My cat just had kittens...IN MY BED! Can I move them?

catwoman707

catwoman707

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Dec 16, 2011
Messages
7,689
Purraise
2,263
Location
Vallejo, CA
Sounds to me likely is mild herpesvirus symptoms.

They should be given amoxicillin/clavamox liquid very soon before it takes hold and they will take so much longer to get them well.

Sometimes this virus will only show as affecting the eyes, which can be easily fixed with terramycin. You will find a blue and white tube and a yellow and white tube.

The yellow is stronger and costs about $15.00 for a tiny tube.

The blue is not as strong but will be sufficient for these kids, as their eyes aren't bad but can get worse if untreated.

Do NOT allow the eye to seal shut, ever. Warm damp cloth held on it until it has a chance to soften and open, never pry open. Then apply the terramycin.

Also a tip, squeeze the med on to your wrist then re-capped asap.

This is for 2 very good reasons, one is applying it on to their eye contaminates the tube, which means passing from one to the next and some might not have it as much as others, but they all will if it's contaminated.

Second reason is because this tiny tube, well once you start to squeeze the med out it continues to come out like a long string and lots will get wasted that way!

They are so stinkin cute btw!! Jeez.....
 
StefanZ

StefanZ

Advisor
Staff Member
Advisor
Joined
Sep 18, 2005
Messages
26,074
Purraise
10,777
Location
Sweden
StefanZ said:
 
Minor differences wont matter that much, as its no exact science smearing on a paste. But you dont want big differences of 10x or more.
Click to expand...
KawaiiKitty said:
 
A blizzard hit us hard where I am. Trash hasn't even been collected this week. I'm in a small town and our vet is local, and the office is closed due to the weather. Their automated message has a number for the nearest emergency vet clinic, in the case of emergencies, but I don't think I'd be able to get to them as they are about an hour away. Today is warmer and some of the snow is melting off the roads, so I'm thinking my vet will probably be open tomorrow. What can I do in the meantime? And what are your thoughts on the eye situation, as far as if you had to guess what is going on. I know you're not a vet, but any suggestions or ideas would be very helpful right now. As I said, he is still eating and walking around and going to the bathroom when stimulated like all of the others. 
Click to expand...
 
Sarthur2

Sarthur2

Cat lady extraordinaire
Staff Member
Advisor
Joined
Mar 8, 2015
Messages
36,063
Purraise
17,824
Location
Sunny Florida
It's good to hear that his eye recovered and it wasn't more serious. You did a good job! Thank you for the update. [emoji]128522[/emoji]
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #45
kawaiikitty

kawaiikitty

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Jan 11, 2016
Messages
28
Purraise
6
Location
USA
Hi everyone! I just want to update on the kittens :)

All 8 of them are now 4 weeks old and have grown a ton! They're all wrestling, pouncing, playing, and doing great. One of them had a slight issue with a watery eye that was getting stuck shut, but with regular warm water soaks it has cleared itself up. We just moved them out of their large box and into a larger sectioned off area in the living room, so that they have room to run and play. We gave them their first bit of kitty slop, mixed kitten wet food with kitten formula. All but 3 were very eager and happy to lap some up! We also put a litter box with litter made from paper in their new area, so that they can get acquainted with it.

Here are some updated pictures of the babies!

12669153_1560362714255391_600658261_o.jpg

12669153_1560362714255391_600658261_o.jpg


12695481_1560362724255390_1651857510_o.jpg

12695481_1560362724255390_1651857510_o.jpg


12696605_1560362737588722_1507513011_o.jpg

12696605_1560362737588722_1507513011_o.jpg


12698852_1560362747588721_896310050_o.jpg

12698852_1560362747588721_896310050_o.jpg


12699035_1560362730922056_1865751283_o.jpg

12699035_1560362730922056_1865751283_o.jpg

 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #47
kawaiikitty

kawaiikitty

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Jan 11, 2016
Messages
28
Purraise
6
Location
USA
talkingpeanut said:
They are SO cute. How is mom?
Click to expand...
Thanks! I want to keep them all lol. Of course we won't, but they're so cute it makes me want all of them.

Mom is doing great. She never actually stayed in the box with them, even when they were newborn. She would feed them and then get out and do her thing and then lay near the box until she fed them/cleaned them again. She has been taking great care of them, though. She's actually still letting them nurse like every 2 hours, even though I read they don't need to so often at this point. I figure I will just provide them with some kitten slop and let mom do her thing at the pace that she wants. Mom was a stray, so she's kind of crazy about food. She sprints to the kitchen any time one of us walks in there. She digs in trash, won't leave you alone if you're eating, and when we gave the kittens their first bit of food...she jumped in and was trying to take it. We actually had to place her in a different room! She has plenty of food. She has unlimited access to dry kitten food and also we give her two cans a day. I'm hoping that once she's done nursing and has been with us for awhile that her instincts to behave so crazy about food will die down, but since she was a stray for around 2 years I'm not sure it will. She's very affectionate and a great cat, though! Just a piggy lol.

BTW, how often and how much should we be giving them the kitten food/formula mixture at 4 weeks? Once or twice a day? I just put some on a spoon and let each of them have a bit for their first time, but I'm not sure what to do as we go about feeding them daily (along with still nursing of course)
 
Sarthur2

Sarthur2

Cat lady extraordinaire
Staff Member
Advisor
Joined
Mar 8, 2015
Messages
36,063
Purraise
17,824
Location
Sunny Florida
They are adorable! [emoji]128149[/emoji]

Don't be surprised when they figure out how to get over that barrier soon! Put the kitten mush on a paper plate and offer it 4 times a day. In the next couple of weeks they will learn to eat like champs - all of them. You'll want to put kitten chow down for them to access 24/7 starting now. Once they eat better and are a bit bigger, you can gradually transition the mush to full wet food.

Strays are often overly-interested in food. I've had strays that continued the behavior all their lives, and others who settled down. Do you plan to have mom spayed eventually?

The kittens will nurse mom for several more weeks, or as long as she'll let them.
 
Last edited:
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #49
kawaiikitty

kawaiikitty

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Jan 11, 2016
Messages
28
Purraise
6
Location
USA
sarthur2 said:
They are adorable! [emoji]128149[/emoji]

Don't be surprised when they figure out how to get over that barrier soon! Put the kitten mush on a paper plate and offer it 4 times a day. In the next couple of weeks they will learn to eat like champs - all of them. You'll want to put kitten chow down for them to access 24/7 starting now. Once they eat better and are a bit bigger, you can gradually transition the mush to full wet food.

Strays are often overly-interested in food. I've had strays that continued the behavior all their lives, and others who settled down. Do you plan to have mom spayed eventually?

The kittens will nurse mom for several more weeks, or as long as she'll let them.
Click to expand...
Ok thanks I wasn't sure how often to offer the kitten mush. As far as kitten chow, is it okay to already have a bowl of it in there with them? I was worried they might choke and thought food should all be mixed with formula at first, then mixed with less until not mixed at all? 

Also, we have paper pellet type litter that we're using so it's safe in case they eat some of it. But mom doesn't seem to realize it's a litter box and tried to nurse them in it lol. Is it okay to use normal clay litter as long as it isn't clumping litter? That way mom will realize it's litter. None of the kittens have used it yet, but one of them did stop, squat and pee on the blanket in there yesterday, so I think they're close to being able to go in a box.

Mom will be spayed as soon as the kittens are weaned. We were going to spay her when we took her in, but it turned out she was already pregnant. 
 
Sarthur2

Sarthur2

Cat lady extraordinaire
Staff Member
Advisor
Joined
Mar 8, 2015
Messages
36,063
Purraise
17,824
Location
Sunny Florida
You'll need to put the kittens in the litter pan and take a little paw and show them how to "dig". They learn quickly and will copy each other. If they poop outside the pan, put the poop in the pan so they can smell it. I think switching to non-clumping litter for now is a good idea. Put the kittens in the pan several times a day, especially after meals and naps.

Kitten chow is tiny pieces, especially Royal Canin Baby Cat, so they can crunch it easily. You can start it now. You can also pour formula over it and let it soften if you want. Kittens like that too, but once they get their baby teeth they are capable of crunching.

It sounds like they are all doing great!

PS: Are the kittens able to easily climb in and out of that litter box in the picture?
 
Last edited:
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #51
kawaiikitty

kawaiikitty

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Jan 11, 2016
Messages
28
Purraise
6
Location
USA
sarthur2 said:
You'll need to put the kittens in the litter pan and take a little paw and show them how to "dig". They learn quickly and will copy each other. If they poop outside the pan, put the poop in the pan so they can smell it. I think switching to non-clumping litter for now is a good idea. Put the kittens in the pan several times a day, especially after meals and naps.

Kitten chow is tiny pieces, especially Royal Canin Baby Cat, so they can crunch it easily. You can start it now. You can also pour formula over it and let it soften if you want. Kittens like that too, but once they get their baby teeth they are capable of crunching.

It sounds like they are all doing great!

PS: Are the kittens able to easily climb in and out of that litter box in the picture?
Click to expand...
Ok thanks! I put some dry kitten food in there now and they all went up to check it out but aren't interested yet  
 

They can get in and out of the litter box, it's only about 3 inches high. They can't just step in, but they can climb over the edge just fine. So far they've just been going in and playing in it, none have gotten in and went on their own. One squatted and was about to pee a few minutes ago and I stuck him in the box so he went in there. Then I helped him dig his paws afterwards. 
 
Last edited:
rubysmama

rubysmama

Forum Helper
Staff Member
Forum Helper
Joined
Nov 25, 2013
Messages
25,387
Purraise
63,186
Location
Canada
The kittens are adorable! I love that picture of all 8 of them.  I actually counted, and everyone is in attendance! 


Hopefully once Mama weans the babies and her body isn't in need of so much food, she'll get over her food-obsession.   My cat, Ruby, was a stray before she was taken to the shelter and when I adopted her she was food-obsessed.  Always looking for food and ate every speck in her dish at one sitting.  It took over a year, but eventually she started leaving food in her dish for later.  The first time she did it, I thought either she was sick or there was something wrong with the food.  But it continued, and now she grazes all day long.  Hopefully your Mama kitty will eventually be the same.

Looking forward to more kitten updates and pictures...
 
Norachan

Norachan

Moderator
Staff Member
Moderator
Joined
May 27, 2013
Messages
32,819
Purraise
33,048
Location
Mount Fuji, Japan
Beautiful pictures! What a clever Mother Cat to raise so many kittens at once. I think I'd be tempted to keep them all too.

Looking forward to more pictures and updates. 

 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #57
kawaiikitty

kawaiikitty

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Jan 11, 2016
Messages
28
Purraise
6
Location
USA
Sarthur2

Sarthur2

Cat lady extraordinaire
Staff Member
Advisor
Joined
Mar 8, 2015
Messages
36,063
Purraise
17,824
Location
Sunny Florida
They are all just precious, and the blue eyes show up so well in these pictures! [emoji]128525[/emoji]

You might consider confining them to a bedroom for a few weeks, rather than fighting this battle in the living room and other parts of the house. I used my bedroom, kitten-proofed it, and put toys in there. They were allowed to climb my bed and explore everywhere. Their litter box was in there, along with their food and water in the adjourning bathroom. Made life a lot easier until they got bigger! [emoji]128522[/emoji]
 
Norachan

Norachan

Moderator
Staff Member
Moderator
Joined
May 27, 2013
Messages
32,819
Purraise
33,048
Location
Mount Fuji, Japan
They're lovely,  especially that little torbie in photo 3. Do you have names for them yet?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top