Mommy cat not cleaning newborn's feces off fur

Can someone tell me by these pictures if they are male or female?  The kittens are 27 days old.  From what I read, a dot below the anus is supposed to indicate male and a slit is supposed to be female, but I somehow don't think it's that easy.

This one is Junior:


This one is Poncho:


This is Cerebro:


Last but not least is Kahlua:

I think it's male, male, female, female.

I agree. Junior and Poncho are male; Cerebro and Kahlua are female.

Thanks.  My husband thought they were all female, but I was thinking that Junior and Poncho were male.  Truthfully, I can't see any difference of their back-ends. LOL

I'm gonna put a vote in for all girls. Of course the first picture is fuzzy and has a washed-out spot right where the boy bits would be, but what I can see looks female. And Poncho is definitely female (tabbies tend to have dark spots that look like tiny testicles, but it's just coloring). At that age boys have about half an inch between their anus and genital opening, and all of those fine young ladies don't have much space in between .

Sometimes I think they have more girls on purpose just to be annoying, because it costs more to have girls spayed :lol3:.

Take pictures again in 2 weeks. It will be even more evident.

I've noticed it (at least for me) is easier to sex kittens by turning them around. It's just a few seconds so no harm done.
I couldn't tell any of mine until I tried this, I saw testes obviously on two kittens, three were obviously slits all the way, and one I was confused about until just a few days ago when his testes started to show up a bit more.

To clarify, pick up kitty with your hand on his/her back, and flip around so it's belly is facing the ceiling. I sucessfully sexed all six, and I've never sexed kittens before I sexed some by the first week, but all of them by 13 days old
Here's a reference pick I took haha

You can see his tiny baby balls haha!


But no harm in trying if you just couldn't wait like me.

We started trying to give the kittens soft food mixed with kms a little watered down, and three of the four eat it.  Today was the second day they took it.  The fourth one only takes it from my finger a couple times, but won't eat from the plate.  Interesting enough, the three who ate the mixture gained 26, 31, and 29 grams, but the one who did not eat it except for licking a little off my finger gained 16 grams.  So, is soft food more fattening, is that why they gained so much more?

It's more dense than mom's milk, and more filling, and digests differently. Kittens do grow faster once they start eating solids. It's solid food, as opposed to liquid milk, and they need it. The little one will begin eating it soon. There's always a laggard who takes to it later. They should still be nursing mom too! Glad they are doing well! [emoji]128522[/emoji]

sarthur2 said:

It's more dense than mom's milk, and more filling, and digests differently. Kittens do grow faster once they start eating solids. It's solid food, as opposed to liquid milk, and they need it. The little one will begin eating it soon. There's always a laggard who takes to it later. They should still be nursing mom too! Glad they are doing well! [emoji]128522[/emoji]

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Yeah, they do still nurse.  The one who hasn't taken to it yet seems to be the one to learn things slower as well... she was the last to be able to climb in and out of the box even though she isn't the smallest.  Another thing I noticed, is right after they finish eating the soft food, they're kind of shaky when walking away from the dish, and shiver for a few seconds.

The shaky, shivering thing after eating is something I've not heard of before. Are they okay after that?

sarthur2 said:

The shaky, shivering thing after eating is something I've not heard of before. Are they okay after that?

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Yeah, it only lasts about 10 or 15 seconds, while they take a few slow steps, then it stops and they go about exploring.

It sounds like maybe they are so engrossed in eating that they need to catch their breath afterwards! [emoji]128522[/emoji]

sarthur2 said:

It sounds like maybe they are so engrossed in eating that they need to catch their breath afterwards! [emoji]128522[/emoji]

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Yeah, that may be the case, because when they're eating, they are very intense, and don't bring their heads up until they're done.

On another note, this past week, Jitterbug has been very rough with the kittens.  She will grab them by the throat or around their mid section and bite.  She won't let go even when they squeal in protest.  So far they seem okay, but will she actually hurt them?

No, she will not hurt them. This commonly begins to happen around the time the kittens wean. Mom is disciplining her children and teaching them to be housecats. She will teach them to use soft paws and not to bite and scratch. Our behavior forum is full of members with kittens who were taken too soon from mom, and the member needs help because the kittens bite, scratch, and claw and do not know better. Although kittens are naturally rambunctious, yours will turn out well-mannered with mom cat's help!

sarthur2 said:

No, she will not hurt them. This commonly begins to happen around the time the kittens wean. Mom is disciplining her children and teaching them to be housecats. She will teach them to use soft paws and not to bite and scratch. Our behavior forum is full of members with kittens who were taken too soon from mom, and the member needs help because the kittens bite, scratch, and claw and do not know better. Although kittens are naturally rambunctious, yours will turn out well-mannered with mom cat's help!

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Okay, that makes sense.  This morning, the kittens were all being rather rambunctious, even the one that's usually quieter than the rest.  Jitterbug almost didn't know which one to discipline first. LOL

Yep! It's a full-time job for mom cat! It goes on for quite a few weeks, which is why I recommend kittens stay with mom for 12-16 weeks. They make much better pets!

If you buy some tiny play mice, mom will teach them how to bat them around and catch them. It's the hunting instinct! [emoji]128522[/emoji]

sarthur2 said:

Yep! It's a full-time job for mom cat! It goes on for quite a few weeks, which is why I recommend kittens stay with mom for 12-16 weeks. They make much better pets!

If you buy some tiny play mice, mom will teach them how to bat them around and catch them. It's the hunting instinct! [emoji]128522[/emoji]

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I don't know if I really need to buy anything for that.  I saw one of the kittens attack the sock that was inside a shoe, batting it until it was outside the shoe, then pounced and bit it.  They also pounce on each other and mom.

You just want them to learn to play with toys rather than your household things! Kittens are cute, but can become destructive as they grow.

Walmart has packs of balls and play mice for cheap. My kittens are adults now but still love their basket full of toys and their scratching post. Much preferred over the furniture and my clothing and shoes!

Well, today we bought some little play mice and something that is called a 'kicking toy'.  The kitties are all afraid of both, and Jitterbug won't play with the toys.

Cerebro finally ate the soft food today, so now they're all eating it. I'm making it a little thicker each time I give it to them.

I think they actually understand their names now!