How to know if my cat will have her kittens soon.

[Sarthur2]

Birth weights:

1st born 99g. Torti
2nd born 90g. Black
3rd born 89g. Light orange
4th born 76g. Dark orange
5th born 100g. Tuxedo
6th born 90g. Grey

Today's weights:

105, 106, 104, 100, 111, 101

The grey kitten may be the smallest, but #1 tortie has gained the least - only 6 grams in 2 days. This is not enough, and this kitten needs supplementing. On the other hand, the grey kitten has gained 11 grams in the same time frame.

Mom's full milk may just now be coming in. They may have been getting mostly colostrum. Regardless, each kitten needs to gain 6-10 grams daily. With six kittens, you will have to rotate, and I think giving each kitten 1-2 mL's of KMR every 2-3 hours is the way to go for now in order to boost their weights. They are all very small.

It will help if you show birth weights and current weights side by side so we can see gains.

No one has lost though, which is terrific. Do you need feeding instructions?

 

[dtackc6]

Thank you so much. This is my first experience so I'm not quite sure about a lot of things yet! The feeding I have down pat. I have rescued abandoned kittens before and bottle fed. This is just my first experience where mommy is feeding the kittens etc..I will start putting the previous weights on the post also. I'm heading out now to get the KMR. I've been rotating them since last night so I will continue to do that also. Should I feel them all 1-2 mls or just the ones that haven't gained as much?

 

[Sarthur2]

Feed them all for now, but they will not take a bottle since they have mom. You'll have to use a 1-2 mL syringe and put drops in the side of their cheek. They will probably resist initially, but they'll learn. Be sure they do not aspirate formula!

Let me know how it goes!

P.S. You are doing a terrific job! [emoji]128522[/emoji]

 

[dtackc6]

Awesome, thank you! I'll let you know how it goes!

 

[dtackc6]

The feeding went great. They did resist initially but they did fine by the 22nd or third feeding and weights really improved!

Birth Weights. Today. Yest.
1st born 99gTorti. 114g up 9g
2nd born 90g.Black. 121g. Up 15g
3rd born 89g.Light orange 119g up 15g
4th born 76g.Dark orange. 113g up 13g
5th born 100g.Tuxedo. 123g up 12g
6th born 90g.Grey. 114g up 11g

 

[talkingpeanut]

That's great!!

 

[dtackc6]

Every time I would weigh one, Rosie would wait until I was done and then pick up the kitten off the scale and put it back in the box. Sometimes she will even meow until I stay with the kittens while she eats or uses the litter box lol
She is such a good protective mommy.

 

[Sarthur2]

Whew! I am thrilled to see the gains. Thank you for supplementing them. Keep up the nice job! I'm glad they are eating for you. For whatever reason they are not getting enough from mom yet. Is she eating well?

 

[dtackc6]

She has been eating and drinking great. She has unlimited access to dry and wet food. She prefers the wet of course. I can see she has tons of milk in her lower nipples. But the kittens that weren't gaining always prefer the nipples up toward her head and they don't seem to have as much. I keep moving them down but each time they make their way right back up to the same top nipples.

 

[jenny37]

How are Rosie and her kittens doing?

 

[dtackc6]

They have been doing great. Here are some updated weights.
Day 1. Now
1st born 99g. 157g
2nd born 90g. 180g
3rd born 89g. 185g
4th born 76g. 170g
5th born 100g. 175g
6th born 90g. 155g

I will post some pics later.

 

[Sarthur2]

That's awesome! Are you still supplementing?

 

[dtackc6]

I a still supplementing the 2 smallest kittens. Everyone is doing very well. Most of them have their eyes open now. I am a little confused about rosies behavior. I have brought her and the kittens downstairs into my bedroom so that I could put bandit in the bathroom for her impending birth. Rosie likes our room and has,not attempted to move the kittens out of there. However, she has been walking around my house meowing like crazy! I'm not sure why. She's eating like a horse. Eating tons of soft and dry food and drinking plenty of water. She's still being a great mommy, but I do notice her leaving the kittens for longer periods of time. Bandit escaped the bathroom a few days ago and the cats got into a scuffle. No one was a hurt and I was able to get them apart and back to their safe spots. Now, Rosie has been,meowing and running up,to the bathroom door every time she has a chance. I don't know if she's acting this way because,of bandit being in her old spot..anyone have any advice?

 

[Sarthur2]

It sounds like Rosie is having anxiety about her "old place" being off-limits and occupied by another cat. She may have just realized that she's not the only cat!

You may want to limit her access to just your bedroom right now, so she is not distracted and will be with her kittens more. Moms do take longer breaks outside the nest as the kittens get older. The kittens themselves will want to leave the nest to explore after the 3-week mark. Mine stayed in my bedroom for about 6 weeks, and I would return them there as their "safe" place after they played downstairs every day.

I'm glad to hear that she's eating well! Are the smallest gaining weight with the help of the supplementing?

Thank you for the update! [emoji]128522[/emoji]

 

[dtackc6]

The are gaining weight well. Not sure how much longer I should supplement them. Here are some updated weights and pictures.
Day 1 Born. Now.
1st born 99g. 226g
2nd born 90g. 270g
3rd born 89g. 240g
4th born 76g. 255g
5th born 100g. 250g
6th born 90g. 214g

PicsArt_05-03-08.59.38.jpg

• dtackc6
• May 3, 2016

PicsArt_05-03-08.58.43.jpg

• dtackc6
• May 3, 2016

Now for a Bandit update!
Bandit allowed me to check her out this morning. She usually only comes out of my,bathroom closet to eat and use the litter box. She will let me pet her but doesn't like to be picked up. Well today was different. She came right out of the closet and wanted attention. She allowed me,to pick her up and check her out. She has her milk coming in and has the same mucus like discharge that Rosie had in the end. Not sure how long she has had it though because she hasn't allowed me to check her out until now! So, I think she's getting close!! Very exciting.

 

[Sarthur2]

Bandit is definitely sounding close!

Your kittens are about 11-12 days old, and 6th born is the lightest at 7.5 ounces. They should weigh about 8 ounces at 2 weeks, so they are right on target, but I think it's due to your supplementing. I know it gets tiresome, but I would encourage you to continue supplementing the smallest ones at least until they weigh a pound.

 

[hayg81]

Aww they are beautiful colours. My kittens are 3 weeks old and similar colours

 

[dtackc6]

I woke up to three kittens this morning! Bandit had 2 and was in the process of delivering the 3rd. 2 calico and one all black with a little brown around it's eyes. None of them are very big but all are nursing.
Weights
1st calico 80g
2nd calico 74g
Black 70g
She isn't having contractions now so I think she may be done.

0504160651b.jpg

• dtackc6
• May 4, 2016

 

[StefanZ]

They are smallish, but not necessarily critical so.  Yet, its an automatic Yellow Alert, and you must monitor and follow up closely.    The margins are very thin, so you dont afford to lose time nor momentum on nothing.  Be prepared, get home gears for supplementing....   Im glad you DO have a working scale.

Weigh them every 12 hours in the beginning, till you are sure they are gaining.

But if its going nicely with momma, dont supplement before so is indicated.    Supplementing although often necessary, does carries its risks too.

 

[Sarthur2]

Congrats! They are very small. I think you will want to supplement them right away until they are bigger and you can be sure mom's milk is fully in. Are they latching well?