Can anyone tell me how far along she is?

[ryan glenn]

 
Fingers crossed and positive thoughts for you that Morticia is OK and not pregnant again.  Good to keep with the vet appointment you have for her, and see if they will carry out the early spay / neutering for the kits too.  My boy was neutered at 10 weeks, between his vaccinations, and hasn't suffered any ill effects from it.  He was a heavy weight tho', no siblings to steel any of his mum's cream LoL.

As for mum biting the kittens.  I'd say it is normal unless the kittens are squealing in pain and running away from her not coming back for more.  I have a very long video on my camera of Mouse and his mum when he was about 10 weeks - but the behaviour had been going on well before that.  It is hilarious as he didn't have any other kits to pester and mum had to show him everything before he moved out.  She did a really good line in swatting him on to his back, laying on top of him pinning him down where ever they were playing, and then she would bite his throat, his ears, and lock teeth and jaws with him.   She'd let him up once he knew who was boss (not him) and silly boy would walk around in a circle and make a leap for her head and set the whole thing off again.  With this pair the play battles were completely silent but with many cats I suspect there would be a few play hisses and spits too.  It freaked me out the first time I saw her biting his throat and jaws locking teeth bared but he was so obviously enjoying it it was quickly apparent that it was fine.   Even if she gave him a good cuff and bit a bit harder that was his final message enough was enough and he'd just walk off in a bit of a sulk - not hurt other than in pride.

Thanks. I really don't want more kittens. I thought that it was just playing but I wasn't sure. It seemed like she was biting them really hard. It also looked like they were going limp when she was biting them. They are starting to move around so much now! I can't even explain how cute they are!

 

[ryan glenn]

I haven't yet figured out how to get videos off of my phone so here is a link to a video I posted on facebook of the kits     

 

[mservant]

Sadly can't see the video link on FaceBook.   :-(   It would have been great to see.   It doesn't surprise me you say the kittens go limp when she bites them.   They will submit and that will be part of what she is teaching them.   Mouse would do the head back, paws up and out and no fight back - least until he was let back up and could run back in for more.  He still plays like that with me and loves to be rolled over on to his back and goes in to the same submitting position and waits for me to snuggle in to he belly and throat, and purrs away.   None of the bunny kicks, scratching and biting you'd expect from a 'normal' cat!  

Here's a link to a thread with video of another cat that seems to enjoy  people pinning them down the way mom and bigger siblings probably did.  LoL.  :  http://www.thecatsite.com/t/283714/how-to-train-a-human/0_100

 

[ryan glenn]

 
Sadly can't see the video link on FaceBook.   :-(   It would have been great to see.   It doesn't surprise me you say the kittens go limp when she bites them.   They will submit and that will be part of what she is teaching them.   Mouse would do the head back, paws up and out and no fight back - least until he was let back up and could run back in for more.  He still plays like that with me and loves to be rolled over on to his back and goes in to the same submitting position and waits for me to snuggle in to he belly and throat, and purrs away.   None of the bunny kicks, scratching and biting you'd expect from a 'normal' cat!  

Here's a link to a thread with video of another cat that seems to enjoy  people pinning them down the mom and bigger siblings probably did.  LoL.  :  http://www.thecatsite.com/t/283714/how-to-train-a-human/0_100

Oh no! I will have to find a way to post it on here! It is quite funny. lol I didn't know if it was normal. When I watch her it just seems like she is being VERY rough. Nice to know shes not though 

 

[ryan glenn]

I can't figure out how to upload videos on here 

.  It wants me to upload it from youtube? Is there another way to do it? 

 

[mservant]

 
I can't figure out how to upload videos on here 

.  It wants me to upload it from youtube? Is there another way to do it? 

I haven't found one so if there is I'd love to hear it.    Any advice @katachtig  ?

 

[katachtig]

A v

 

 
I can't figure out how to upload videos on here 

.  It wants me to upload it from youtube? Is there another way to do it? 

I haven't found one so if there is I'd love to hear it.    Any advice @katachtig  ?

A video must be uploaded to youtube or Vimeo first.  This is the only way to view videos on the site.

 

[ryan glenn]

 
A v

A video must be uploaded to youtube or Vimeo first.  This is the only way to view videos on the site.

Oh. Okay thank you! 

 

[ryan glenn]

This is the video. I hope you guys can see it! 

 

[red top rescue]

For a mama cat to be spayed, it is best that all her milk has dried up.  Otherwise there is a chance of injuring that mammary tissue.  For my rescues, I usually let the moms wean at their own rate.  Some will rabbit kick the kittens off at 8 weeks, some will nurse forever, as long as their kittens are here.  We never do artificial weaning, so sometimes the kittens are already spayed and neutered and still visiting the milk bar when they are adopted into their forever homes.  Other times, mom has already weaned them and is very firm about it -- the paw on the head when they approach, or even a hiss and growl to tell them NO.  My vet says that to be 100% sure that mama has dried up, she needs to be away from her kittens for two weeks OR obviously rejecting any attempts they make to nurse and her mammary chain has gone back to flat.  You may think they are not nursing, for instance, but when the last two are adopted, suddenly mom looks like a cow with her two bottom mammaries swollen and pink because they were indeed grabbing a little milk on occasion, enough to keep her producing it.

Generally we get our kittens spayed and neutered before they leave us (unless they are tiny orphans and the new owner wants to act as a foster before officially adopting).  Our vet requires them to be at least 8 weeks of age and to weigh at least two pounds.  They have different pre-op instructions for the little ones.  They are fed a small breakfast (about half normal amount) before coming into the clinic in the morning, and they are fed again, a small amount, as soon as you get them home after pick up.  This is to keep ther blood sugar up so they don't get hypoclycemic and crash.  The larger and older kittens, 3 months and older, don't get breakfast and also have to wait a little after getting home before they get food. 

We don't put them back with mama for about a week because we don't want her licking the incisions, but we do allow supervised visits for emotional reasons.  They are kept in a room adjoining hers, so she knows they are safe.  Our moms seem pretty calm so that set up works.

 

[ryan glenn]

 
For a mama cat to be spayed, it is best that all her milk has dried up.  Otherwise there is a chance of injuring that mammary tissue.  For my rescues, I usually let the moms wean at their own rate.  Some will rabbit kick the kittens off at 8 weeks, some will nurse forever, as long as their kittens are here.  We never do artificial weaning, so sometimes the kittens are already spayed and neutered and still visiting the milk bar when they are adopted into their forever homes.  Other times, mom has already weaned them and is very firm about it -- the paw on the head when they approach, or even a hiss and growl to tell them NO.  My vet says that to be 100% sure that mama has dried up, she needs to be away from her kittens for two weeks OR obviously rejecting any attempts they make to nurse and her mammary chain has gone back to flat.  You may think they are not nursing, for instance, but when the last two are adopted, suddenly mom looks like a cow with her two bottom mammaries swollen and pink because they were indeed grabbing a little milk on occasion, enough to keep her producing it.

Generally we get our kittens spayed and neutered before they leave us (unless they are tiny orphans and the new owner wants to act as a foster before officially adopting).  Our vet requires them to be at least 8 weeks of age and to weigh at least two pounds.  They have different pre-op instructions for the little ones.  They are fed a small breakfast (about half normal amount) before coming into the clinic in the morning, and they are fed again, a small amount, as soon as you get them home after pick up.  This is to keep ther blood sugar up so they don't get hypoclycemic and crash.  The larger and older kittens, 3 months and older, don't get breakfast and also have to wait a little after getting home before they get food. 

We don't put them back with mama for about a week because we don't want her licking the incisions, but we do allow supervised visits for emotional reasons.  They are kept in a room adjoining hers, so she knows they are safe.  Our moms seem pretty calm so that set up works.

Okay. What happens if they injure the mammary tissue? I think Morticia will be a queen who only lets them nurse until they are 8 weeks lol

 

[susieq521]

oooooooooh they are SOOOO cute !!! where did you get the cage you have them in in the video? I definitely need to look into new cages/carriers in the near future

 

[ryan glenn]

 
oooooooooh they are SOOOO cute !!! where did you get the cage you have them in in the video? I definitely need to look into new cages/carriers in the near future

Thanks! They are definitely super cute! I got it at pet-smart. It is a ferret cage and they are kinda pricey. It is a ferret nation cage. 

 

[ryan glenn]

Okay do you guys have any tips on weaning a kitten that just wont eat food? One of the kittens was really small so we started to feed him goats milk as well as having him nurse so he would get a bit bigger. We did this about two weeks after he was born and have been doing it since. About two weeks ago (they were 4 weeks) we started to soak the food in warm goats milk to get it soft so we could just get them used to the idea of eating. After about three days of doing that and having Morticia eat that two of the kittens started to eat it with her. So for the past 1 1/2 weeks we have had two of the kittens eating cat food during the day and nursing at night. We can't get the last kitten to eat it though. Morticia isn't letting them nurse that much anymore but he still wont eat the soaked food. Do you have any ideas on how to get him to start eating it? 

 

[ryan glenn]

Update All of them are eating food. Though they seem to prefer it hard then soaked in water. They all still nurse at night a bit though. Morticia wont let them nurse for more than four minuets . Hopefully they will all be two pounds in three days time, though I think the smallest one will have to wait a bit. The other two are just three oz under two pounds.

 

[ryan glenn]

For those of you who still follow this thread, Morticia aka Baby kitty died tonight at about 6:09. I don't know what took her away yet. She is at the vets and they are doing an autopsy tomorrow. 

 

[fostersrule]

I'm so sorry I was a mess when my kitty passed on. It was unexpected as well

 

[mservant]

How terribly sad.  I am so sorry to hear this and can't imagine how you feel.  

  Morticia, beautiful mother cat.   I hope the vet is able to give you some answer.  

How are the kittens?  The world must suddenly feel very strange and frightening for them but a blessing they have been eating solid food this past week.

 

[ryan glenn]

 
How terribly sad.  I am so sorry to hear this and can't imagine how you feel.  

  Morticia, beautiful mother cat.   I hope the vet is able to give you some answer.  

How are the kittens?  The world must suddenly feel very strange and frightening for them but a blessing they have been eating solid food this past week.

They are okay. We let them sniff her so that they wouldn't go looking for her. One of the boys just kind of sniffed her then left, another sniffed her a bit then sat down next to her, but the last one was licking her and trying to get under her arm (she used to hold them like that when she would clean them or play with them) and when he couldn't he just curled up next to her. Though all of them tried to nurse. The oldest of the kittens now wears her collar.

 

[ryan glenn]

I know what killed Morticia. When they did her spay they failed to tie off the vessel to her ovary. She slowly "leaked" blood into her abdomen over the last four days. At least I know she was not in pain.