Am I doing everything right? Mom cat and 2 week old kittens..

almagarret · Jul 5, 2005

Hi!

I am fostering a mom cat and her batch of five two week, two day old kittens. I am very nervous about the health and well-being of all of the cats and thought I'd post what I'm doing for them so maybe you could tell me if I'm doing something wrong or if there is something else I can do. I have two adult cats of my own though they are in a seperate part of the house.

I feed the mom cat Royal Canin Kitten food, Wellness kitten food and other wet kitten foods, and she is also given two tablespoons of KMR kitten formula every morning. I was worried that this diet might be too rich but she doesn't seem to have any diaherra. She has not been drinking a lot of water, but is that because of all the formula and wet food? There is pee in her litter box.

All of the kittens have clear eyes and look very healthy. They are wiggling about, trying to stand/walk and play with each other, but still nurse constantly. There is one kitten I am worried about - his/her eyes are shaped differently than the others, not quite as almond shaped, and he has a bit of black something around the sides of his nostrils, but his eyes are clear.

They are all in my pantry which I cleaned out for them and sometimes the mom cat jumps on a shelf that is above the floor and sits there for a while. Is she just taking a break from the kittens?

The kittens are pretty quiet and only squeak when they're getting squished while nursing. Last question!!! How much contact should I be having with the kittens? I'm so worried about giving them germs! Their mom is OK with me touching and petting them, though she is in general very scared and wary. We trapped her in a parking lot - she's not feral but she had been living in the bushes of this parking lot for at least 3 years and took a good week to warm up to me.

Sorry for such a rambling post! I just want to make sure that every one of these kittens thrives.

pepsi · Jul 5, 2005

They sound great to me,Bono is 2 weeks old too,I do not give mum any KMR,she is on a normal diet so im not sure about if that is needed or not,I never changed her diet,just carried on with wet and dry food,

The eyes sound perfectly normal to me too,Opal takes a lot of breaks from Bono too,she only really sits with her when she is feesding her or for the odd cuddle,she is ofton away from Bono now,she loves having breaks

I pick Bono up quite a lot,I dont normally spend longer then 10 minutes at a time cuddling her as she squeeks when she is not in her bed,if mum is fine with it I think its ok to hold them a fair bit

Im no expert,this is my first littler (sadly three died,still born and one passed at 2 days old) but to me it seems everything your end is perfect

tnr1 · Jul 6, 2005

Originally Posted by almagarret

Hi!

I am fostering a mom cat and her batch of five two week, two day old kittens. I am very nervous about the health and well-being of all of the cats and thought I'd post what I'm doing for them so maybe you could tell me if I'm doing something wrong or if there is something else I can do. I have two adult cats of my own though they are in a seperate part of the house.

I feed the mom cat Royal Canin Kitten food, Wellness kitten food and other wet kitten foods, and she is also given two tablespoons of KMR kitten formula every morning. I was worried that this diet might be too rich but she doesn't seem to have any diaherra. She has not been drinking a lot of water, but is that because of all the formula and wet food? There is pee in her litter box.

All of the kittens have clear eyes and look very healthy. They are wiggling about, trying to stand/walk and play with each other, but still nurse constantly. There is one kitten I am worried about - his/her eyes are shaped differently than the others, not quite as almond shaped, and he has a bit of black something around the sides of his nostrils, but his eyes are clear.

They are all in my pantry which I cleaned out for them and sometimes the mom cat jumps on a shelf that is above the floor and sits there for a while. Is she just taking a break from the kittens?

The kittens are pretty quiet and only squeak when they're getting squished while nursing. Last question!!! How much contact should I be having with the kittens? I'm so worried about giving them germs! Their mom is OK with me touching and petting them, though she is in general very scared and wary. We trapped her in a parking lot - she's not feral but she had been living in the bushes of this parking lot for at least 3 years and took a good week to warm up to me.

Sorry for such a rambling post! I just want to make sure that every one of these kittens thrives.

Welcome to TCS....first, has mom been to a vet? I recently fostered a mom cat and her kittens and given the fact that she came from the shelter, the vet recommended that I be extra careful about washing my hands (even having a seperate set of clothes when I was visiting mom and kittens) so as not to transmit anything from the foster cat to my own cats and vice versa. I also had my 2 cats brought UTD on all shots. It's good you are keeping this mom and her kittens in a seperate area from your 2. As far as her not drinking a lot of water....canned food does contain a lot of moisture and the KMR probably is also contributing to that.

When I first got my own guy...he had the black stuff around his nose....I can't remember if it was an upper resp. or not...he's fine now (just turned 7)....probably would be a good idea to have your kitten seen by a vet just to be on the safe side.

I handled my foster kittens the moment I received at 1 1/2 weeks of age. It's important for kittens to be socialized plus I trimmed their tiny nails to get them used to that as well (and give mom a break...kitten nails are sharp). I would simply wash your hands before you touch them and again....before you leave.

Momma definately is taking a break...but it sounds like she isn't ignoring them (which is good) and it sounds like the whole family is doing well. Don't forget to set up mom's spay appt. for when the kittens are around 6 weeks of age...you may even want to do that now. If you are placing the kittens on your own and need a sample contract...there is one at the back of the "Finding homes for homeless pets" PDF you can find here:

http://www.natewood.net/Rehome.html

Good Luck,

Katie

almagarret · Jul 6, 2005

Thank you, both of you! I feel a lot better.

Mom has been to a vet but not for a really thorough check-up, but the vet said she seemed to be doing fine.

My cats are both completely up to date on their vaccinations and Moose (mom cat) is DEFINITELY getting spayed as soon as we can! This is her third litter of kittens - I had raised her two previous litters when she was living in the parking area and we had been unable to trap her.

maverick_kitten · Jul 6, 2005

you sound like you've got everything under control. bless you for doing this!

evnshawn · Jul 6, 2005

You might take a closer look at the one with the black stuff around the nostrils ... one of our kittens has a pink nose but black nostrils (mom with pink nose/pads/gums, and dad with black nose/pads/gums). It's very odd looking, and at first I thought something was wrong with him too.

gayef · Jul 6, 2005

With regard to handling the babies ... if Momma cat is OK with you touching them, then pick them up and handle them as much and as often as you can. The more you handle them, the less afraid of humans they will be. Put them on your chest and lap, blow gently into their faces, kiss and cuddle them frequently!

Hope this helps,

~gf~

laceydf · Jul 6, 2005

Sounds like you are doing a great job! You are an angel for taking care of the momma and her babies!!!

I would cuddle them often, so they will enjoy and be comfortable with human contact. I cuddled and paid lots of attention to the kitties I raised and they grew up to be wonderful, loving kitties!!!

You're doing a great job!
Please keep us updated!!!
--Lacey

Am I doing everything right? Mom cat and 2 week old kittens..

almagarret

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pepsi

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tnr1

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almagarret

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maverick_kitten

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evnshawn

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gayef

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laceydf

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