Our kittens are here! (newborn PICS!)

Hi all,

I went camping for the weekend and was very anxious that our Shenzi would deliver when we were gone. My eldest DD (18) stayed home and kept me updated...she kept saying "No babies, but Mom she is getting HUGE...it seems like she will just burst!". Even as of yesterday morning, before I was heading home, no kittens!

So, I get home and greet my other furbabies, unload the car and when I went into the bedroom, Shenzi wasn't around. I took a quick peek in the closet and there she was with her VERY newborn babies! I counted 5 at first glance and then saw another and another...and yet another!


8 KITTENS!!!!!


Holy cow, I was so shocked! I was thinking 4, maybe 5 kittens...certainly not 8!!!! 2 were so newly born that they stilll had their placentas attached...they and 2 others were still wet.

At first weigh in:
2- 80g
3-90g
and 3-100g

This is on the lower end of normal from what I have read, but I don't think it is too shabby for a litter of 8!

All is well so far with mother and kittens, they all appear healthy and strong. Shenzi has been such a good mom so far, very attentive! She allows me to handle them, but I am cautious to allow her her privacy so that she can get used to her babies and get some well needed rest.

2 look like her, (torties, primarily black)
2 are black with white bellies and stripes on their noses (one has a white tip at the end of it's tail)
2 are orange tabbies
2 are mostly black (1 has some grey in the face and legs, possibly tabby?, hard to tell at this point)

I will post pics in my next post.


They are so adorable, we are just in love with our new additions!

Awwww, what a sweet welcome home surprise!

OK, as to the weight, these aren't bad for a large litter, but watch them in the upcoming days and weigh them regularly each day. If you start to see one or two not gaining normally or if any of them aren't getting into position to nurse readily, start supplementing right away. It might be a real good idea to go ahead if you haven't already and get your supplies on hand ... you'll need kitten milk replacer and at least several bottles.

Also, get a good, high-quality kitten food formula in both canned and dry for your Momma cat - providing 100% of the nutritional needs for 8 growing babies is going to take a LOT out of her. Let her eat as much as she wants, whenever she wants.

There is a really good resource for bottle feeding kittens at www.kitten-rescue.com which will tell you just about everything you need to know. And of course, as always, we are here to assist you if we can.

Originally Posted by gayef

Awwww, what a sweet welcome home surprise!

OK, as to the weight, these aren't bad for a large litter, but watch them in the upcoming days and weigh them regularly each day. If you start to see one or two not gaining normally or if any of them aren't getting into position to nurse readily, start supplementing right away. It might be a real good idea to go ahead if you haven't already and get your supplies on hand ... you'll need kitten milk replacer and at least several bottles.

Also, get a good, high-quality kitten food formula in both canned and dry for your Momma cat - providing 100% of the nutritional needs for 8 growing babies is going to take a LOT out of her. Let her eat as much as she wants, whenever she wants.

There is a really good resource for bottle feeding kittens at www.kitten-rescue.com which will tell you just about everything you need to know. And of course, as always, we are here to assist you if we can.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice and the link Gayef, just what I was looking for. I do have kitten formula replacement and I bought a syringe (had it on hand, just in case). I ought the syringe because I have read that many people have more difficulty with the bottles.

I have been feeding her both the dry and canned kitten food (eukanuba- is that ok?). Today she ate 2 cans in addition to the dry. I am super concerned with how much this will take out of her, because she was pretty thin to begin with.

I am going to weigh the kittens daily, what is a normal weight gain to look for?

Awww Wendy - they are beautiful! What a great mommy!

I'm so jealous! I want to meet my babies!

They are such beautiful kittens....aww man I am jealouse too....how old r they now???How r they doing????I can't wait till my cat has her babies....I think you r doing a pretty good job and mom is too....Take Care

how old r they now???

Click to expand...

Just a bit over 1 day old now. They are doing really well, they all gained a tiny bit of weight, which is great.

they are so precious...I am in love!

I think I am in love too.....they are so great I am so jealouse...you r so lucky...well good for you,did you dicide what u r going to do with them all?

Awww sweet pics

Oh my gosh, 8 kittens. I have never had a cat that had that many. They are all so adorable and momma kitty is precious. Good luck with the little ones. It sounds as if you have everything under control.

Oh my gosh aren't they sweet, what a bundle of Love there

Awwwwwwwwww!! I love looking at baby kits. How adorable!!

They look so sweet! Momma is gorgeous!

Congratulations! I'm fostering a mama cat that also had 8 kittens. In two days they will be four weeks old. Mama cat was a stray and fairly emaciated when I brought her home a week before her kittens arrived. I was concerned that she would not be able to provide enough milk for all 8. All of the kittens have thrived, however. I feed mama cat a high quality dry and wet food (all she wants), and also supplemented mama with KMR the week before her kittens arrived and for two weeks after. I was a bit concerned about the smallest kitten for a while, and even attempted to supplement her with a bottle. However, I discovered that the bottle could not compete with mama's milk straight from the source. The little one pretty much refused the bottle. So instead I tried to make sure the little one got some extra time nursing with mama. The "runt" (I just think she's petite) now weighs 15 ounces and the largest of the litter is 19 ounces; well within the norms. So perhaps you will be able to get by without supplementing, but it won't hurt to be prepared just in case.

Awwwm congrats!!!

Congrats on the babies Shenzi sure has her paws full

The poor thing is overwhelmed with all those kits! Good luck with htem all - they are adorable

Congrats Pooh on your new kits. Our queens have been on the same page since day one, so it shouldn't surprise you to know that our huge fuzzball also delivered yesterday! At about 7:30ish. She has 6 new bundles of joy. All in normal weights and healthy. So congrats again, and on to our new sets of questions.

Originally Posted by byrdlove2006

Congrats Pooh on your new kits. Our queens have been on the same page since day one, so it shouldn't surprise you to know that our huge fuzzball also delivered yesterday! At about 7:30ish. She has 6 new bundles of joy. All in normal weights and healthy. So congrats again, and on to our new sets of questions.

Click to expand...

awww...how wonderful! Congrats to you too! Can you post some pictures?

6 is also a pretty large litter! So glad to hear hey are all healthy!

Yep, now we will be filling the board with new questions, lol!

More pictures, LOL: