strange breathing?

Well, Chloe's kittens are officially 4 days old, and everything seems to be going o.k. except for they occasionally breathe a little strangely. I didn't think much of it until I just read a post that said if the kittens are "open mouth breathing" to take them to the vet immediately. It's not that they're breathing through their mouths all the time, and they're sleeping normally (mouth closed), but when they get disturbed they open their mouths wide and start panting. It's like a weird open-mouthed hissing/wheezing noise. The black one does it a lot, but the other two do it occasionally too. I just thought it was their way of hissing when upset. Should I be worried about this??

P.S. I took some pictures yesterday, but still have to get them uploaded. I'll post them soon!

Sounds like normal kitty behavior to me...esp if they are sleep ing with their mouths shut....but hopefully someone who has dealt with newborn kittens more receintly than I have can tell you for sure.

You're right, what they are probably doing is hissing at you. They are not used to your scent and their reaction to this foreign smell is to hiss. As they're only four days old, they haven't learnt how to do it properly so their mouth makes the hissing movement but no sound comes out. If you listen really carefully, you might hear a tiny hiss. This is completely normal behaviour. Once they have reached 10 days old, you can briefly handle the kittens every now and again if it doesn't stress out the mom-cat too much, so they get used to human contact and smells. Wash your hands well before and after touching them.

thanks... I thought it was probably normal until I got scared by that other post! I'll relax now, and keep everyone updated on the little fuzzies!!!

Wait for 10 days before handling the kittens? How could you resist that long??? You are stronger than me! :-)
Years ago we had a PG cat dropped off at our place (probably why she was dropped!)
She was sooooo sweet and warmed up to me right away. I was there when she had the kittens (3 of them) and handled them as soon as they were born and everyday till they were 12 weeks old and we found homes for 2 of them. (I had to keep one of them....he adopted me and I could`nt give him away.)

They actually are hissing. It's pretty funny once you know that it's not something awful. These kittens weigh a quarter of a pound, they're blind, they're deaf, and they have no teeth - but they still hiss at anything strange!

That post was made because of the other symptoms the kittens were giving off in that home- didn't mean to scare you- it is normal for the babies to try and hiss at you and nothing happen but you see an opened mouth.

I'm very relieved, and it is pretty cute. They don't just hiss at me, but at each other, like when one kicks another one in the head while he's sleeping. And I certainly didn't have enough willpower to not handle them for 10 days! Chloe let me help with the delivery (I had to gently pull out the first guy, and cut the umbilical cord of the last), she hasn't moved the kittens, and I think she actually likes me being with her (if I haven't visited in awhile, she comes out in the living room meowing at me ) For the most part though, I just sit on the floor and watch, and I'm trying to give Chloe just as much love and attention as the kittens because she's being a great mom. I should probably not worry so much, because she seems to have had things under control all along, but I just can't help it!

Hey, you definitly don't have to wait ten days till you handle them! I handle my babies from birth! That's why they are such social babies!

I'm certainly no expert, but I would think it depends entirely on the mother cat. Some would allow you to handle the baby and others wouldn't. My friend's cat would not allow her or her husband near her 3 babies but brought the babies to me and put them in my lap. Personally, I'd take my cue from the mother cat.

Sounds as though she already has allowed you access to the kittens - nice.