- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #161
She definitely seems perkier. No vomiting or diarrhea. We have a couple more days to go but she is seeming better
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Advice for a large litter - 9 kittens!
- Thread starter laceyloowho
- Start Date
Just what I hoped to hear! May it continue! [emoji]128522[/emoji]
That's great! Keep us posted.
I just read this whole thread as I just yesterday took in a Momma with 8, 4 day old babies! I am going to start weighing them and rotating them out today, you can use nail polish to help identifying kittens that look identical? I wasn't sure how safe it would be but the ones with the same color all look the same lol. Thanks for your advice!
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #165
Yes... nail polish works well and lasts a while before you have to reapply it. I used a formaldehyde free polish to be extra safe
Take super good care of your mama cat. Feed her as much wet food as she will eat. That makes a big difference in how well she will be able to care for her litter
Good luck! Keep us updated on how things go!
Eight kittens. Lordy, what a strain for a homeless momma. Kudos to you for taking them in.
How are your kittens doing? I just reread this thread as it seems like we are dealing with similar situations, I have a few that aren't gaining as well as the others but it seems to be improving. How is your Momma cat doing?
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #168
My kittens are doing extremely well!
They were 7 weeks old on Wednesday and I weighed them (I had not done it for 2 weeks).
Here are their weights:
#1 - 1.75 lbs (787 g)
#2 - 1.73 lbs (775 g)
#3 - 1.6 lbs (715 g) (my runt)
#4 - 1.8 lbs (840 g)
#5 - 1.75 lbs (786 g)
#6 - 1.97 lbs (885 g)
#7 - 1.73 lbs (774 g)
#8 - 2 lbs (930 g)
#9 - 1.8 lbs (840 g)
They are all pretty close (or already passed) the 2 lb mark that they should reach by 8 weeks. I still have a few smaller ones that will probably just be smaller cats (mom is only 5.5 lbs normally). I will hop over to your thread and comment there but some kittens may just be slower to gain. My kittens usually all gained the 6-10 (or more) grams per day. Sometimes they had off days though and on those days I would look at the day before because sometimes they would only gain a couple grams but had gained like 30g the day before. Weight gain was not always linear for us. They gain a bunch then gain less for a day or two and so on. I really relied a lot on my intuition and observations. If someone lost a couple of grams, it was an alert to keep a close eye on them but I did not panic because they were still passing pale urine and were not hungry crying or distressed. I did tend to feed the slow gainers extra if I had time, just to give them a boost.
Mama cat is much much better! No vomiting or watery poo since before her course of Flagyl. I am giving her some time to fully recover and then will deworm all of them and make moms spay appt.
The kittens are crazy little psychos! They can escape the tent/fence so now we use a fitted sheet and clothespins to cover the enclosure. We let them out to explore the whole living room for a few hours a day. They still nurse several times a day. I know there is still milk because their ears will all start twitching in unison (is that not the cutest thing ever?). It does not last long but I am glad they still enjoy that comfort and that mom allows for it.
In the last 2 weeks they have eaten 80+ cans of cat food and about 50 jars of chicken or turkey baby food. I usually mix them together and they love it. So much cat food though!
Here are some pics.. sorry if a couple are blurry... these guys are fast!
My runt, Ares...
The vacuum is kind of scary!
laceyloowho
Thank you for the awesome update! They are so precious in the pictures! The one little kitten looks to be a mini-Rain with the color pattern on its head!
Their weights are fantastic. You've done a stellar job with Rain and all of her kittens. Rain may put on a bit of weight once she has stopped nursing and is spayed. It's good the kittens still enjoy nursing mom for now though.
I hear you on the cat food cans and jars of baby food. I was buying cases of both when my four were small. Mom loved it too, actually. Even though expensive, I felt the Gerber was worth it to help them grow.
Looking at your kittens now compared to the beginning is just amazing. I know that your efforts helped all nine to thrive.
So glad that Rain is well now. I know the kittens are very busy playing. You've got a kitten daycare in your home! [emoji]128149[/emoji]
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #170
Thank you for the awesome update! They are so precious in the pictures! The one little kitten looks to be a mini-Rain with the color pattern on its head!
Their weights are fantastic. You've done a stellar job with Rain and all of her kittens. Rain may put on a bit of weight once she has stopped nursing and is spayed. It's good the kittens still enjoy nursing mom for now though.
I hear you on the cat food cans and jars of baby food. I was buying cases of both when my four were small. Mom loved it too, actually. Even though expensive, I felt the Gerber was worth it to help them grow.
Looking at your kittens now compared to the beginning is just amazing. I know that your efforts helped all nine to thrive.
So glad that Rain is well now. I know the kittens are very busy playing. You've got a kitten daycare in your home! [emoji]128149[/emoji]
kitten daycare is exactly right! The kitten with the pattern like her mom is one of the 2 girls and her name is Artemis (kitten #1). She is completely unique, none of the other kittens have that pattern. She is beautiful and I am pretty sure I will keep her, she is so adorable!
I am lucky to have a friend that has given me most of the baby food (I also make it as well). She had 50 jars of the stage 1 turkey or chicken that she gave me. It is $1 a jar here so that was awesome. I have donated hundreds of other jars to our local food pantry as well (chicken and gravy etc). I think my kitties need all the nutrition I can give them right now, I still mix kmr with their food too
Solids have been key to them catching up and they do love to eat! Quick question... mom finished the Flagyl on Monday. I have the pyrantel here to deworm all of them but I wanted to give Rain some time to recover after being sick. How long do you think I should wait?
I think you can give it this weekend, as it's been a few days since she finished the Flagyl.
Pyrantel is generally fairly mild. Hopefully no one will have side effects.
Artemis is beautiful! Are you also keeping Ares?
I knew you were making your own baby food. It's wonderful you were gifted the stage one. It's 97 cents a jar here in Florida. Continue adding the KMR to their food. It's all extra nutrition!
Pyrantel is generally fairly mild. Hopefully no one will have side effects.
Artemis is beautiful! Are you also keeping Ares?
I knew you were making your own baby food. It's wonderful you were gifted the stage one. It's 97 cents a jar here in Florida. Continue adding the KMR to their food. It's all extra nutrition!
How is your crew doing? Is everyone well?
Any updated pictures?
[emoji]128522[/emoji]
Any updated pictures?
[emoji]128522[/emoji]
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #173
They are all doing great! Almost 11 weeks old and tearing my house apart, lol
They have all been dewormed twice with no side effects. They have the run of the house now because they are beyond containment They get along well with all 4 of my dogs and are just a part of the family right now. One dog is particularly friendly with them (she is just over a year old and still a pup herself). She plays with them and snuggles them. I am ready to start letting some go in the next few weeks which will be hard but I am ready because they are crazy! We are keeping Ares and Persephone. They are my two smallest (#2 & #3), a boy and a girl. We may keep one more as well (likely zeus #6) although I have not decided yet for sure. If I can find homes for the other 7 then I will do that. I need to take individual pics of them this weekend but will add some other pics at the end of this post. They are really wonderful and cute, fluffy, snuggly etc
Mama is doing awesome! She has gained a couple of pounds since the flagyl and has had no more tummy issues at all. She still nurses them every day for short times. I feel like the ones we keep will nurse forever, haha
Thanks for asking about them! Now the pics! All of these were taken during the last week
They are getting so big! Love the update! Fingers crossed for great furever homes for your babies! Love them snuggling with the dogs!
This is so heartwarming after all you went through to keep mom well and all 9 babies alive!
The pictures are fantastic! It's so much fun to see them now that they are bigger.
It's awesome that you are keeping some of them!
Thank you for the update. [emoji]128522[/emoji]
The pictures are fantastic! It's so much fun to see them now that they are bigger.
It's awesome that you are keeping some of them!
Thank you for the update. [emoji]128522[/emoji]
waaaaaaant...aaaaaaaaalllllllllllll...teh kittehs!
Photo #3 is hilarious.
