Is variance in growth rates common in kittens?

Hi,

I was fostering a stray cat while I was trying to find her a home, but I realized she was pregnant. I first noticed her when she was six months old and she kept coming around my house until I was finally able to lure her inside. She stays in the living room and is baby gated away from the rest of the house and has started to warm up to human activity. She can be very skittish and by the time I could finally determine she was pregnant, she gave birth the next day. I have fostered a semi-feral cat and her two newborn kittens a few years ago and managed to find homes for everyone. I didn't notice any problems with that litter, but Peaches had a larger litter.

She is a tiny cat, only a year old, and this is her first litter, but she managed to have four healthy little kittens. I plan on keeping the family together until 8 weeks and I have a home in line for two of them. They are 19 days old and starting to crawl. All eyes are open and everyone is healthy, but I've noticed two kittens are bigger than the others. Is it normal to have different growth rates in kittens of the same litter? The father is most likely a Russian Blue or a long-haired, large cat since they are the only other cats that ever patrol near my neighborhood. Is it possible that the paternal size affects half of the kittens even though they are so young? Or is it more likely that Peaches's smaller size affects her milk production or that the bigger kittens are nursing more often? If this is the case then should I try to add bottle feeding to the smaller kitten's diet or just see what happens as they grow?

I keep clean water and dry kitten food (for extra nutrients instead of adult food) down for Peach at all times and give her half a can of kitten food once a day. She nurses the kittens often and has been a great mom when it comes to keeping the healthy, but I am worried about the weight difference in the kittens. The size difference isn't too drastic, but it has become increasingly noticeable as the kittens are beginning to crawl.

Have you been weighing the kittens?  It could be that the two bigger kittens are getting more food. I think males are usually larger but I don't know if that would show this early.

Kittens can have different fathers, which can impact size as they grow up. It sounds like you are worried about the two smaller kittens for good reason. They may well need supplementing. With mom being so young, it may be that they are not getting enough milk if she is not producing enough. If you have concerns you need to begin weighing the two small kittens every day at the same time. They should gain 6-10 grams daily minimum - more is better. If they are not gaining and growing, supplementing with KMR is ideal.

Can you post pictures of the kittens and mom for us to see the sizes? Also, please post weights for the kittens as well so we can help determine what is going on. I can advise how much to supplement if I know weights and daily weight gain.

Additionally, mom should be getting more than 1/2 can of wet food per day. While nursing, she needs as much as she wants. I suggest 2 cans/day given twice a day, or 4x/day if she needs smaller meals more frequently.

To be more accurate on what I'm feeding her, mom gets three oz of wet food per day and has dry food down at all times for her to eat. She has only been fed dry food up until this point in her life, as far as I know. However I'm willing to increase her wet intake if it will help her milk production.

She has also been very skittish about humans interacting with her kittens for the first two weeks, so these past few days have been the first that she has allowed me to touch, play, and socialize with them. Today will be the first day that I will be able to weigh the little ones and I will post that info down below once I get through it. For now, though, I did take a few pictures.

If I do have to start bottle feeding the small ones, is there a brand or something I should look for? Powered or canned? I haven't bottle fed a cat since my very first one in 2004 so I really don't know what is best.


One of the smaller kittens with its bigger sibling

The three black kittens. The one on the right, Havana, is larger than her sisters, London and Paris.

Mom with all three black girl kittens and the biggest one, a gray boy named Dublin. She tends to only fed two or three at a time and due to this Dublin and Havana are becoming noticeably larger. While little Paris is pushed to wait. London has begun fighting for a spot, but Paris is more interested in playing and sleeping so she often misses feeding time.

I recommend the powdered kitten formulas over pre-mixed. PetAg, GNC, and Royal Canin are excellent. Stay away from Hartz and Sergeants. They will not take a bottle since they have mom, so you would be supplementing with a small 1-2 mL syringe.

It's not good if Paris is missing feeding. Mom should have milk in four nipples, with the bottom two being the most productive in all cats. It's recommended to rotate the kittens if necessary so they all get enough. This would mean putting the two smaller ones to mom and removing the larger ones, or while the larger ones are sleeping. They all need equal nipple time. It is not unusual to have a runt, however. I'll wait to see weights when you post them. And yes, offer mom more wet food. She needs the nutrition to produce good milk.

          A quick answer. differnet rates of growing common, but you must be sure everybode grows. The only way is to weigh them daily.

A bigger one may grow 10+ g - even  up to 30.

The smallest one will perhaps grow a more modest 6+.   but they must gain daily them too.  Otherwise, red flag and intensive supplementing is immediately necessary.

It was a little tricky getting readings because the little ones kept squirming, but this is what I have so far.

Dublin: 12.7 ounces

Havana: 11.5 ounces

London:11.1 ounces

Paris: 10.5 ounces

Paris is still quite small compared to her siblings, but is she at a healthy weight for her age (three weeks as of tomorrow)? Or should I still try giving her supplemental milk to help her catch up? If these numbers don't seem right then I can reweigh them later. I was going to double check my results, but mom started nursing the little one so I let them be. What is the proper method for weighing kittens? I have a flat digital scale which allows the kittens to attempt escape as I wait for their number to appear.

The weights are okay! Kittens should weigh about 16 ounces, which is one pound, at 4 weeks. They should gain about a pound a month each month until they are 6 months old. Your kittens are all in a healthy range. I would just make sure that Paris gets nipple time. I do not think you need to supplement right now. You'll be able to begin offering them mushy wet food at 4 weeks, though they will still nurse mom for a few more weeks. Most kittens wean to solids and kitten chow by 6 weeks. Some take a little longer. You can weigh a bowl on the scale, then put the kittens in the bowl to hold them, then subtract the weight of the bowl if that helps. [emoji]128522[/emoji]

EvaW said:

 
It was a little tricky getting readings because the little ones kept squirming, but this is what I have so far.

Dublin: 12.7 ounces

Havana: 11.5 ounces

London:11.1 ounces

Paris: 10.5 ounces

Paris is still quite small compared to her siblings, but is she at a healthy weight for her age (three weeks as of tomorrow)? Or should I still try giving her supplemental milk to help her catch up? If these numbers don't seem right then I can reweigh them later. I was going to double check my results, but mom started nursing the little one so I let them be. What is the proper method for weighing kittens? I have a flat digital scale which allows the kittens to attempt escape as I wait for their number to appear.

Click to expand...

It may be easier to weigh them in a container of some sort,  a plastic box or a deep plate...  Weight that plate beforehand so you know what to reduce with.  It helps if its warm and nice, so they wont protest.  Have a handkierchief on perhaps too...

10 ounces on 3 weeks is decent.  If she had say 100g at delivery,  makes about 10g raise a day.  Which is good - exaclty normal.  But be sure she gains every day,  Some ONE day with lesser gain is OK, but not longer.

Thank you everyone. I will keep an eye on Paris and make sure she is gaining the appropriate amount each day.

Keep us posted! [emoji]128522[/emoji]

Today was day two of kitten weigh-in. I put a bowl on the scale to contain the kittens and subtracted that weight from theirs, but the numbers are strange to me. Yesterday's number's may not have been as accurate because I didn't have a way to contain the bigger kittens; Dublin and Havana's from yesterday were probably off because I couldn't keep every body part on the scale at the same time. Today marks week three.

Dublin: 15.4 ounces

Havana: 14.8 ounces

London: 12.7 ounces

Paris: 10.9- 11.1 ounces (she kept moving and it couldn't settle on a number)

Paris has grown 0.4 ounces since yesterday and London is really catching up, but Dublin's weight seems so high compared to his siblings. Is it normal to have that big o a weight difference? Is it possible he is growing too fast?

It is hard to weigh those little squirmy creatures! I have sometimes resorted to putting each one in a plastic bag to weigh them.

A kitten can't grow too fast. Some do grow faster than others but it is more important to keep an eye on any that do not seem to be gaining properly.

Weights are fine. Is Paris getting ample nipple time?

I have been trying to ensure that Paris gets enough nursing time, but when I put her down with mom she walks up and down the belly as if she is trying to find a nipple and then ends up at her mom's back and starts crying.

I normally weigh the kittens around 5:30pm, right after I get off work,but I have been worried about Paris so I weighed her this morning as well. She hasn't put on weight since the 10.9 ounces and London has hit a stall at 12.7 ounces as well. I know I should wait until my regular time to get an accurate reading, but this will mark the second day that Paris has not grown. Not only that, but her number went back down to 10.4 ounces. I know that's not a good sign and I'm ready to start bottle/syringe feeding her tonight if she hasn't gained.

How often should I feed her? How much should I feed her? Should I try feeding London as well? London nurses when she is alone with mom, but jumps from nipple to nipple. I am not so much worried about her as I am Paris, but I want to make sure she keeps growing as well.

Paris needs 8ml of food per ounce of her body weight every 24 hours.  So rounding up she needs 88ml of KMR every 24 hours.   divide 88 by then number of feedings a day.  If you are feeding every 4 hours, or 6 feedings give her 15ml at a time.  She may not eat or want all that at one time.  She is not going to take a bottle so your are going to have to syringe feed her.   You can also try offing her some in a shallow dish and see if she will lap it up.  I rounded up as I went and this doesn't take into account the amount she is getting from mom. 

Have you tried helping her find a nipple when she is searching mom's belly?

I have tried helping her find the nipple, but mom usually gets up to eat, drink, or pee before Paris has enough time to fully nurse. Mom also is still skittish so she lets me touch her kittens, but gets nervous if I am too close when she is laying down. Once the kittens are nursing I try to leave them alone. 

I weighed the kittens in at the proper time today and each of them saw some sort of growth except Paris. She is now very noticeably smaller than her siblings at only 10.3 oz. I bought GNC KMR and tried feeding it to her in a syringe, but in two sittings I have only been able to gether to take 6 ml. I have never fed a kitten like this before, so I do not know how I should go about it. I try opening her mouth and squirting some in, but I am afraid she will breathe it in if I do too much. A lot of it ends up around her mouth and she will swallow it, but then starts crying for mom. I want her to nurse from mom, but at this point I'm not sure if Paris is even still nursing. I don't know what to do, but I know I need her to gain weight if I want her to make it.

You need to give her supplemental feedings, every 2-3 hours. Assume she is not nursing from mom at this point. I would not wait any longer or you will lose her.

I assume you are using a dropper or a needleless syringe? With either, you put one drop at a time into her cheek and let her swallow. Then repeat. Feed her stomach down and head slightly up. The math explained by handsome kitty will tell you how much she needs at each feeding.

I have been trying to feed Paris the formula, but she is refusing to take it. Even when I open her mouth and put in a few drops she only swallows it some of the time. A lot of the formula ends up on the floor and her fur. Last night she was breathing really hard and mom put her away from the kitten pile to be by herself. She would fall asleep really easily, won't take food, and her breathing changes from rapid to slow. I didn't think she would make it through the night, but she is still meowing this morning. I just tried feeding her, but she is refusing the syringe and her mouth is so little that I have difficulty opening it enough to get milk in. I put her down with mom and she started nursing, but at this point I know the signs are all pointing in a bad direction. She went down to 10.2 oz. I am calling my vet's office once they open in two hours to see if they can help her, but I don't have high hopes since she is only three weeks old. It is really depressing to see three healthy kittens running around and playing while mom pays little attention to her dwindling runt.

Unfortunately momcats know when a kitten is failing and they start to ignore it or put it outside the nest, as yours is doing. When feeding Paris, hold her under your arm on your lap, rightside up, and get the end of the syringe into her cheek so that it squirts right inside her mouth, then wait and repeat. ~If you point it from the side of the mouth slightly towards the back she will have to swallow and is unlikely to choke. for babies that small. I find a 10mm syringe is best - I don't know what size you are using.

I agree it looks bad, but all is not lost yet.