Anyone else experience this with C section kitten...

[cheeto-moe]

Okay Marley my blue cream tortie had babies on July 6 by C Section. It's a beautiful story of survival I will share one day.

Anyway there were 4, but sadly the girl died...

Now they are three weeks old... Now do 3 week old kittens run around, eat cat food, groom themselves and generally starting to want to explore or is it this...

Just starting to get comfy walking and still wobbly.

Out of three kittens I have one that seems more advanced and mature eyes opened at 3 days old... He's so cute he runs and plays, grooms himself and has tried some cat food. It's like he has a week on the other two. Or are the other two not advanced like their brother.

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• cheeto-moe
• Aug 2, 2013

 

[eb24]

Just starting to get comfy walking and still wobbly.

 

It's this. At three weeks their eyes should be open and their ears unfolding. They should be wobble walking and starting to get curious about things but not necessarily investigating them. 

This growth chart may really help you to prepare for whats coming and understand each phase: http://www.raising-happy-kittens.com/kitten-growth-chart.html . Of course, each will develop at their own rate and there is nothing wrong with one being "slower" or "faster" than the others. You have to view them both individually and as a group. It doesn't sound like it's at all related to the c-section, it's just how kittens develop!

So you do have solid foods and litter box training in your near future so start preparing for that. Be sure you have several kitten size boxes (a high sided cookie sheet or cardboard box that wet kitten food comes in both work well) and use only non clumping litter. Clumping litter expands when when wet and can cause a life threatening blockage if they eat it. And, believe me, they will eat it! 

As for feeding, usually they let you know they are ready by sauntering over and snacking off Mom's dish. Once this happens start putting down their own plate of wet food. Dry kitten food and water should always be accessible but they won't start on that for a few weeks still. 

Keep asking questions if you have them. Overall it sounds like you have three healthy, normal, growing kittens! 

 

[cheeto-moe]

That's really cool. One of them is running around, and has even eaten some purée cat food I had around. My question is really could the one who is more mature then the rest of them. Could he have been conceived days before the others were conceived. The Tom cat who I call Shaggy took quite a many attempts before he was satisfied that she was carrying his kits. Marley had been outside for almost a year and never got pregnant. Not a lot of Toms in my neighbourhood. I haven't seen Shaggy since the deed was done. Dont expect him back since Marley won't ever go into heat any more.

 

[eb24]

Yes it is possible (not common but possible) that he was conceived earlier, and may be sightly ahead in terms of development. It certainly sounds like he is. Though, since they were delivered via c-section there is really no way to know...

Just so you are aware now that she has given birth Marley will go back into heat. It can be anywhere from days to weeks but it will happen (and you will probably notice the re-appearance of Shaggy when it does). That is why it is crucial you keep her indoors and away from any intact males until after she has been spayed. She can be spayed when the kittens are 8-12 weeks, though most try to wait until the 12 week mark  at which point the kittens are re-homed and Mom is altered. Talk to your vet about when would be best for your individual family but be sure you get it done! 

Vibes that there are no more Shaggy encounters! 

 

[cheeto-moe]

She is spayed... She was spayed during her emergency C-section. So yeah no more Shaggy! She produces milk perfectly normal although I worry about her calcium levels. Since I am thinking she didn't get the placentas to eat. She is super skinny. I haven't weighed her, but I'm guessing she went from 7lbs down to 5. She is older and accepted her babies right away. I had to watch that she was producing enough milk for her kits. I gave her brewers yeast which I believe helped. She has always had a motherly instinct. Friendly, but stern.

If you wanna get through a vet line fast show up with a pregnant cat with body parts hanging out. I never seen a vet move so fast. I kinda felt bad all the others in the waitng room. It was very intense.

 

[maewkaew]

EB24,  I think Cheeto-Moe meant that Marley was spayed during the c-section so she won't go into heat anymore.    so Cheeto is thinking Shaggy won't be attracted back. 

 Would be lovely if someone could take Shaggy to get neutered so he's not running around siring more and more kittens , and getting cats pregnant who don't have a caring owner to get them a c-section if needed,  and probably getting into fights,  maybe catching / spreading cat diseases. 

Re the one kit being more advanced,  some just seem to develop faster in the womb than others.       I used to believe the thing about some being conceived earlier.  but  Susan Little,  DVM,  who is a reproduction specialist, says it is not true, although it is a common misconception.  A queen releases all her mature eggs at once,  when mating triggers the release of LH  which causes her to drop all the eggs.   the eggs only live about 24 hours without being fertilized.   And the sperm only lives about 24 hours after ejaculation,  So,  all the kittens in a litter would differ by no more than 24 hours of gestational age.   So according to Dr. Little,   all the kittens in a litter would differ by no more than 24 hours of gestational age.       But for some reason some of them sometimes just develop faster . 

 

[eb24]

EB24,  I think Cheeto-Moe meant that Marley was spayed during the c-section so she won't go into heat anymore.    so Cheeto is thinking Shaggy won't be attracted back. 

Yes- looks like you and Cheeto-Moe were posting around the same time. I didn't pick up on the fact that she was spayed during the c-section. So glad that's done with! Though, you should still keep her indoors to ensure the kittens receive consistent care, and to help ensure that she doesn't bring any germs in to them. 

Watching milk production is important with any Queen, especially one who lost a lot of weight like your girl did. You can also try adding some Nutri-Cal supplement to her food. It will ensure she is getting all her vitamins and will give her an extra dose of calories. You can find it at most Petstores.

I don't know anything about Brewer's Yeast but if you said it helped then I believe you. Until they are all eating solids be sure you continue to keep an eye to be sure that they are all getting enough nourishment! 

Re the one kit being more advanced,  some just seem to develop faster in the womb than others.       I used to believe the thing about some being conceived earlier.  but  Susan Little,  DVM,  who is a reproduction specialist, says it is not true, although it is a common misconception.  A queen releases all her mature eggs at once,  when mating triggers the release of LH  which causes her to drop all the eggs.   the eggs only live about 24 hours without being fertilized.   And the sperm only lives about 24 hours after ejaculation,  So,  all the kittens in a litter would differ by no more than 24 hours of gestational age.   So according to Dr. Little,   all the kittens in a litter would differ by no more than 24 hours of gestational age.       But for some reason some of them sometimes just develop faster . 

This is very interesting too. I have heard a mix of things. Some say that a kitten may indeed be conceived earlier and therefore delivered earlier while others say the conception occurs at once but sometimes there can be a lengthy delay (24 hours or more) between the delivery of the kittens. It sounds like this expert is saying the latter is the case (and makes more logical sense to me). Something definitely worth doing more research on for sure! 

Either way, you are very right that some kittens do just develop faster than others, both physically and mentally. I think part of it is certainly because some kittens are meant to be larger size cats. And, I suppose the mental growth is similar to humans where some just have a few more grapes than others. Regardless the other two are certainly not behind and are developmentally exactly where they should be so it's nothing to worry about. 

Who knows, Cheeto-Moe, you may have the next Albert Einstein of the feline world in your home! 

 

[cheeto-moe]

Well I really don't know where Shaggy is tbh. I believe he traveled very far to get to his queen. I wonder if they were not related. One of the kittens is a flame point. Marley is a really rare looking tortie. I read pointed kittens can happen if a female cat is closely related to the Tom. Marley had been outside numerous times and didnt get pregnant. All of the toms found here have been altered. I actually rescued her from North Central regina sask canada which is Canada's worst neighbourhood according to Macleans magazine. There was no point in putting the uterus back once the kittens were out and she was under anesthesia. Just a warning C sections start at close to 700 bucks so I figure kill 2 birds one stone.

 

[maewkaew]

They weren't necessarily related.   What is true is that the pointed gene is recessive,  so it has to  be inherited from both parents in order for a kitten to have a pointed pattern.   The pointed gene,   that originally came from the Siamese has been pretty widely spread through the cat populations in places like Canada and U.S. and Europe for  many years now  so there are now a lot of moggies that are either pointed or carrying one copy of it hidden.   some of them would be close relatives to each other,  but others wouldn't be close at all.  

    Sometimes when there are a lot of pointed cats seen in one neighborhood  , farm, or feral colony  it is due to  inbreeding.   but   just being pointed doesn't mean the parents had to be close relatives.   The likelihood of that would just depend on how common that gene is in your part of Canada.