Pleaaaase let Aaru have her kittens safely and SOON...

You can put water down but they will probably not drink it yet. You start offering wet food mixed with KMR at 5 weeks along with a litter pan.

Thanks. One more thing: it's normal for the momma's belly to hang down super low, right? I assume it's just because of the skin having been stretched during pregnancy, and also the weight of the mammary glands. I'm fretting over whether she could have gotten pregnant again when she escaped a few weeks ago, but I know she probably wouldn't be showing yet anyway, even if she had. I reaaaaallly don't want her to get pregnant again. I already made spay/neuter dates for the babies in December. I do not want to be the cat equivalent of the old woman in the shoe.

Yes, it's normal for the belly to sag and sway from side to side. It will most likely remain that way. If she fattens up some after spaying it will be slightly less.

When is she scheduled for her spay?

It would be best to spay/neuter the kittens between 12-16 weeks so they do not come into sexual maturity. That can happen well before December!

Do you have a low-cost clinic, or did we find one for you already?

Ru's spay is August 30. I do have an affordable clinic here, thankfully. I asked if I could schedule the spay at 4 months but they want to wait until 6 months. I bargained with her and got 5 months. :/ Do you think I should press the matter and try to get it done at 4 months... or maybe 4 1/2? I can call her back tomorrow and reschedule.

Holy cow. I just did some reading and read that they can be spayed as long as they are over 8 weeks old and at least 2 pounds! They'll probably weigh 2 pounds by the end of August at the rate they're going. I don't know why clinics demand that you wait until 6 months. I'd always been told 6 months, but it seems that there's no medical basis for that. I wonder if I'll have trouble getting the clinic to do it earlier. Aargh. I know that, with the males, you have to wait for the testes to drop. But it seems like, with females, they just need to be large enough. I'm going to call the clinic back tomorrow.

Give it a shot. Some vets insist on 6 months. With the over-population of cats, that makes no sense. Also, male testosterone starts to come in, and females can go into heat at 4-5 months. That's a very conservative vet there!

I always recommend earlier. I had my four kittens done at 12 weeks. See what you can arrange.

Forest Phoenix said:

Holy cow. I just did some reading and read that they can be spayed as long as they are over 8 weeks old and at least 2 pounds! They'll probably weigh 2 pounds by the end of August at the rate they're going. I don't know why clinics demand that you wait until 6 months. I'd always been told 6 months, but it seems that there's no medical basis for that. I wonder if I'll have trouble getting the clinic to do it earlier. Aargh. I know that, with the males, you have to wait for the testes to drop. But it seems like, with females, they just need to be large enough. I'm going to call the clinic back tomorrow.

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Thats true. But with an experienced vet, you wouldn't have to wait for the testes to drop. My uncle has been a vet for 40+ years and he neutered my cat, Tesla at 6 weeks (he was over 2 lbs). He showed 0 signs of pain after waking up from the anesthesia. He was up playing and jumping around (we tried to keep him from doing so but he was a kitten and that's pretty much impossible).

My uncle said its actually better to get them before they reach sexual maturity, because they won't have to deal with the hormonal rollercoaster. If a cat is neutered after sexual maturity, he would still have the teatosterone in him (in addition to still being fertile for a month) for a month or more.

Your uncle is correct. It's what I was saying about sex hormones coming in early. The testes do not have to drop. Most come down shortly after birth anyway. The younger the cats when fixed, the easier the recovery.

Hmm. From everything I've been reading, I'd really like to get it done between 3 & 4 months. I guess my only concern is that, if this vet usually insists on waiting till 6 months, even if they agree to do mine younger, they may not be familiar with different protocol for anesthesia and fasting in younger kitties. I've read that they shouldn't fast as long because of risking hypoglycemia, and that they are anesthetized differently. I wonder if 4 months is old enough that it wouldn't make a major difference. I just don't want them to be harmed during surgery as a result of the vet being unfamiliar with pediatric neutering.

Forest Phoenix said:

 
@Handsome Kitty Thank you! When Ru goes out, she loves to find fallen logs to scratch on... so I thought it might be good for her scratchy "post" to mimic a log. It's just a coir doormat screwed to a wooden post. I did add a little catnip to get her in the mood.

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What a good idea using the coir doormat.  My Katy and other cats have always loved those coir doormats to  as a scratching post.  I have one in fact in my living room and another in my hallway.  I always feel the need to explain myself  to guests as to why I chose to use a "doormat" as part of my living room décor.  Tacking onto a post is so much a better idea, even attractive looking.  Cudos on being creative like that!!

By the way, those babies are adorable!!

I would think a licensed vet would have the training required to know how much or how little anesthesia to give. It's based on weight, not age. The first thing they should do is weigh the kittens. And kittens do not fast from midnight. They can generally eat and drink until 7am the day of surgery.

Hey y'all. Is it normal for the baby kittens to be wrestling and picking on each other at such an early age? Sometimes I hear one cry out, and I go peek at them in time to see one getting taken down a notch by another. It doesn't seem like it's any one kitten that bears the brunt (as far as I can tell). They just bite, and scratch, and rabbit kick, and roll all around on each other a lot. They also do sweet things like groom each other. I didn't realize they were old enough to do all this! In the past, when I've had kittens this small, they were always single rescues without siblings, and so I never got to see this sort of excitement. I assume it's all normal, and that I don't need to be worried about them hurting each other?

Yes, it's all normal, as long as no one is being deprived of nursing. They are really fun to watch when they get bigger and play outside the nest! [emoji]128522[/emoji]

Hi all! Kittens will be 5 weeks old tomorrow. They're all doing well... big and fluffy and very gregarious.

I'm a bit worried about rough play between Ru and the biggest boy. He has gotten really good at escaping from the wardrobe box (I'm kitten-proofing a room for them today). I've been letting them all out several times a day to explore the house, but this one little boy keeps coming right back out of the box when I put him in. He and Ru roughhouse all over the place. They chase each other around the house, and tackle each other. My concern is that Ru plays pretty rough with him. She is in the habit of pouncing on him, hugging him in her arms, and doing the rabbit kick and bite thing. Sometimes, he cries out, but she keeps biting him, interspersed with licking. When she lets him go, he goes off to play and seems fine, then he comes back to tease her again. Is it safe for her to handle the babes like this? They both seem to be having a good time with their games, but I'm a little worried she could hurt him without meaning to. Have y'all seen momma cats act this way? Is it alright?

PS... new pictures coming soon.

It is okay, but when one screams the other is supposed to let go, which is learned through sibling play and stays with them for good throughout their lives.

She may not have had sibs, but at least wouldn't hurt him intentionally.

He will turn out to be a tough cookie that's for sure.

Hmm. Thanks. I'll admit that that doesn't really make me feel better. LoL. Yeah, I don't think she'd harm them on purpose. I just worry that sometimes she forgets how little they are. I wish she played with them more gently.

You can break it up if you feel like it's too much.

Yeah. Sometimes I do... but when she's in that mood, they go right back to it. She seems to chill out more about it as time goes on, like she's getting more used to them being out and running around. When they're all running loose at the same time, they also tend to occupy each other rather than tease her, so that's good. I'm glad they're getting along well and enjoying each other's company. At least it seems likely that she'll be good playmates with whichever one we keep. It will be really difficult to decide. It's also difficult to get a feel for which is which because they look almost identical, making it hard to get a good impression of their personalities. I do like the little girl. She's sweet. But Ru has so much fun with that boy. Ugh. How do you choose a kitten?! It's awful! I have about a month yet before I have to decide, I guess. As I type, there's one playing with her tail without her freaking out. That's a good sign! Oops. I spoke to soon. He just got the momma smackdown.

Forest Phoenix said:

 
Hmm. Thanks. I'll admit that that doesn't really make me feel better. LoL. Yeah, I don't think she'd harm them on purpose. I just worry that sometimes she forgets how little they are. I wish she played with them more gently.

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I know, I hear you!

Really is okay, just do as you have been and break it up if it gets to be too much for the kitten, if he comes right back for more he is not feeling negative about it.

If he goes off by himself, even for just several seconds like he needs to regroup then it's a bit much.

Watch how they wrestle at 7-8 weeks, it gets like WWF around there......

Although I kept mom and all 4 of her kittens, she clearly favors two of them. So, if you notice she has a favorite, keep that one.