Mommy cat not cleaning newborn's feces off fur

No, the more weight gain the bettter! And I'm glad the little one is doing some catching up. [emoji]128522[/emoji]

She's by no means near the same weight as the others, yet, but, yeah, I'm glad to see she... I don't know if it's a he or she, but for some reason, I get this feeling it's a she... anyway I'm glad she's gaining.  The others gained 14 - 18 grams each. One of the smaller ones actually caught up to the biggest one in spite of the fact that the biggest tended to plant himself on a tit and spread his front legs out as if to say, "No one come near me, it's MINE!"  

BTW, Thank you both so much for answering my questions and help solving the cleaning problem.

My cat had four kittens.  They all seem to be doing well, gaining at least 8 grams or usually more every day.  One of them, however, only gained 2 grams yesterday... haven't gotten around to weigh today yet, as I usually do it at 9PM, but it doesn't nurse as much as the others.  Also, the same kitten seems to not be opening her eyes like the others, and we noticed crust around the corners.  I've been using a paper towel moistened with warm water to get the crust off its eyes.  Is there something else I should use?  I'm not sure cat wipes would be good to use around the eyes.

The kitten sounds like it might have an infection. Can you bring it to a vet?

Well, I just weighed the kitten, and it has gained 12 grams.  The crust is clear-colored.  Not sure we can afford a vet.

There are experts in here who can help you far more than I ever could on the health and weaning of cats (sarthur2 has gotten me through my first ever batch of foster babies and Mom :-) ).

However, as far as neutering goes I do have some knowledge. I volunteer at a low cost spay and neuter clinic and in the less than four years we have been open we have prevented literally thousands of unwanted babies. Neutering him will not make him fat, lazy or unable to defend himself. It will however prevent fights, as someone else said he won't have testosterone that the other males can sense and want to fight him. He will not be out roaming around looking for females to mate with that does nothing but contribute to the overpopulation of cats. Trust me, a lot of unwanted kittens lives do not end well and not neutering an outdoor male cat is irresponsible. As for your husband's logic that he wouldn't do anything to a cat he wouldn't do to himself I call shenanigans. Do they not get rabies shots because he doesn't need one? I feel like it's probably a case of not wanting the boy to lose his "manhood" and/or not wanting to pay for the surgery. Check into low cost clinics, some are income based but not all are (ours isn't). You can also see if there is a feral cat program in your area that would neuter your male either free or for a low cost. Be aware that they will probably tip his left ear though (no big deal, one of mine is a former feral and he doesn't care).

Please understand I'm not trying to be harsh, I fight to get people to fix their animals every day so it's kind of my passion.

Thank you for loving your baby and taking such good care of her babies.

My son and I are talking about doing the spuetering (that's a term someone at the hospital where I volunteer came up with for spay/neuter) behind my hubby's back.

I would continue to clean the kitten's eyelids with a warm damp cloth so that when they are ready to open, they can. A kitten who is a little smaller may open its eyes later than its litter mates, but it should not be a problem.

If you do see green or yellow gunk on any of the kittens' eyes, you'll need a tube of antibiotic ointment - usually terramycin - to treat them.

I like your idea of "speutering" at the clinic! [emoji]128077[/emoji]

Thank you both for your answers.  I'll continue using the warm damp cloth a few times a day.
 

Now that the kittens are getting bigger, we are seeing personalities coming out.  We saw the two biggest kittens play fight each other after they were through nursing.  Those two also seem to stray to the other sides of the box and explore more.  We gave them each temporary names from the beginning so that when we ask each other to hand one over to be weighed we'd know which one we're talking about:  Cerebro has a big head and was the first born; Junior was the second born, and looks like it may be the offspring of our other adopted cat; Kahlua was the smallest, but has caught up with the rest... still has yet to open its eyes fully and is the one with the crust; Poncho was the last born and is the smallest now, but is the most consistent at weigh-in times (the others' fluctuate between 8 - 20 grams, but Poncho is always around 8 - 11).

The fluctuating weights is what made the 2 grams Kahlua only gained yesterday confusing, as the day before it gained a whopping 23 grams.

Yay for the weight gain! I have struggled with that the most for my three. Good for y for considering spaying and neutering. there is really no good reason not too. it's so much healthier for them.

So, can someone help me find a low or no cost clinic where I can take my cats to be neutered?

Where are you located?

Kettering, Ohio.

Is it normal for kittens to slow down weight gain after the second week?  Two of the kittens only gained 3 - 6 grams the past two days.  They are 16 days old.

They need to gain 6-10 grams per day apiece. An occasional off day is okay, but that's not enough weight gain for two days.

Do they nurse frequently? How much do they weigh today? They may need supplementing.

It should not slow down like that. You should start supplementing. Anything under 6g a day is cause for concern, especially if it's more than one day.

Here is a link for spaying/neutering in your area. At the bottom there is a list of several other places if you do not qualify for this one.

http://www.sicsa.org/spayneuter-center

newkitties said:

 
It should not slow down like that. You should start supplementing. Anything under 6g a day is cause for concern, especially if it's more than one day.

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I just looked at the numbers again, and my math was off.  It's only been one night for them being less than 6 grams.  I'll go get some supplemental food for them just in case.  Are there any brands that are better than others?

sarthur2 said:

They need to gain 6-10 grams per day apiece. An occasional off day is okay, but that's not enough weight gain for two days.

Do they nurse frequently? How much do they weigh today? They may need supplementing.

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newkitties said:

 
It should not slow down like that. You should start supplementing. Anything under 6g a day is cause for concern, especially if it's more than one day.

Click to expand...

sarthur2 said:

Here is a link for spaying/neutering in your area. At the bottom there is a list of several other places if you do not qualify for this one.

http://www.sicsa.org/spayneuter-center

Click to expand...

Thank you so much for the link

petAG powdered formula is good, there are other brands that are good too, I use nutrivet, royal canine is nice. It's good to keep on hand, and mama should drink a bowl of it a day to keep her calcium up and help her produce good milk

I notice on the days they gain over 20 grams, they will gain less than 6 grams the next day.  Is this normal?  For instance, Kahlua gained 23 grams yesterday, and today only gained 3 grams.

Cerebro weighs 300 g.; Kahlua weighs 317 g.; Junior weighs 327 g.; and Poncho weighs 293 g.  Poncho, who weighs the least is the one that fluctuates the least... regularly gains 8 - 12 grams... sometimes as much as 15, but rarely.  As I said earlier, they are 16 days old, having been born on May 5th.

They are fine then - all in the appropriate range for their age, though having powdered formula on hand is a good idea.