5 abandoned kittens!!

Hi everyone,
I have been lurking around this fantastic forum for around the last 5 weeks, and it has to be said the advice you all give is amazing, life saving in so many cases! I'm sure there are many like me who have never posted or even joined the site who have been helped immensely by reading the advice given on posts.
I took in an 18 month old cat last year, and was led to believe she was neutered, silly of me to not get it confirmed but hey hindsight is a wonderful thing! When her nipples started pinking up and the weight went on her it didn't take me long to realise she was pregnant, I also managed to narrow the dates down to when the conception happened as I can remember having a conversation with some visitors we had that Jessy had 'made friends' with a boy cat, and was shouting for him when she went out. ( Yes yes I know I should have clicked on that she was actually in heat :/ ) So I trawled the net finding every bit of info I possibly could to help her pregnancy and birth go without a hitch, and here I ended up on this site, saved it as a bookmark and never looked anywhere else!
On Wednesday 8th July I knew she had started her labour, she lost some plug and would not let me out of her sight, if I moved she moved and she was no less than a meter away from me the whole time. At around 4pm we were both on the sofa and she started pushing, the first kitten took an age to be pushed out, around 50 mins! Panic had started to set in but eventually a huge grey kitten came out breech, followed by another huge grey one also breech! She went straight into the role of Mummy cleaning and sorting them both 2 more breech kittens came out, smaller black ones again she was fantastic and lastly a little tiny black kitten was born, this one wasn't breech but by this point Mummy was exhausted and I had to break the kittens sack and cut the cord.I got all the kittens weighed and marked with sharpie pens under the armpit (fantastic idea I got from here!)
The next 9 days went brilliantly, she couldn't have been a better Mum, she was happy for me to be near the kittens and the moment she heard a sound out of them she was straight over to check on them. All were gaining weight at a really good rate, 10 grams plus every day, she was the perfect text book Mum and the kittens all doubled their birth weight on target.

Then everything changed On Friday 17th July I was in my kitchen with my dog, Jessy came into the kitchen from the room her and the kittens had ( we had a safety gate up so dog & kids couldn't get in but Jessy could come and go if she wanted) Completely out of the blue Jessy attacked the dog and then me, this had never ever happened before Jessy and our dog were the best of friends, when coming out of her kitten room the first thing Jessy would do would be rub herself all over the dog, they adored each other. Attacking me and drawing blood was also completely out of charachter for a cat that had always been a total softy. After her attacks she ran out of the open back door.

That was 5 days ago and we haven't seen her since As you can imagine we are all devastated. The next morning I was sure she would be at the door shouting at us to let her in, but nothing. We have tried everything possible to find her, called everywhere, looked everywhere, been out shouting her at all hours of day and night and not a hint of her being around. We are completely clueless as to why or where she has gone. My gut says something bad has happened. She was never fussed about being outside, she would never really go further than some bushes behind my garden. I dont ever remember a time that I shouted out the back for her and she didn't appear within a minute, even the time I now realise she was in heat she still stayed close by.

Is there conditions that can affect cats after giving birth? I believe she was in pain when she attacked that night, and I think she has took herself off because she was hurting or was scared. I haven't given up hope she will be back but my gut instinct is telling me that she wouldn't have left her babies this long if she had any option.

Thanks to all my reading on this site I was able to step up in to kitten mum role quickly and without too much panic! The kittens have been an absolute dream to look after, they are getting Royal Canin baby cat formula and drinking from 5ml syringes, the first feed was a bit of a faff but now I just need to put the syringe tip in their mouths and the clever little things just suck so hard the plunger moves down it self!! We had 3 days with no poo but some drops of oil in the milk sorted that out, boy did it sort it out haha when they finally went they all passed around 5 inches off poo haha, took me totally by surprise!! The kittens are now 13 days old and I am feeding them every 3 hours.

This post has got much bigger than I intended, so sorry for going on! I am going to add the kittens weight below I would love if one of you experts would reassure me that we are doing ok! I think we are, these babies have no food issues, if anything I worry that they are being over fed! I will add their birth weight, weight when Mum left and weight from tonight.

Grey Boy - 112gm (birth) 256gm (mum left) 301gm (today

Grey Girl- 103gm (birth) 252gm (mum left) 291gm (today)

Black boy- 103gm (birth) 233gm(mum left) 266gm (today)

Black big girl- 96gm(birth) 233gm (mum left) 284gm (today)

Little Black girl - 85gm (birth) 215 (mum left) 258gm (today)

I truly am sorry for this post being so huge, I guess I just wanted to give you all the back story to how I came about being Mum to 5 babies! I have seen on some other posts how much milk the kittens should be having but can never seem to be able to work it out for myself, lack of sleep is affecting my head I think now! Its actually worse than having a newborn this!

Here we have the grey girl

So I am going to simplify this because you are feeding every 3 hours which is 8 feedings so the ml will be the weight of each kitten in ounces.  Here is the amt they should be getting at each feeding.   Don't forget to burp them!

Grey Boy  10.6 ml/cc 

Grey girl 10.3 ml/cc

Black boy  9.4 ml/cc

Black big girl  10 ml/cc

Little black girl  9.1 ml/cc

Can your scale measure in ounces?  If not here is the table I used to convert the grams to ounces. 

http://www.metric-conversions.org/weight/grams-to-ounces-table.htm

You are doing a terrific job.  I hope the mom is ok.  Someone could have taken her in.  btw You cannot over feed a kitten.  If they want more, give them more.

They are too  young to pee and poop on their own.  You will need to stimulate them to go after each meal. You might also want to clean them with a warm damp cloth like the mom would.

Hi Handsome Kitty, thanks so much for your reply not just to this post but to all your other replies I have been reading over the past month, this site has literally saved my kittens lives!
The milk measurements are fab, they tend to take between 10-15ml at each feed, the 2 greys will almost always take the full 15 but the rest usually will stop between 10 & 15, they are good at telling me when they are finished!
I burp them after each feed and wee & poo them after that, sometimes just me but of late my hubby does the burping and toileting, its like a conveyor belt of kittens! He is on 3 weeks leave from work before a deployment and this definitely isn't how we planned to spend it haha!
Is it 3 or 4 weeks they can start with little bits of food? Seeing conflicting info so thought best to ask.

I honestly have no idea how I am going to let these little babies to to new homes, they steal another bit of my heart every time I feed them. I know we still have a long long way to go and things can go wrong but we seem to be doing good so far, having their Mums milk at the start has given them such a good start.

How can I help but fall in love with a face like this

She looks so sweet.

4 - 5 weeks old is the usual time the mom starts to ween the kittens.  Some hand reared kittens are started a little earlier. I think @catwoman707 mentioned in one post that hand reared babies sometimes reject the bottle around 3 and a half weeks and that may be where the confusion comes in.  Sometime the cat parents introduce a taste of wet food to get the kittens to eat.

Ahh ok so we still have a few weeks to go till we start weaning then, glad I asked as I was sure I had read 3 weeks. We are 2 weeks tomorrow, I'm honestly not sure how I will even be able to function in 3 weeks time, never have I been so tired it's so very worth it though when I have fed them and they are all sleepy and purring, best noise in the world

Thanks again for your help, I honestly cant put into words just how much this site has helped me, throughout the whole pregnancy but especially this past 5 days!

B bellad

Well, you really have had your hands full!

The kittens' weights are truly excellent, and all of your reading has paid off, and you have received excellent advice from Handsome Kitty.

My guess is that your mama cat went into heat, and took off to go mating. Sometimes cats will be gone for several days during the heat cycle, so there is a chance she may return. If she does, you can bet that she is pregnant again, and you'll need to make a spay appointment right away.

Your babies are almost 2 weeks old, so you'll need to continue to supplement every 3 hours as you are doing.

At 3 weeks, you can push their feedings to 4 hours apart. They should begin to cut their baby teeth between 3 and 4 weeks, and you can then try mush with them, but let's deal one week at a time here!

Continue to weigh them each day, and let us know how they are doing. As they grow the amount of formula increases. I know you are exhausted, but they are alive due to your fantastic efforts. So glad your hubby is available to help right now during this critical time in their development.

Do you have a heating pad under their blanket for warmth?

It is so easy to fall in love with them. They have a way of stealing out hearts every time!

Thanks sarthur2, you are another who's fantastic advice has helped me these past few weeks! I have read so much I think I could take a cat pregnancy/labour/kitten exam and pass with an A+ !
I had wondered about her going into heat, but I just don't think so, there are so many cats round here she really wouldn't have had to go far to find a mate, last time she just sat in our garden calling, I was just a bit naive and didn't realise thats what she was doing due to her previous owners claiming she was neutered. I think she was hurting, in pain some how and I really feel like she wont be back.I hope more than anything she does come home but you know when you have a feeling, I knew the very next morning she wouldn't be back. My 4 year old daughter is devastated, Jessy slept in her room every night up till the kittens were born, luckily the kittens have been a good distraction but we are all really sad. She is really enjoying the kittens at the moment, so keeping her busy with the big decision of which one we will be keeping with us (I say one as thats what my hubby has said we are allowed to keep but as he will be at the other side of the world when they are due to go to new homes we may just sneakily keep two)

To answer your question we have wheat packs at different places in the box with them, and my 4 year old has donated a teddy that also has a wheat pack in its tummy! We just reheat them at every feed and the kittens seem to be at a good temp.

A couple of them seem to have teeth already, can definitely feel sharp little teeth when my fingers are getting chewed!

Sleep time for me now they have had a feed, 8 lots of milk made up in the fridge and my alarm set for 4am!

My batch of kittens were starting to chew on mom's dry food by the end of week three. They did have mom showing them that it was food though. They also took a couple more months (and encouragement from us humans... yes, we put a sock-tube-top-dress on the mom to block the kittens from nursing) before they weaned fully.

 I can't imagine that it would hurt to offer food to them early. If they are ready they will eat and you will be that much closer to a better night's sleep. If they aren't ready you really haven't put much effort into it so it's no big loss. We had read that you should moisten any dry food that you offer kittens... ours wouldn't touch it once it got wet. They wanted dry kibble or canned wet but nothing in between.

(disclaimer- I am not all that experienced with kittens, I've only has one batch of kittens that had mommy with them)

Make sure you take tons of pictures!! We didn't take as many after the first couple of weeks and I regret that now. I really wish I had more pictures as they got bigger. 

I will continue to hope that your kitty will return. It is a very sad feeling when a cat disappears. At least she did give them a good start in life. Did you try calling for her her or leaving food out?

It's also hard to know what may have contributed to her sudden change in behavior. Something clearly spooked her to the point of no return - literally. It's hard to deal with since she had been such a good mom up to that point.

Keeping two kittens is often easier than one. They will have each other to play with and this will give them a leg up in the socialization process. They will likely be very good buddies with each other!

Keep up the good job and do get your rest when you can!

Hi again everyone, kitten weight update for tonight! The two greys have put on a HUGE amount, not sure if thats good or if its just too much?

Grey boy 301gm to 326gm = +25gm
Grey Girl 291gm to 313gm = +22gm
Black boy 266gm to 276gm = +10gm
Big black girl 284gm to 294gm =+10gm
Tiny girl 258gm to 266gm = +8gm

Tiny girl put on the least but just before weighing them she had just done the biggest kitten poo I have ever seen, I'm sure her gain would have been much more if it wern't for that lol!

I retried them with a bottle today, we are using 5ml syringes at the moment and they are fantastic with them, I dont need to press the plunger as they suck so hard they do it themselves, the reason I tried the bottle is we are going through so many syringes, I find after a few uses they get too stiff to use and need to be thrown, I have been buying them from the local chemist and there not cheap. They all sucked the bottle really well but it seems they just suck too hard They actually suck the teat flat! I have just been on ebay and found a listing for 100 syringes forthe same price as I was paying for 10, so think we will stick with them.

Besides that the kittens are doing great, they are really starting to interact with me and grabbing at my hands with their paws, very very cute. I have read all the guidelines on what they should be doing for their ages and if I hadn't seen them be born myself I would be doubting that they are only two weeks today, very clever little kittens!

This is fantastic! I hope your syringe order comes in quickly! At this rate you will need it.

Is the weight gain ok @sarthur2 ? For the two grey ones I mean? I keep reading 10gm is the magic number which my other 3 have been gaining most days, but the 2 greys consistently gain 20+gms! I am of course hugely pleased they are gaining but worry its too much, are they just destined to be big piggy cats haha!
Gosh so many worries, not enough gain/too much gain, not enough food/too much food. I have got 3 kids and these little kittens have caused me so much more worry and stress than the kids ever have!

I am so glad you decided to post and share your story. It sounds like you are doing a great job being the surrogate mom for these kittens. I am sorry your mamma cat has not returned. Please share more photos when you can.

The weight gains are great.  You don't need to worry about the kittens gaining too much.  Don't forget to adjust the amount of food you are giving them.  If you are feeding every 3 hours it will be the weight of each kitten in ounces at each feeding.

The minimum weight gain is 6-10 ounces.  So the tiny girl is still in the okay but watch range.

You are doing a great job!  Worry less and enjoy the experience. 

There is always a runt - keep an eye on her, but otherwise the gains are really healthy. You may want to feed the runt every 2 hours for a few feedings and see if she might gain a bit more.

Funny how kittens give us more worry than our human babies. You're doing a bang-up job. Give them as much as they can drink!

The tiny one is a little piggy when it comes to food, she takes 15ml at each feed and gulps it down She is also quite feisty with her bigger siblings which is very funny to watch! I have weighed them all daily since they were born and even though her gains have never been huge she has been very consistent with them. I'll go with your suggestion of 2 hourly feeds for her during the day and see how she goes with that.

Back to bed now for me its 5am here and this is the second time I have been up tonight doing feeds *yawn* Night Night everyone

Hi again everyone,

Kitten weight update tonight is a biggy!! They were weighed 3 hours late tonight so a 27 hour gain rather than 24. I was given the advice last night to feed by smallest every 2 hours so we went with that, the other kittens very quickly realised what was happening and yelped for feeding with her so all hsve gotten 2 hourly feeds tonight, I am wondering if my scales are faulty.......

Grey boy 326gm > 370gm = +44gm gain :O

Grey girl 313gm > 349gm = +36gm gain

Black boy 276gm > 315gm = +39gm gain

Big black girl 294gm >330gm = +36gm gain

Tiny black girl 266gm > 298gm = +32 gain

I think its safe for me to go back to 3 hourly feeds now?

Wow!  Are you weighing the right after you're feeding them?