HELP! First time kitten mom

I finally got it! The little turkey (little gray) won't stay still for me, but as long as he is right by one of his siblings he will stay calm. So what I'm doing with him is letting him eat every time I switch groups because he doesn't take anyones important nipple and he actually goes to a good nipple in the gray group. so I let him eat about every hour with mama then every hour with me. It's a pain but I know he is getting what he needs. my question is, can he have too much food?
I also figured out a way to keep mama calm when Its the gray turns (everytime I take the whites away they cry like little babies and never stop). I just keep their box right by mama and love on her. She gets upset every once in a while, because I mean they will NEVER stop crying, but she will actually stay still for the grays this way. Last night she keep coming into the other room when I took the whites away, meaning less food for my gray babies.
And a question about The maMa. I saw she had some bloody discharge last night and a little this morning. Is that normal? I do NOT want anything to happen to the mama and just wanna make sure she is in the clear. I have been feeding her whenever she gets up, and she has been using the restroom normally. No diarrhea so yay!
I haven't had the chance to weigh the babies yet, after mama gets up for her break I have to help the babies potty then I feed the mama, get her fresh water, and clean up any mess, and by then she is already back and watching the babies like a hawk. I want to keep her as stressfree as possible.
Even though these babies keep me busy and up all night I am so so glad I was able to take their mama in and make sure they each got a fighting chance..I just don't know if I would ever want to do nine kittens again haha. This is defiantly some hard work!
Once again, and I know I say it all the time, but thank you all SO SO much. I Don't know what I would have done without this community. [emoji]10084[/emoji][emoji]10084[/emoji]

I don't wanna annoy you guys with too many pictures but I'm a proud grandma! Here's the white group feeding this morning (The sheet hadn't been change yet in the picture but don't worry, they get clean sheets every day!)


My grays waiting patiently for their turn as always

Hopefully it will get easier.  Some discharge is normal.

Are you getting any sleep?  Is there someone crazy enough to help you with switching the kittens.

there's no such thing as too many pictures. LOL

My calm gray group feeding away


my white group waiting impatiently as always.

Handsome Kitty said:

Hopefully it will get easier.  Some discharge is normal.

Are you getting any sleep?  Is there someone crazy enough to help you with switching the kittens.

there's no such thing as too many pictures. LOL

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Yes! My boyfriend who lives with me has been awesome with helping me out, but because he works he can't do too much. He helps me out with one feeding a night, but I pretty much have set up camp in the closet and stay with them. I am very lucky and can pick my work schedule so I got the whole week off to spend with the babies. I am 22 so I am good with running on little sleep, but I am mastering sleeping while they sleep at night and waking up when I hear the mama get ready for the next feed haha.

Yes, discharge is normal as long as it's not a stream of blood.

The babies are so adorable!

We thank YOU for all of your hard work and effort. This mama would not have had a fighting chance without you! And nine kittens is highly unusual!

I really wish you had a friend or relative who could pop in to help you a bit.

I hate to nag, but we really need weights on the whites especially.

Can you quickly weigh them one at a time in front of mama?

That's good practice for if/when you have little ones of your own. : )

You should be very proud with all you are doing for them! Make sure your bf knows just how lucky he is to have someone as special and loving as you!

One question I have, and a comment.

When you rotate and put the "off" group in the box, is the box heated? Heating pad under it, etc? This is crucial, otherwise once the temps get below 95 degrees their organs become dormant and will not process the milk/formula, it grows bacteria and can cause death.

Just so you are aware of it's importance in the next 3 weeks.

I found when I had to rotate a litter of 7, which had very big and very small kids so it was needed) the group in the "off" box were restless at times too, then I dug around and found a mink fur coat cuff. It's from the 20's or 30's, women back in the day could get mink collars and mink cuffs to attach to their coats. I stuck a cuff in with them and it simulated mama so much I never heard another peep out of them, and have used this cuff many times since, for orphans, etc and it works every time like a charm.

If they have a super soft/plush stuffed toy in the box it will help, they will snuggle up to it and quiet down.

2 mls supplemented at a time to LG is not too much. All he will do is not nurse from mom when he is not hungry, but will still appear to as he is getting his nurturing this way. 

Things are looking good!

Hello all! I am sorry for disappearing but I feel asleep and took a little nap before realizing what time it was! I have the weights in for the day

Poopie: 4.5 ounces (4.2 yesterday)
Neck: biggest gainer! 4.3 ounces (3.8 yesterday)
Wittle: 3.7 ounces (3.4 yesterday)
Wittle #2: 3.7 ounces (3.6 yesterday)
Little gray: now 3.3 ounces! (2.9 yesterday)
Multi: 4.0 ounces (3.7 yesterday)
Dark face: 3.6 ounces (3.5 yesterday. Not gaining as much as he should)
Light Paws: 4.1 ounces (3.9 ounces yesterday)
Dark Paws: 4.2 ounces (3.8 ounces yesterday)

I am so happy with little grays progress. I have FINALLY got this rotating thing down. As for Wittle #2 I realized the reason he isn't gaining is his two bigger siblings keep pushing him out of the way. I'm going to switch up groups where it will now be the four smallest plus little gray and then the four biggest plus little gray. I wasn't quite sure who would be my smallest but now that I know I will defiantly start doing it.
as for the box, I feel like a dang fool for forgetting the dang heat pad. I'll be so mad at myself if anything happens to them because I forgot to put it in there with thEm. I have it on the first heat. How warm should it be? I also put two of my small stuffed animals in the box. I will attach a picture to show.

Heating pad needs to be set on low under a blanket.

You're doing great! So are the kittens and mama!

Do you think you should also supplement Wittle #2 and Dark Face for awhile? They barely gained.

Super good news on the gray kitten!

Here's the box.
I got the right half with the heating pad on and the other half is just a towel underneath. I got this two stuffed animals for them. is that okay? It has defiantly stopped the whining except for my biggest whitie. He is my escaper. He will NOT stay in the box quietly and get everyone else worked up. Such a stink butt!
How can I tell if the babies get too hot? Will I need to move them or will they move themselves?

We really want to see everyone gaining alot more daily, darnit.

It's so hard to know whether mom is able to keep up with her supply for so many babes.

I have no idea what amt of time you have all day but if it's possible, I would supplement everyone for a while! 

It doesn't need to be as often as the tinies, but maybe a couple/few times daily will help boost their weights!

Box looks fine.

This is the reason for the heating pad to only cover/heat one side, it is natural for them to scoot away from the heat if they did get too warm.

Setting on low, you can even set the pad under the one side of the box

@catmommy22322 I can't imagine why you would need a nap   Seriously you do need sleep so don't apologize to us.  you won't be able to help the kittens if you can't function yourself.

So the kittens should gain between 6-10 grams minimum a day (per stefanz) which translates into .211644 - .35274 ounces so you have a guage for yourself.  You might want to write that down somewhere.

How are you telling the white kittens apart?

catwoman707 said:

We really want to see everyone gaining alot more daily, darnit.
It's so hard to know whether mom is able to keep up with her supply for so many babes.

I have no idea what amt of time you have all day but if it's possible, I would supplement everyone for a while! 
It doesn't need to be as often as the tinies, but maybe a couple/few times daily will help boost their weights!

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I am defiantly going to start supplementing. I got distracted by little gray to look out for my other little runts. But now that I got the hang of things, I feel alright.
I think mama is doing good on her milk supply, I wish I could tell. She gets fed about every hour and a half to 2 hours. I think she is doing alright. I have also been checking the nipples for any bleeding or swelling. Nothing so far (cross fingers) I am so proud of her though. She is so good about laying in the box with them and letting them feed ALL day. Thank heavens I got a good mama [emoji]128522[/emoji]

Are you giving the mama some KMR too?  She needs all the extra nutrients she can get.

Handsome Kitty said:

@catmommy22322
I can't imagine why you would need a nap   Seriously you do need sleep so don't apologize to us.  you won't be able to help the kittens if you can't function yourself.

So the kittens should gain between 6-10 grams minimum a day (per stefanz) which translates into .211644 - .35274 ounces so you have a guage for yourself.  You might want to write that down somewhere.

How are you telling the white kittens apart?

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I marked two of the babies tails yesterday and marked them again today. I also have one with a tad bit of black under its tail, like a spot, that looks like poop so I call him poopie. And then my baby runt who has nothing on him. I have been using a black sharpie on their tail/top of tail. Is that okay? I can tell the difference now with two of the whites being so much bigger than the other two, but I know how that can change! I also can tell who stink butt is. He's the biggest white one who is ALWAYS whining and climbing everywhere.

Handsome Kitty said:

Are you giving the mama some KMR too?  She needs all the extra nutrients she can get.

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Yes! I have Been doing some dry food mixed with wet food and a beaten egg in the morning, then wet food for most of the morning, then some KMR to drink around noon/12:30 as well as a little mixed in with her wet food, then I do a mostly wet food with about a teaspoon of dry kitten food mixed in until around 6:30/7 where I give her some more KMR. Then she has a mix of wet food until about 1 or 2 in the morning where I give her more KMR. She doesn't have any diarrhea, I check every time she goes potty, just softer poop. Her bleeding had stopped as well ( she was spotting yesterday night/this morning). I am giving her the best of the best dry food and wet food (both for kitten). I do about a tablespoon of KMR for each time a feed her, maybe a little more, but I know not to giver her too much or risk her getting diarrhea! Any tips or additions to my diet? as I said, complete newbie, so all and any criticism is welcomed!

I don't think the KMR will give her runs.  Most people put it in a bowl for her to lap up.

Sounds like you're running a 24 hour kitchen.  short order cook!  You are doing a terrific job.  I'm amazed you are keeping it all straight.

You are giving your cat a first-rate diet for producing top-quality, plentiful milk for her kittens. Keep up the excellent and frequent feedings!