2 dat old kittens, Question about one being a Bully

One of the three kittens (the white and grey male) is moving the others over and gets their nipple they were using. Yesturday, at 1 day old he weighed 4 ounces. The others were around 3.2. He is also the most vocal. I have tried matching sure the other two latch on to another nipple when he is nursing on one but then he stops and starts moving them out of the way. He also can crawl (I guess that is what you would call it) all around the nest box (about 12 inches wide and long). He seems to be over developed haha. Is it usual for a litter to have a bully kitten? I wasn't there at the birth, she may have had him first. Also, should I not worry since the others seem to be an okay weight, or should I try and get some milk replacer?

Did you weigh him today. or the others. If they look good and have good weight I see no reason to worry.

LOL, yes...this is very common. I call the vocal one the 'screamer', seems like there is one in ever bunch.

It isn't necessary for them all to weigh the same amounts or gain at the same exact rate, what is most important is that they are all consistently gaining a healthy amount every day. With their being 3 kittens, there probably will be no problem with each getting enough to eat, even with the bully around, lol.

If you watch long enough, you will probably find that he may push the others around alot and be very vocal...but they probably eventually push him right back off.

Just watch their weights daily and I wouldn't worry about supplementing unless you notice one or two of them lagging behind in weight gain. (average/normal weight gain is between 10-20 grams per day)

That said, it is always good to have KMR on hand. I think it is good to give the mother cat some every day, either in a bowl or mixed with her food, while she is nursing. Just a wee bit extra nutrition packed in a 'treat'. JMHO

I am going to weigh them in an hour or so.

Well I went to the pet store today and I did get Nutro for skittles but she has not eattin at all today not even her favorite wet food. Do you think KMR is ok for a pregnant cat. I do not want her to lose weight.

Yes, KMR is great for a pregnant cat. I cannot recall, how far along is Skittles? Is she close?

I have no clue either. Her last day outside was March 24th. The vet said to weight 2 weeks to see if she goes in to heat. If she does we will spay her if not then she is pregnant. I have no clue how to tell. She is really chumy and like now she is laying with me. She does not want to eat

Catguy - I have the same thing over here. The first born, Theodore, is the biggest of them all and likes to push everyone out of the way for a nipple and is the most vocal! However, no 4, Boris is also copying his older brother and milk time looks like baby kitty world war 3. The 'victim' of their ganging up is no 3, Simba, who at this stage, is a bit of a mummy's boy..when they steal his nipple he goes and hides under his mummy's leg! I have to keep putting him back on a spare nipple! But he's a healthy weight so I'm not too worried at this point.

They seem to not hassle the girl, Amelia, who is the clever one as she has chosen a nipple well away from the others.

It'll be interesting to see if this behaviour forms part of their personalities as they grow.

There's always one as they say!!!! I bred a litter of Oriental Lilacs some time ago and there was one great big boy. He used to knock the other 2 kits off the teat and take the milk himself. Yes this behaviour is quite normal. You may if you can at all, take him off the queen whilst the others are feeding but make sure he has his feed. He's just trying to be dominant. He was the only male in the litter. Good luck.

Well the girls are always the smart ones I guess hehe

Originally Posted by minxie

Catguy - I have the same thing over here. The first born, Theodore, is the biggest of them all and likes to push everyone out of the way for a nipple and is the most vocal! However, no 4, Boris is also copying his older brother and milk time looks like baby kitty world war 3. The 'victim' of their ganging up is no 3, Simba, who at this stage, is a bit of a mummy's boy..when they steal his nipple he goes and hides under his mummy's leg! I have to keep putting him back on a spare nipple! But he's a healthy weight so I'm not too worried at this point.

They seem to not hassle the girl, Amelia, who is the clever one as she has chosen a nipple well away from the others.

It'll be interesting to see if this behaviour forms part of their personalities as they grow.

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I have a screamer too lol , we have nicknamed him bruiser!!! The others push him out of the way if he gets on their nerves lol

Boys are always pushy. Maybe that is why females are smarter

Originally Posted by Catguy75

Well the girls are always the smart ones I guess

hehe

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I had a foster mom with 3 girls....one of them was incredibly bossy of the others....she always had to have the BEST nipple....it was fun to watch them all try to navigate their way around. One thing I did was trimmed their nails since they are really sharp.

Katie

Originally Posted by TNR1

I had a foster mom with 3 girls....one of them was incredibly bossy of the others....she always had to have the BEST nipple....it was fun to watch them all try to navigate their way around. One thing I did was trimmed their nails since they are really sharp.

Katie

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I recal the kitten razor claws LOL Those hurt worse then paper cuts.

We could watch them fight all day! It is hysterical! And our first boy, who was feet first is the biggest and loudest and he is also the ones whose eyes are starting to open! It's always the man!

When Deja Vu had her kittens (5 all together), two of them latched onto the 2 bottom nipples, but would constantly, from the day they were born, both try to get the top one and would fight and scream like crazy. It was so funny to watch, I wish I had had a video camera! They fought so hard, and so much, that I eventually named them Rocky and Apollo (and Rocky was the one who stayed).

Eventually one of them would give up (usually Apollo) and use the nipple underneath. Sometimes I felt so bad for him I'm move his little nose to the other nipple, which he'd grab and everyone would be happy. Until of course, Rocky or Apollo slipped and it started all over again.

However, as days went by, and Mom's nipples started getting a bit sore, she began to not exactly relish this behavior. She'd allow them to fight for a short time, then suddenly lift her head with this strange yelping meow sound (which I never want to know what it really means in English lol)and bat them lighlty. Believe me, they stopped. LOL

And if you have only 3 kittens, if they look healthy and are gaining weight, there's plenty to go around.