Fostering very stressed, very pregnant cat

Yes, try to weigh at the same time each day.

Beautiful babies!  It will be fun to watch them grow.  Congratulations to you and Panda!  So glad your rescue saved them.

I am especially taken with the names "Goat" and "Gronk."  "Sea Bass" tickles my fancy, as well,  I am so looking forward to watching this litter grow up!  I'm thinking that Tuukka is your little calico, no?  You know  how I am about those tri-colored kittehs!!!  (Hekitty says that's just as well)

Mamanyt1953 said:

I am especially taken with the names "Goat" and "Gronk."  "Sea Bass" tickles my fancy, as well,  I am so looking forward to watching this litter grow up!  I'm thinking that Tuukka is your little calico, no?  You know  how I am about those tri-colored kittehs!!!  (Hekitty says that's just as well)

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Thank you! Are you from New England as well? GOAT, Gronk and Tuukka are my favorite names as well. My teenage boys did all the naming - GOAT is for our Tom Brady (Greatest Of All Time). Sea-bass is for Sebastian Vallmor. I had to strongly discourage them from naming one "Deflategate". And if there had been more I think we would have had a "Bird" and "Varitek" as well.

Tuukka is the calico girl, but again, they don't care - as my Cole says, "The best hockey player on my team is a girl so it's OK if a girl cat is named Tuukka." And I strongly suspect that Gronk is a girl as well.

I will post more pictures as they grow. It is going to be so hard to see them leave, there has been so much interest in them already.

SO this morning I am approaching panic mode. Went up to check on Panda and the Kittens this morning and she was in her nest, but not a kitten in site - and the room was dead quiet. Got my husband and boys and we ripped the mattress and box spring off the bed - fearing we were going to find 7 dead kittens. Thankfully they were all in a pile and all alive. Panda and kittens are now confined to a large dog crate that we moved her nest into.

She took them back and started purring and nursing them, so that was a relief.

When I weighed them 3 are the same weight as yesterday - 4 have lost weight - between 1 and 6g! I have the KRM and syringes - but how much do I give each kitten every 2 hours? Or more than every 2 hours? Some of them are easy to get it into - some are almost impossible. And to make matters worse, if I take a kitten out to feed it - even sitting right next to the crate, Panda jumps out of her nest meowing at me until I put it back so the other kittens are loosing nursing time.

BB - the biggest at 106g is also "bullying" the other kittens off a nipple - AND cries the loudest when I take him out of the nest trying to give the others time with mama. He is relentless about feeding - even wanting to sleep attached but not actively sucking (one of my sons did that too).

Any advice would be helpful......Thankn you

Ok, now she keeps taking one out and putting it in the litter tray - a different one each time. Is she trying to move them all again and we are just catching her?

At this age, it's 1-2 ml every 2 hours. I do agree that you should start now. Let us know how it goes. Do you know how to feed a kitten? We can give instructions if at all needed.

You might need to take each kitten out of the room to feed it, so mom is not distracted. It also sounds like mom wants her kittens where she wants them.

Can you get a large box or bin, cut a hole in one end for a cat door, and cover the top with a blanket or towel? That might be the privacy mom wants, yet you can still get to the kittens.

Also, kittens are newborn. It can take a day or two for mom's full milk to come in. Do supplement in the meantime though - they need it!

Mfair said:

Thank you! Are you from New England as well? GOAT, Gronk and Tuukka are my favorite names as well. My teenage boys did all the naming - GOAT is for our Tom Brady (Greatest Of All Time). Sea-bass is for Sebastian Vallmor. I had to strongly discourage them from naming one "Deflategate". And if there had been more I think we would have had a "Bird" and "Varitek" as well.

Tuukka is the calico girl, but again, they don't care - as my Cole says, "The best hockey player on my team is a girl so it's OK if a girl cat is named Tuukka." And I strongly suspect that Gronk is a girl as well.

I will post more pictures as they grow. It is going to be so hard to see them leave, there has been so much interest in them already.

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,Not from New England...I just love the names.

Going back and looking carefully, I'm not entirely sure you don't have a second, dilute calico, gray and creamy tan rather than black and orange...I'm looking at the top litter photo, where I swear the top kitten has an creamy tan tail and gray spots...Is that B.B.?  Asking because the names/pics list, B.B. almost looks like there may be some of that creamy tan on the face...if so, you'll have to call her "Billie."

And now I've gone back and read the rest of the thread, and had to do a little editing...yes, suppliment.  These kittens should not be losing weight, and seven is a lot for a mama to handle.  talkingpeanut and sarther2 can talk you through this better than I.  There are articles on the site about how much and how often to feed.  They're good, and then we can just fill in the blanks, although, with mama on hand and VERY willing to take care of them, a lot of the pressure is off of you.  At least you don't have to worry about cleaning and elimination assistance!  Good luck, Darlin!

talkingpeanut said:

At this age, it's 1-2 ml every 2 hours. I do agree that you should start now. Let us know how it goes. Do you know how to feed a kitten? We can give instructions if at all needed.

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I've been reading about it on other threads and articles. Most important to keep them belly down and head up and put syringe into corner of mouth, right?

Mamanyt1953 said:

,Not from New England...I just love the names.

Going back and looking carefully, I'm not entirely sure you don't have a second, dilute calico, gray and creamy tan rather than black and orange...I'm looking at the top litter photo, where I swear the top kitten has an creamy tan tail and gray spots...Is that B.B.?  Asking because the names/pics list, B.B. almost looks like there may be some of that creamy tan on the face...if so, you'll have to call her "Billie."

And now I've gone back and read the rest of the thread, and had to do a little editing...yes, suppliment.  These kittens should not be losing weight, and seven is a lot for a mama to handle.  talkingpeanut and sarther2 can talk you through this better than I.  There are articles on the site about how much and how often to feed.  They're good, and then we can just fill in the blanks, although, with mama on hand and VERY willing to take care of them, a lot of the pressure is off of you.  At least you don't have to worry about cleaning and elimination assistance!  Good luck, Darlin!

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I was wondering about B.B - there is even some orange in him/her - although when I tried to sex them s/he looks VERY different from Tuukka. I will try again when they are a little older, but my inexperienced eye thought that Tuukka, Gronk and Mookie were girls and the rest were boys. Of course, aside from Tuukka I could be 100% wrong.

I just HAD to share this picture. We are falling in love with GOAT and his feisty personality. He will most likely end up with point coloring, right?

Mfair said:

I've been reading about it on other threads and articles. Most important to keep them belly down and head up and put syringe into corner of mouth, right?

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Correct. Kitten and milk must be warm in order to digest. One drop at a time into the cheek, and then let them swallow.

Goat may very well turn up with points.  He's looking that way as of now.  You'll know in a very few weeks.   Still thinking about B.B.  Post another good body shot when you can, please?

Here are a few that show B.B.'s body with the little bits of red.....

You can put a bit of olive oil on mom's nipples if they look chapped.

The babies are adorable. How did the supplementing go?

talkingpeanut said:

You can put a bit of olive oil on mom's nipples if they look chapped.

The babies are adorable. How did the supplementing go?

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Thanks talkingpenut - I'll do that. Supplementing seemed to go well - some of the kittens were way more cooperative than others and almost seemed willing to suckle on the syringe.

We did have more drama with this Houdini cat.....after finding them under the bed this morning and getting them all back in their walk in closet I stacked 2 tall baby gates on top of each other in the doorway to keep them inside. 2 hours later she and the kittens were under the bed again! We ended up taking the bed apart and removing it from the room all together (no guests for us until the kittens are gone).

When I picked her up to bring her back she was very mad and hissing and swiping at me and then I noticed blood and large blood clots on the floor and on my hand. She was discharging blood and clots - back in the closet she was licking herself (almost like right before labor) and seemed uncomfortable, then it seemed to stop and she went back to her purring, happy self. At first I thought she was having another kitten because she was nasty during the delivery of each one and fine in between. I called the rescue and the vet and told them what was happening - I saw all 7 placentas so I know it wasn't one of those and she doesn't have a fever. The vet said his best guess was she was delivering tissue from a kitten that didn't form and to watch her and bring her in if she started up again. It's been several hours and she seems fine and happy. But so much drama for this little family.......

As for BB hanging onto his/her favorite nipple, that's what kittens do, they claim certain nipples as THEIRS.  The strongest ones take the lowest nipples, which produce the most milk, and they will fight to keep them, pushing other kittens off them.  BB does look like a dilute calico.  Are you sure BB is a boy?  Color says girl; male calico would be very rare, not impossible but very rare.

[quote name="Red Top Rescue" url="/t/318469/fostering-very-stressed-very-pregnant-cat"
BB does look like a dilute calico.  Are you sure BB is a boy?  Color says girl; male calico would be very rare, not impossible but very rare.
[/quote]

Not at all sure - was a guess. Here is a picture. Not very clear but s/he was not happy and neither was Panda with my taking her/him

Pure love

What adorable babies. What part of NH you in? I commend you for taking this baby and fostering. I have wanted to do this too but I am not home enough to give time to the kittens if they were not eating.

I'm near Portsmouth.I love the coloring of those babies. They are adorable.

How is momma doing?