Deafness and raising kittens?

[StefanZ]

Smart Water has added electrolytes, so it's good for diarrhea.............. The vet said maybe part of the problem is just that she's never had so much food to eat before, so that's hard on her stomach, too.

Sure, Smart Water helps better than say, common water + common kitchen salt including just natrium chloride.  Although in the pedialyte is also some dextrose. As I understand, it is the combination which is nicely stopping diarrheas. HOW it does work, I dont know, but its apparently efficient. It stops Deaths itself.

There are kitchen salts who contain a mix of different salts, but that I can buy at my own shop. What it is called for commercial name in foreign countries I dont know.

OK use Smart Water, as it is, or as base for pedialyte.  

Unless you do find this multi salt kitchen salt AND dextrose, in your shop.  

I can agree with your wet, her long half starvation may add to the probleme.

 

[catnamedpanda]

Whenever I have cats with diarrhea I add pedialyte to their water, i just buy the unflavored kind. I'm sure it is cheaper to add that then pay for bottles of smart water, and you would be getting the same benefit. If she is dehydrated I would syringe feed her some too.

 

[brinnan]

Well, Luna is still pretty quiet, but part of that is being locked in the bathroom and taking care of her kittens, I think. She was never a hugely active girl (well, never being the past three weeks total). One thing I noticed tonight is that she has some yucky patches on her tail, side, neck. I see her grooming her belly and legs, but she's missed these patches. Her tail is particular was a lot of dried blood. She loves when I brush her, so I was able to get some off today. But she gets flinchy and wants to be left alone after a little bit. I am going to get some of those cat bathing sheets to clean her up, I think. They are like wet wipes, but safe for kitties and don't actually really wet them. Will those be safe for when the babies climb over her? I would guess yes, since cats can lick the whole thing safely, but I wanted to see if anyone had any particular experience.

She is sticking to her dry food now and not wanting wet food. Maybe she figured out the diarrhea! She had another soft stool today, but it is better than the 4-5 she's been having the past two days. She also ate quite a bit of dry food while I sat with her.

The babies are gaining weight, though perhaps not as much as some websites say they should. Still, a weight gain is a positive thing! The two runts are hanging in there.

Kitten	Day 1	Day 2	Day 3	Day 4	Day 5
Calico	4.1	4.1	4.8	5.1	5.5
Eyebrows	3.9	4.4	4.9	5.8	6.0
Graybie	3.7	3.9	4.4	5.1	5.5
White feet	3.5	3.5	4.1	4.9	5.2
Speckled	3.5	2.9	3.2	3.7	4.1
Black and white	2.5	2.5	2.8	3.1	3.5

 

[brinnan]

Kitten	Day 1	Day 2	Day 3	Day 4	Day 5	Day 6
Calico	4.1	4.1	4.8	5.1	5.5	6.3
Eyebrows	3.9	4.4	4.9	5.8	6.0	6.2
Graybie	3.7	3.9	4.4	5.1	5.5	6.0
White feet	3.5	3.5	4.1	4.9	5.2	5.9
Speckled	3.5	2.9	3.2	3.7	4.1	4.6
Black and white	2.5	2.5	2.8	3.1	3.5	3.9

Everyone gained weight today. They are a sleepy bunch tonight! Luna was coughing a bit, but I thought it was indigestion from eating a bunch. She is way more active tonight than the past two days. She's eating, cleaning, and walking around more.

Look how small the runt is in comparison! (Luna says PET ME!)



Hungry babies!

 

[mani]

Luna reminds my of my girl. 

I'm loving following their progress!  I hope you can keep posting (are you exhausted by it all yet?)

 

[brinnan]

Luna reminds my of my girl. 

I'm loving following their progress!  I hope you can keep posting (are you exhausted by it all yet?)

Thanks! I am probably posting too much, but I'm hoping it might be helpful to someone else eventually. I know I went back and read so many threads! I could never find a good weight chart, just general estimates. I'm hoping that the kittens will be ok, and I can show that varying weight gains is ok, as long as they are all positive. If something goes wrong (which I pray does not), then I can also show that.

I'm not too exhausted. I come home from work and check in. Then I check every two hours until sleep. I feel awful for my two cats locked in the bedroom, but I don't want the one cat scratching at Luna's door. It seems unfair to my girls to lock them up like this, but the bedroom is really big.

 

[mani]

I'm sure they'll be fine.. it's not like it's permanent.

Are you still definite that Luna is deaf?  I'm wondering as it seemed there were some medical issues with her ears.

 

[brinnan]

I'm sure they'll be fine.. it's not like it's permanent.

Are you still definite that Luna is deaf?  I'm wondering as it seemed there were some medical issues with her ears.

No-- her hearing is returning! She still doesn't hear much, but now she notices things like drawers opening, loud whistles, and when I sneeze. She thinks sneezes are AWFUL. It's amazing to see her ears flicker for a noise now or her head turn. She definitely still doesn't hear a lot of things, and her kittens can mew for a long time before she turns her head and is surprised to see the one has wandered off. Still, she is doing so much better.

Even though she had already been vet checked and I had been told she had no mites or ear problems, I'm so glad I went back and insisted-- so much so that her canals were completely swollen/inflamed shut. She did have mites and awful infections. I know that we cat lovers can be paranoid, but we also know our kitties best.

This morning I'm a bit freaked out by how much the babies are crying. They are normally very content, eat, sleep, and crawl when they want to nurse. This morning one was wandering around crying VERY loudly. I was two floors below and ran up because I could hear him. Luna showed no interest in him, and he didn't try to nurse or cuddle with the others. I weighed him to check for weight loss, and he has in fact gained .7 ounces since just last night (6.9!). I rubbed his bottom with a moist cotton ball, and he peed instantly, though no poop. I just thought maybe that was the problem. Is it possible his eyes are starting to open and that is why he is crying?

 

 

[rad65]

Does anyone have an advice for a deaf cat having kittens? Do they typically know the kittens are hungry/cold/whatever? I know usually mothers listen for the mewing. Also, has anyone ever had a cat recover hearing? I wonder if an old infection or something caused this.

I don't have experience with deaf cats having kittens, but I do have experience with deaf animals and I would imagine she will be a great mom. She knows that she is deaf, and all mothers are overly protective, so I bet the only difference between her and a normal cat mother is that she will stick closer to her kittens for a longer period of time. She will rely more on visual cues than a normal mother, but I bet she refuses to leave the same room her kittens are in until they can wander around by themselves.

I'm more concerned with how loud the kittens could be since the mother won't ever dicipline overly loud kittens, so they may never learn that constant meowing is an annoying thing. On the other hand, the kittens may get so used to their meows not automatically bringing help that they won't whine and beg for food later in life.

 

[brinnan]

From what I've read, kittens development muscle tone by twitching in their sleep. It also shows they are in a deep "activated" sleep and likely dreaming. What do you think she is dreaming of?

 

[angels mommy]

Awww, how sweet!  Probably dreaming of fighting for space in the womb! lol

 

[brinnan]

Day 9-- they are all getting bigger, though I know they are small compared to some litters. It turns out I have 3 boys and 3 girls. Luna is eating up a storm, but she's still only 5 pounds! Poor skinny girl!

 

[mani]

She is just beautiful. 

I don't know anything about mothers with kittens.. I've never been in the situation.  This is a real insight!

Keep posting.. this is such a good place for advice, and I, for one, just want to know how they are.

 

[mrblanche]

Is she showing any signs of recovering any hearing?

 

[brinnan]

Is she showing any signs of recovering any hearing?

Yes! She still is obviously not hearing like a normal cat, but she is definitely hearing! You should have seen her eyes the first time she actually heard me sneeze. Her head swung around and her pupils were huge! She definitely still doesn't hear a lot, but her hears are starting to flicker, and she definitely can hear a little bit.

 

[brinnan]

The kittens are getting bigger and bigger! I still weigh them every single day around 6pm. They are starting to play a little bit, and they really like to be pet!

 

[orientalslave]

How sweet!  Looks like they are doing really well, and it's great news she is getting some hearing back.

 

[mani]

That's beautiful to see.

I had my little kitten sitting on my shoulder while I played your clip and he was transfixed by it!

 

[brinnan]

Well, I hope my kittens are doing well. Some days they don't gain a lot of weight, and sometimes they even lose a tiny bit. Still, there is a definite upward trend. Now, at 18 days old, they range from 8.1 ounces for the two runts to 11.8 ounces for the largest. Most are about 10 ounces, though. While they are small for their age, their mother is a small cat. She is supposedly a year and a half old, but she is only 5 pounds. I wouldn't be surprised if they end up small!

They are getting very playful already. They are excited when I come into the bathroom, and they love to climb all over my lap and wrestle with each other. They are vocal and wander all over, since Luna still won't put them in a box. I worry sometimes that a couple of them are pretty skinny, or that Luna at five pounds won't have enough milk for them, but so far they are fun and full of personality.





One of the runts:







And a video. If you watch it to the end, you'll see adorable kitten wrestling!

 

[mani]

How gorgeous are they!?!  I love the little charcoal one with the amazing moustache in the third picture... Is it a boy?

They all certainly look healthy enough.