes to me for some cuddles. When she goes to eat, drink, use the litter box or just get some mama stretching time, she leaves the kittens with me to cuddle. So we've built up a nice rapport. Now I've noticed that 3 out of the 4 kittens have opened their eyes and their ears have started to perk up. The 4th one, which was the first born and the chubbiest of the litter, his eyes are still completely shut and ears are completely flat. He's also way more wobbly than the others. What concerns me is that he was the kitten she had first and was freaking out with. When she was pushing him out she was running in circles and at one point rubbed her butt on the carpet (like dogs do with poop stuck or gland problems) when just the kittens head was out. So I'm wondering if maybe some kind of damage was done. Other than its eyes shut, ears flat and being really wobbly, its otherwise healthy. He eats good, responds good, lifts his head up, walks around (just very wobbly), responds to mom, responds to siblings. He does sleep way more than the other ones and isnt as responsive as the other ones. For example, when they're sleeping and mom jumps up and lays next to them for a feeding they all immediately wake up crying and jump up, eyes wide open, running over to mom  to nurse. Whereas, this one just stays sleeping and quiet, eventually wobbles over to nurse then goes back to sleep. The others just seem more alert. If that makes sense. Do you think there is anything to worry about? Or are there just some "late bloomers" so to speak?

Also just a couple hours ago I noticed with 2 of them, one has 1 eye crusted shut (clear, not brown or any color, just feels crusty) and the other had clear/somewhat white discharge coming out. I clean the eye of the one with discharge and she seems fine now. I couldn't get the others crusty eye fixed but mama was just washing it for him a little bit ago so I'm going to check later. Is this something I should be worried about? I know green and yellow generally mean infection, but are there any worries with just white/clear discharge?  Any and all help is greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance! 

B butterflymama

Hello! Nice work with a semi-feral cat who knows who butters her bread! She sounds fully domesticated now .

Little "special" kitty may or may not have suffered when mom ran in circles, or possibly did not get enough oxygen during birth. He is definitely a late bloomer, though I'm thinking he may always be a little different. I would think his eyes and ears will eventually open, but it may be another week or two. You say he does nurse sufficiently. Is he growing at the same pace as the others, or does he need supplemental feeding? It's promising that he seems to do most things normally though.

As for their eyes, they may have an infection of some sort. Clear does not usually indicate infection like green or yellow mucus does, but something may be starting. I'd watch it closely, and I suggest that you call and ask the vet. You don't want to take a chance with their eyes.

Just wanted to let you know that long-haired kittens will open their eyes and ears later than short-haired kittens. What does this kitten look like?

Thank you for the response. Yes, she is definitely starting to love the domesticated life 

The little one is definitely growing at a normal rate, he's actually the biggest of the litter - definitely NO issues with feeding, he's a chubster lol. Its interesting that you mention the long-hair thing though, because he is also the only super fuzzy longer-haired one of the litter. So that might be the key then. Like I mentioned he is pretty well on par with everything right along with the rest of the litter. Just more wobbly, but that I'm sure probably has more to do with the fact that his eyes aren't open and ears aren't perked yet. He's also the loner, and wants more to just sleep and cuddle whereas the others are starting to be more mobile and playful. But that could just simple be more of a personality thing. I guess I just figured he was the first born but is, in a sense, developmentally behind the rest (eyes, ears, wobbly) so I worried something may be wrong. As far as that goes, and the other twos eyes, I'm a very vigilant human mama so I'll be sure to keep a close watch. I've watch the two kittens' eyes twice already with warm water on a sterile gauze pad, and mama has washed their eyes a couple times herself. The one that had the discharge seems to have cleared up, so far. The other one's eye is still a little crusty, but open now, and no discharge. So we're heading in the right direction so far. I have a good vet on standby if need-be. And when the little ones get old enough, they will be taking a trip with mama to all get fixed and shots... And although when I initially brought mama in (pre-mama days), I told myself I wasn't going to get attached and I wouldn't keep her... I think I may be permanently adopting the whole family (I'm sure the bf will love that one!) 

Gal after my own heart!

I took in a pregnant stray who delivered four healthy babies in March. They are 14 weeks old now & I'm keeping the whole family! I was sure I was re-homing two of the kittens, but couldn't do it. Mom and Pumpkin are my current avatar. So I get it!

Glad to hear their eyes are clearing. I think you may have a long-hair whose eyes will open soon, at which point he will catch up quickly to the rest. Let us know!

Here are some pictures of the little ones, and mama as well. I don't have a working camera so I used my webcam, so excuse me being in the pics lol


This is the first born, the one whose eyes are still closed, ears are still down and is more wobbly, loner and sleepy.


This is the one with the crusty eye. She was the last born.


This is the one with the discharge from the one eye. She would be considered the runt of the litter but isn't much different in size.


This one is the most active and the most vocal of the bunch, definitely a personality.


Here's a picture of the kitten pile. This is where they spend their time if I'm in my room, on my bed. And if I'm in bed, like now, this is where mama puts them or they crawl themselves, next to my lap.


And this is Mama..

Same here. Everyone who knows me says I'll end up the "old crazy cat lady"... works for me! 

Every animal I've ever had has been a stray or rescue. I've nursed, fixed, vetted and rehomed many, but end up keeping more than I rehome. All kinds of animals every since I was little.. baby birds that fell from nests, orphaned racoons and bunnies, lizards, snakes, stray and rescue dogs.. but cats, cats are my weakness. 

They are all precious!

The little one with closed ears/eyes looks long-haired for sure. It will be interesting to see things open up soon.

How are their eyes today? I can see that the eyes on those two do look partly closed. Do you think you should call the vet? They may need something.

Adorable litter, cant blame you for falling in love with every last one.

Im sure the first born will always be very close to your heart, its an amazing experience, which you will always treasure.

Very noble to have the heart to adopt this new family.

Congratulations and good luck!

Today their eyes show some improvement. There's no discharge in either. The gray tabby's eye is still a little crusty, but much better than it was. There's no swelling or anything. I've been washing them with warm water and sterile gauze a couple times a day, and mama cat has been washing them after feedings so I think that is helping some. Before their eyes did this I noticed that they had specks of dirt in the corner, probably from being under my bed where mama kept them. I wiped it out, but I'm thinking that they got gunk in their eye which caused the discharge and crustiness. It seemed similar to when my adult cats have gotten litter or something in their eye and then its "gunky" and gross for a couple days. With them being as young as they are, though, I'm definitely keeping a close watch on them. If there's no real improvement or if it gets worse, I'll be sure to get a hold of the vet. Otherwise, I'll take them in at 4 weeks to get a full checkup. I'm trying, if it can be helped, to only traumatize them once with the vet this young lol. Since there has been improvement I'm trying to just wait it out and keep a watch on them. If there wasn't any improvement by now I would've taken them in. We'll see how the next couple of days go. Hopefully they keep improving, and hopefully the little "late bloomer" starts opening his eyes soon too. I'll be sure to keep everyone posted.

Thanks for the update!

New update on the little ones:

So both kittens with the eye problems are doing MUCH better. The one that had the eye crusted shut is now open and the one with the discharge is now clear. The problem? Hair in their eyes. I think the majority of the litter might be more on the long-haired side. It was their own long fur hairs that got in their little eyes that caused the problem. After a couple days of washing with warm water on sterile gauze, the hairs were pulled out today. They were stuck on their eyelids and got all gross. I'm so glad they're all better. Now I'm just waiting for my little late bloomer to open his eyes and perk up them ears! Thanks for the help/support!!   

That is great news.   No antibiotics needed?  The kittens and mom are so cute.

Good news! I'm glad you got to the bottom of that. Eye irritation from hair in the eyes. Yes, hoping late bloomer's eyes and ears open soon!

Look who opened his eyes!!

This is so exciting!!! You must be thrilled. What a little cutie! His ears should perk up soon now too!

Bless his little heart.

It was worth the wait!

Yay!
He finally opened his eyes!
:-)

Oh yes, very happy. They're all so cute but I think I hold a special place in my heart for the little "late bloomer" chubster. Now that we're past the eye problems and development worries, I just have to wait until they're old enough and then its a family trip to the vet for shots an getting fixed. Then I think I've found the 5 newest additions to my family! 

Beautiful family.