I have three new kittens!.......Help?

[fsttrk]

Amber, (my feral cat mom)just had three kitties last night! They woke me up with their squeaking! It was so loud my boyfreind lost a couple of hours of sleep. Idin't care though because that ment they were strong. I have a question though. Since Amber is sooo protective of her kitens, I don't know when I should start familiarizing them with me? I don't want them to grow up being afraid of humans like Amber, but I don't want to get my hand bit off either!
Oh, and what shots should I get and when?

 

[hissy]

They are too young to know fear of you right now. I would leave them be until Mom adjusts to them and you. Next time you change thier soiled bedding, slip a sweaty tee shirt of yours underneath them so they can get used to your scent. Right now, mom needs to be with them, and if you pick one up, she may nail you good. Ferals are quick, and once your kittens starts to squeak, and it will right away, she could launch at you, even if her other kittens are nursing, and fling them across the space she is in, or step on them in her concern.

Take a ruler, some duct tape and thick sponge. Fold the sponge over the end of the ruler, and duct tape the sponge to the ruler- keep the soft end exposed on one end, don't cover that with tape. Take this and use it to gently stroke mom's back, talk to her quietly and do not look into her eyes, look over her head. Use this tool to get her used to being touched. If she strikes out, withdraw it quickly.

Sit by the family and read out loud to them quietly. Let mom get used to your presence before you interfere with her kittens. This is a brand new family and mom is going to be very protective. Always wear long sleeves around her, so if she does nail you, hopefully she will only get your sleeve.

 

[luv those paws]

Wow Hissy.

I just want you to know that you amaze me sometimes with your depth of knowledge. I guess it is all the experience. You are just amazing.

 

[fsttrk]

There were four not three! Two white and two grey. One of the grey ones is the runt and she's a third the size of the biggest. but then again the biggest is HUGE. Almost twice as big as the two 'normal' ones. I can't really observe them because she gets so defensive so I'm going to try to tape them with my video recorder. I would take the runt and feed it but I know how much care they need, and with work and school I just don't have the time. I'm not even sure if she has nursed yet, but she probably has. The other ones are just so much stronger and better coordinated.

 

[hissy]

If you can supplement the runt with bottle feedings of KMR then do so. But again, you will make mom very anxious and perhaps put her on the attack by taking her baby from her for a feeding, so be careful. There is always a runt, and since there are only 4 kittens in this litter, the runt should be able to find a nipple to nurse on.

 

[fsttrk]

I'll get some KMR(can you get it at petsmart?) and I'll try to fed her. I thought that the mom might reject the kitten if I tryed to supplement her untill she is strong. But I'll try.

 

[fsttrk]

The runt of the litter died this afternoon. I was supplementing his feedings 5 times a day but I guess she was just too weak. She had seemed to be doing good and was sucking strongly at the bottle. It makes me sad, I had my boyfriend take her out and burry her in the flower bed and we had a little funeral for her. The other three are big and strong and the momma is still very defensive and protective. I had to throw a towel over her to get the runt out every time I had to feed her. Now every time she sees the towel, you can tell she hates it. I'm still not sure what I'm going to do with Amber. I could spay her and then let her go at the apartment complex that I found her in, but every other cat I caught there was unhealthy and had FIV and FELV or whatever and had to be put down. If I kept her and one of the kittens (which I am definitly going to keep one of them), I don't think she will ever stop being scared of me. Another thing that worries me is that I have a loft apartment to where from the bedroom you can look over and see the dinning room and living room, and I'm afraid that she'll freak out and jump off and hurt herself. The jump would be about 10 feet. Other wise she gets along with my three other cats.

 

[hissy]

I am sorry that the runt died. It happens even with the best of intentions. They call it Fragile Kitten Syndrome and it claims many a young life.

I would get rid of the towel that you used to cover the kitten. Just throw it away. Mom sees it and knows that it was there, and so was her kitten, and now the kitten is gone, so the towel is to blame. Throwing a towel over her was not the best way to remove her kitten, so now you must remove the towel.

She will not be afraid of you for long. She will learn that she can trust you, but right now you are predator and she is prey (in her mind) and you took her kitten away so you are a threat. Be very careful around her. If the other kittens are doing well, I would limit visits to her to only twice once in the morning and again at night. Let her get used to the fact that the kitten is gone, and don't push yourself on her or the kittens in your haste to make them people friendly. You really do have plenty of time for that.

Again, I am sorry for the loss-

 

[pamela]

Hello. I know exactly what u are going through! I have 3 indoor cats of my own and in Feb, I coaxed a pregnant stray in (knew there was a blizzard on the way and was worried about her giving birth in the blizzard).

Before I could get her to a foster mom who's very experienced with pregnant cats, she gave birth to 5 kittens!! When I tried to put her in the cage to take to the foster home, she freaked out, attacked me and hiss like crazy so I gave up. I am SOOO thankful that none of the kittens died- I don't know if I could have handled that!

During the first week, when I tried to look in the box to see how the kittens were doing, she'd growl/hiss and swat at me but after I spent time in the room doing my own thing and each time getting closer to her and the kittens, she got used to me and let me pick the kittens up to hold/pet them.

Try that and also try what HIssy suggested regarding the sponge & smelly clothing.

Now they are all about 7 wks old and driving me nuts! 4 out of 5 have conjunvitis so I have been driving myself crazy and getting plenty of wounds while dosing them with medience!

Hopefully, the infection will clear up within 2-4 wks so I can go ahead and give to interested families. I'm keeping one kitten (she's the runt of the litter but is the most hyperactive of all!)

So, I know what it's like!