Stray had her babies and I'm lost

Those are healthy kittens!

Are you sure the scale is accurate? They weigh what kittens normally weigh at 2 weeks of age, which is fine! They are very healthy .

You can allow your 8 and 10 year olds to hold a kitten under your supervision, and if Hidey is okay with it. I suggest they sit on the floor and you hand them each a kitten. No sudden motions. Gentle touch.

I *think* the scale is accurate.  It said zero before I put a kitten inside.  But I will double check when I get home.  I'll also let the big boys hold a kitten very gently for a few seconds.  That should make them very happy.  Maybe I can use it as a bribe for doing their chores...  "After dishes are done..."

 

The boys read the post saying it's OK to hold a kitten.  This will be done in the morning, with much (gentle) rejoicing.  I double checked the scale (and changed the bedding), and it is correct.  I only weighed Tuxedo, but he/she is now 9.3 (up an ounce)!  Hurrah for healthy kittens.  All that worrying must have helped  

I had more questions, but my brain is tired and I don't remember so they must not be urgent.  Thank you, everyone, for all your help so far!  I'll try to get more pictures soon.

I'm thrilled the kittens are so healthy!

I know the boys are excited to hold the kittens!

We'll be here whenever you think of your questions, and I can't wait to see more pictures of the kittens .

Oh boy. The kids and I are starting to really like all the kittens.  This might not be a good thing.  How the heck do you not keep them all?  And I thought 4 was too many.  With these kittens we are at 11.  But they are awfully cute.  And entertaining.  One with big paws was batting at another because apparently big paws wanted *that* nipple.  Never mind that I moved him/her to another nipple, paws kept moving back and batting at the kitten attached to that nipple.  Funny kittens.

This might be how I ended up keeping my stray AND all four of her kittens .

Went in and checked on everyone.  Kittens were sleeping like little logs lined up next to each other.  For once they weren't piled on top of each other.  BUT - Hidey started coughing, a LOT.  I don't know what to think.  I haven't seen this behavior from her before.  What I have seen:  She'll chow down on wet food, settle back in and give one big burp-like cough.  Maybe two, but then it stops.  This was a lot of coughing, and it didn't stop for a while.  Very dry.  Any thoughts?  

Hmm. Are you sure it wasn't a hairball?

If you continue to hear it this weekend please let us know.

It absolutely could have been a hairball.  I'll keep listening.  And she is eating well.  Boys fed her a grand total of 5 cans this morning.  I think they didn't talk to each other before opening cans.

5 cans - wow!

At least they are helping! I'm sure there was plenty of motivation to go in and peek at the kittens .

Are they all gaining well? Perhaps you could check their weights this weekend.

Got some pictures, but they are with my computer, so not the best.  Enjoy!  Oh - and the wet food is gone.  All five cans.

The whole crowd:


Black striped leg #1


And the one we are currently calling "tuxedo"

 
And the one we are currently calling "scruffy".  Check out the paws!


I had to stop, because kittens were mewling and Hidey got wide-eyed.

That's quite a crowd!  Good looking bunch.

Got weights!  Mama was out of the box and very affectionate.  The boys fed her two more cans today, independently.  That makes seven.  We had a talk  I hope that 22 cans in 4.5 days isn't a problem!

Anyway, the weights (they are 8 days old today):

Black stripe leg #1: 9.05

Black stripe leg #2: 8.75

Black stripe leg #3: 10.15  (aka: biggest black one)

Tuxedo: 10.30

Scruffy: 10.10

White Neck: 8.45

I have no idea how to tell the black ones apart.  They are all three beautiful and they all look the same.  I thought I was seeing a little bit of eyes earlier today, but I may have been imagining it.

Editing to add previous weights so I don't have to scroll back and forth:

Smallest is 'white neck' at 7.15 oz

Largest is 'scruffy' at 8.35

Others: Tuxedo is 8.25

Black striped leg one is 7.35

Black striped leg two is 7.4

Big black striped leg is 8.3

Editing again to do the math:  gain over the last 3 (two?) days:

Black stripe leg #1: 1.4

Black stripe leg #2:  1.65

Black stripe leg #3:  1.85

White Neck: 1.3

Tuxedo: 2.05 (piggy!)

Scruffy: 1.75

Looks good, right?

I'd say those cans of wet food are being put to good use.

Some people use a sharpie to tell the kittens apart.  Putting a dot under a leg or the tip of an ear.  Not sure how well it would work on black kittens.  You need to replace the mark every couple of days.

Hmm... a sharpie.  Except the lightest coloring on them is their eyes.  Probably not.  I'll just guess, for now.  They are all super cute.  I think I'm in love

Questions!  Lots of them!

1) When do kittens open their eyes?

2) When do kittens start on solid (mushy?) food?  How do I start it?

3) When do kittens need litter?

4) When can (should) I introduce other cats to the mama?

5) When can (should) I introduce other cats to kittens?

Thank you!

The weights are fabulous!

Kittens eyes will be open by the two-week mark, so you should begin to see some eyes soon. Their ears open up around three weeks. Neither eyesight nor hearing are fully developed for several more weeks.

Kittens are usually ready for mush (wet food thinned with KMR and kitten chow softened with KMR) around four weeks old when their baby teeth come in. At the same time you begin litter box training as their poops will become formed. So you'll put a smaller sized kitten pan or two next to mom's big one. This process of weaning to solids and litter training may take a couple of weeks.

Once the kittens are weaned and litter trained and a little bigger they can meet your other cats under supervision. I would wait until Hidey is spayed and recovered before introducing her to the others. But when you introduce the kittens, mom should be there as well.

Sharpie will not show up on black fur .

Looks like your boys enjoy feeding the cats .

Thank you!  I think the weights are great, too.  Two more questions:

1) Hidey has a notch in one ear.  Does that mean she's had her shots?  I think I read that somewhere, that humane society or someone puts a notch in the ear after vaccinations.  Clearly, it isn't after having the cat fixed.  If that is what it means, then she belonged to someone.  Which is obvious, because she's a sweetheart.  But that someone either dumped her or let her run wild (and get pregnant) to the point where she was showing up at our place every day.  So she's ours now.  I'm trying not to feel like I should try to find a previous owner.

2) Kittens are 9 days old now, so I have a little more than two weeks of doing nothing, then I start to work on the solid mush food and litter training, right?

3) Hidey is getting skinny.  She's eating for seven, of course, and her dry food is out all the time.  Should I be doing something more than just making sure food is available?  She seems to be doing well.

4) When will she go into heat again?  She's awfully darn affectionate.

OK, that was two questions, twice.  I can math.

The ear is usually notched after the spay, so I find it odd. I doubt you will ever find an owner. I wouldn't worry about looking.

Yes, start mush and litter at four weeks.

Just keep feeding her. That's all you can do. Is she getting KMR daily to drink?

They can go into heat again at any time. Mine went into heat at seven weeks, as her nursing eased up. I had her fixed after that heat cycle. You'll know if she goes into heat. Just do not let her out!