2 Weeks and counting till the babies arrive :-)

I have a pregnant queen called willow who is I think 7 weeks pregnant today, I have read a few articles on what to expect and how if she needs help how I can help her, I want to be as fully prepared as I can so now I'm at the stage where I'm thinking about the babies and what if they are not feeding properly, can I get some advise on hand feeding the kittens, i.e. What I will need to do this, the kind of milk they should be having and so on, I'm in the UK any advise appreciated:-)

There are some differences between hand rearing kittens and supplementing them  The biggest being orphans will take a bottle and nursing kittens will not.  You will need to get some small needleless syringes , 1 - 2 ml.  Good KMR brands are GNC, Royal Canin and Pet Ag.  Get the powdered form, some times the liquid can cause diarrhea.  You can also useful fat  goat's milk.  Unflavored pedialyte is also useful to have on hand.  You can find some in the baby aisle w/baby food.  A small scale (like a kitchen scale) that weighs grams or 1/10 ounces is essential. 

Are you feeding mom kitten food, wet and dry?  It has more nutrients and is good for mom and kittens.  Pregnant and nursing moms eat a lot, let her have as much food as she wants.
[article="0"]Hand Rearing Kittens  [/article]
Keep using this thread for any questions or help you may need.

Pictures are always appreciated.

Hi Handsome,

Thanks for the advise, I will get this stuff in just incase.

When she didn't come back into season I started feeding her kitten wet and dry food aswell as her normal dry food, she is definitely eating more than she ever did! I actually felt some movement in her tummy last night for the first time :-)

Congratulations on the expected happy event!

The queen should be fed kitten food, as much as she wants. Because there isn’t much room left inside her, she will need to eat smaller and more frequent meals. Of course, fresh, clean water should always be available.

Leave food and water available for the mother at all times after the kittens are born. Continue to feed a kitten food to the mother until her kittens are weaned.

When you suspect that she has gone into labor, keep the house as calm and quiet as possible and do not get involved in the birthing process.

Newborn kittens are fragile and should not be picked up by every cooing person that comes along, not to mention that the "queen mum" may become violently protective if anyone does try to do this too soon.

Thanks Bobkater,

Food and water is on hand for her, upstairs and downstairs.

When she finally finds her birthing place I'm going to put a lock on the door to keep the kids and other pets out, I won't get involved unless she is in trouble.

Hi all,

Willow had 2 kittens yesterday morning :-)

Looking for some advise 1 weighed 95g and 2 96g when they were born, is this a good weight? I have weighed them again today and 1 was 112g and 2 was 114g is this weight increase ok? Roughly how much should they be gaining each day?

Many thanks

Very cute kittens.  Yes those are good birth weighs and gains.  You want to see a minimum of 10 grams a day and as they get bigger you want the gains to increase as well.

The kittens cannot retract their claws.  When they begin moving around a little use and old blanket, fleece or old t-shirt so they don't get stuck.

Thanks Handsome :-)

Yes I noticed today they were getting caught on the woolly blanket so I changed for a towel at the bottom and a couple of fleeces:-) I will be changing the blankets everyday is that enough or should I change a few times a day?

Every other day at the most.  Mom wants her scent on the blankets.  You can just change them when they get messy.  The kittens claws can get stuck in the loops on the terry cloth, so towels are not the best idea.

So cute!

Do you plan to have mom spayed when this litter is weaned?

Aww didn't think about that on the towel, it is under 2 double layered fleece's I will take it out in the morning

Mom is definitely getting spayed when they are weaned :-)

You can leave the towel if it's under something.