Getting 3 little orphans tomorrow

badkelpie · Sep 9, 2015

Someone posted on the local facebook buy/sell/trade group looking for a momma cat to nurse some kittens. Since Winn only has one fat little spoiled kitten, I offered to take them. The poster was originally just looking for a momma cat to keep, but agreed to let me take the kittens instead after I assured her I'd give them back after they were weaned

. She has been bottle feeding them and is very attached.

They are 3 weeks old, Mackenzie (Winn's kitten) is 2 weeks. There shouldn't be any problems with this, right? Winn is very attentive to Mackenzie and extremely protective.

StefanZ · Sep 9, 2015

badkelpie said:
Someone posted on the local facebook buy/sell/trade group looking for a momma cat to nurse some kittens. Since Winn only has one fat little spoiled kitten, I offered to take them. The poster was originally just looking for a momma cat to keep, but agreed to let me take the kittens instead after I assured her I'd give them back after they were weaned . She has been bottle feeding them and is very attached.

They are 3 weeks old, Mackenzie (Winn's kitten) is 2 weeks. There shouldn't be any problems with this, right? Winn is very attentive to Mackenzie and extremely protective.

Yeah, moms usually accepts new bees, esp if the age diff isnt too big, often without any big fuss..   Not seldom they even do accept kids from other species... fetches squirrel orphans, sometimes even ducklings...

If you want some extra safety, try and get smell of your kitten on the newbees... Or at very least, YOUR smell on them.   Of course, DO watch out, be there encouraging her, praising / calming...

IF she is uninterested, she shouldnt hurt them, she will simply leave them be.

Its wise of you to get new foster siblings. Its not only a help for the orphans, it will be a help for your alone kitten.   Kittens learn quite a lot by playing with other kittens, ie in practice, siblings. Biological or foster.

Good luck!

badkelpie · Sep 9, 2015

That's a good idea about the smells. I'll use one of the blankets from Winn's nest in the box I bring them home in.

I don't see it being a problem. Someone mentioned on the post that the shelter has a dog nursing kittens right now.

madelinegloria · Sep 10, 2015

We do this regularly at the shelter I foster for - often we are called up and odd hours of the night to pick up abandoned kittens, we have never had any trouble so far with foster mums taking on other kittens/litters as long as they're of roughly the same size/age and to make sure we monitor the nursing mothers so they don't become aggressive or overwhelmed.

Goodluck to you and the babies!

Sarthur2 · Sep 10, 2015

B badkelpie

How many kittens are there?

My only concern is whether your cat has enough milk. Sometimes when a cat is only nursing one kitten who uses just one nipple, the milk can dry up in the other nipples.

So if these foster kittens are not getting enough milk you may end up bottle feeding. You should weigh them as soon as you get them, and have bottles and KMR on hand just in case. They will still benefit from having a mama kitty provided she accepts them and they her.

There are a few "if's" here, but also the potential for success. Good luck and let us know how it goes

.

badkelpie · Sep 10, 2015

babies.jpg

badkelpie
Sep 10, 2015

Mama instincts are good in this one. She could hear them meowing before we even got inside and then she tried to get them out of the box. I put them in her nest and she immediately laid down with them and started cleaning them. Someone was purring loudly, I don't know if it was her or them.

They wander more than Mackenzie, so I kept trying to move them closer to her so they'd recognize her as a mama cat, and Winn kept swatting at me and trying to bite me like she does when I touch Mackenzie. Mackenzie kept following them around, but she's less mobile so she couldn't keep up. I will watch them to make sure they thrive. If not, I'm ok with helping out, Winn will still be doing most of the work.

handsome kitty · Sep 10, 2015

I love stories like this.

badkelpie · Sep 10, 2015

Poor kittens were starving. The lady told me she was feeding them 4 times a day. I asked what she was feeding them and she said something like "oh, just the powdered stuff in the can". I think she might have been giving them baby formula. I could be wrong, but it's pretty rural here, and powdered KMR is hard to find.

Winn is nursing the three new ones now, while Mackenzie is biting them. She's gonna love having siblings. Mackenzie is bigger than the three, even though she is younger. I tried to weigh them, and got the smallest, the orange one, at about 10 oz. Winn was too frantic about their crying to allow any more than that.

One of the tabbies is a manx, so cute!

Sarthur2 · Sep 10, 2015

This is going great so far! Thank goodness they have a mom now. Hopefully they will begin to thrive in every way

.

badkelpie · Sep 11, 2015

I offered the kittens some canned food mixed with water and they wanted it. The grey ones kept biting the plastic spoon, they're used to the syringe, but the orange one seemed to know how to lap it up. Mackenzie just made a yucky face

. They didn't eat much, but I figured even a little would help out mama. They're pretty tiny, but they just seem older to me than 3 weeks. Like closer to 4. They were climbing out of the foot-high-sided box on the way home. They're very healthy kittens, strong and LOUD.

Also, on a funny note, look at the orange one in the picture, he's wearing lederhosen.

Sarthur2 · Sep 11, 2015

Nice to hear they are healthy and doing well. Your kitten is way too young for mush at two weeks. If you mix KMR into pate wet food it makes an easy-to-eat mush for your new kittens. They sound like they are going to be a handful

.

badkelpie · Sep 11, 2015

Yes, of course I know she's too young, I just let her smell it. They're still doing well today. Winn still gets annoyed at me for holding them, but she's biting me less

Sarthur2 · Sep 12, 2015

I'm glad to hear she's accepting them!

badkelpie · Oct 2, 2015

Oh my gosh, 4 kittens is a lot! lol My apartment is tiny. The fosters are 6 weeks old now, and Mackenzie is 5. They can't all get out of the nest, though, so the crazy is a bit contained. It's kinda strange though, the orange one has been climbing out of the box (a tv cabinet with the top off, about 2 feet deep) for more than a week, and a couple days ago, Mackenzie figured it out, but the other 2 6-weekers are still "stuck". I can understand the manx, because I know tails help with balance, but the other one? Oh well, it's less crazy this way.

Mackenzie is the most personable, which is awesome, because her mom is crazy and kinda mean, always has been except when she was pregnant. (she's back to "normal" now). Mackenzie reminds me so much of my most favorite cat ever, Marley. Even looks a bit like her. She's just sweet, and friendly, and not obnoxious about it like some cats can be. And she likes having her back scratched

.

The manx took a bit to start putting weight on, so I gave him a couple feedings of evaporated milk and egg yolk, and that seemed to give him the boost he needed. They're all very good eaters now. Mackenzie has shown no interest in canned food, even at 5 weeks old, but just a bit ago, I looked over and she's chowing down on the dry kitten food mama cat was eating. So apparently just doesn't like canned.

Sarthur2 · Oct 2, 2015

The six-week-olds need to be out of that TV cabinet. They do not need to be contained any longer. It's normal for kittens to be out of the nest exploring by this age.

It's good to hear they are all eating well and growing!

StefanZ · Oct 2, 2015

badkelpie said:
Oh my gosh, 4 kittens is a lot! lol My apartment is tiny. The fosters are 6 weeks old now, and Mackenzie is 5. They can't all get out of the nest, though, so the crazy is a bit contained. It's kinda strange though, the orange one has been climbing out of the box (a tv cabinet with the top off, about 2 feet deep) for more than a week, and a couple days ago, Mackenzie figured it out, but the other 2 6-weekers are still "stuck". I can understand the manx, because I know tails help with balance, but the other one? Oh well, it's less crazy this way.

Mackenzie is the most personable, which is awesome, because her mom is crazy and kinda mean, always has been except when she was pregnant. (she's back to "normal" now). Mackenzie reminds me so much of my most favorite cat ever, Marley. Even looks a bit like her. She's just sweet, and friendly, and not obnoxious about it like some cats can be. And she likes having her back scratched .

The manx took a bit to start putting weight on, so I gave him a couple feedings of evaporated milk and egg yolk, and that seemed to give him the boost he needed. They're all very good eaters now. Mackenzie has shown no interest in canned food, even at 5 weeks old, but just a bit ago, I looked over and she's chowing down on the dry kitten food mama cat was eating. So apparently just doesn't like canned.

SArthur is right, its hight time for the 6 weeks to begin and explore the room and even the flat. Having their adventures, even taking some risks, as is a part of life. Do kittensafe as well you can, but they must out and explore... We do want to contain these 3, even 4-5 weeks, but at latest aat 6 weeks they shall have to wander and experiment...

Happy to hear everything is OK!

Getting 3 little orphans tomorrow

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