Kittens on the way - colors and preparation?

[sayuriel]

Thank-you all!  I was pleasantly surprised by the span of color; they're the perfect combination of their parents. The little dark one is going to look just like momma, but a little darker, the gray one is going to be the lighter version of mom, with daddy's white markings, and with any luck the little white one will turn out to be a point just like dad 

 I can't imagine making it through this without all of the help and support I found on this forum, and I'll definitely keep posting little updates as they grow!  Soon enough (once I can actually tell what their genders are) I'll be looking for ideas naming those three little jelly beans 

 

[sayuriel]

You guys.

This little white kit has grown from 116 grams to 176 grams in just 4 days. He(she?) is the biggest 4-day-old kitten I have ever seen.

Which brings me to my next question. I just wanted a rough guess, so I took a peak while I was weighing them to see if I could tell their gender. Now, the little gray one with white paws, I am 99% sure that's a boy. I can very clearly see where he's going to form little boy kitten parts. The other tabby is most certainly a girl, as there's very little space between her two openings and no sign at all of developing little boy parts. It's the white one that's giving me problems. It has more space between its openings, but unlike its brother I can't see any sign of growing-in. At the same time, I'm having a hard time believing that I little girl is the biggest of the litter. Is that a common occurrence? Or could it be that (if he's a boy) he's just not "coming into his own" as quickly as his brother?

Thanks in advance!

Sincerely, the girl that's trying to figure out if she needs two boys names and a girl name, or two girl names and a boy name :lol3:

 

[Sarthur2]

Yes, it can sometimes take a few weeks for a male kitten's testicles to "drop". I thought one of my kittens was a female for about 6-7 weeks, then had to change its name!

The kitty is certainly getting plenty of milk - oink, oink! [emoji]128522[/emoji]

Are the others gaining okay too?

 

[sayuriel]

With that knowledge in mind, I think I'm going to refer it as a he for now, just to be safe!

And they absolutely are. The gray one has gone from 109 to 156, and the darker tabby has come all the way from 97 to 155! They're not gaining quite as quickly at the white one, but they're still making healthy gains every day, so I don't think it's something I should be concerned about. It's just funny to me that the white one does the most scooting around and somehow still ends up getting more milk [emoji]128514[/emoji]

 

[Sarthur2]

Wow! They are ALL enjoying the milk bar!

I'd say you have a very healthy litter there! [emoji]128522[/emoji]

 

[sayuriel]

They certainly are! I've never been happier to have an unopened can of powdered KMR [emoji]128514[/emoji]

 

[Sarthur2]

You'll use it when weaning, and mom can have a dish a day now. She needs the extra calcium. [emoji]128522[/emoji]

 

[sayuriel]

I have been my vet recommended that I go ahead and buy two cans, because my girl is young and kind of anxious.  She was worried that Bastet would be kind of freaked out by everything and not feed them properly (which obviously isn't the case 

).  So I'm only just now making a dent in the first can, and I've got another whole unopened can just sitting in the cabinet

 

[Sarthur2]

Ah, good vet! You'll probably use it when the kittens are weaning as well. I went through quite a bit of it. [emoji]128522[/emoji]

 

[sayuriel]

Hey!

I know it's been a while since I've made a post, but I've run into a problem. I started noticing that one of the kittens wasn't gaining nearly as much weight as his siblings, and this morning while he was trying to nurse Bastet pushed him away. Now, they're 3 weeks old, and since he hasn't been gaining healthy weight I was wondering if I should supplement him with KMR or go ahead and start trying to mix some wet food in with the KMR? He's not interested at all in the nursing bottle I was given, or the small needless syringe, but I know he needs to start gaining more weight.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Sarthur2]

Interested or not, if the kitten is not gaining, you need to supplement with KMR using the syringe. I would also try putting him to mom and seeing that she allows him to nurse. It's one or the other.

You can try mixing KMR into wet food, but most kittens at 3 weeks old are not quite ready to eat solids.

 

[sayuriel]

I separated him and mom to try to let him nurse extra and she kicked him away [emoji]128531[/emoji] I'll definitely start supplementing KMR. How often do you recommend I feed him?

 

[handsome kitty]

It may take a few tries before the kitten realizes there is good stuff in the syringe.  Be ready for diarrhea or constipation from the change in food.

 

[Sarthur2]

sayuriel

How much does the kitten weigh? How much do the other kittens weigh?

I would start with 12mLs of formula every 3 hours. Total in 24 hours: 96 mLs

Which brand formula do you have? Is it powder?

 

[handsome kitty]

I separated him and mom to try to let him nurse extra and she kicked him away [emoji]128531[/emoji] I'll definitely start supplementing KMR. How often do you recommend I feed him?

At 3 weeks he should be fed every 3 hours around the clock.  You may be able to push it 4 -5 hours during the night once he is eating enough from the syringe.

Using his weight in ounces, weight times 8ml divided by # of feedings during 24 hours.  Feeding every 3 hours is easy since it will be 8 feedings, try to get his weight in mls every feeding.  i.e. if he weighs 11 ounces feed him at least 11 ml at each feeding.  When he hits four weeks and you begin feeding every 4 hours you'll need to calculate the amount needed.  As the kitten grows he needs more food.

 

[sayuriel]

I'm using the PetAG powdered KMR.

I plan on weighing him again and starting his feeding schedule when I get home from work at 2. I hope we get results soon, it's making me nervous that he's having a harder time standing and walking than his siblings [emoji]128554[/emoji]

 

[talkingpeanut]

Have you been weighing them every day or you've just visibly noticed a weight loss?

 

[sayuriel]

I've been weighing them every morning since they were born, and it's happened once or twice before, but he would normally catch up by the end of the day. It wasn't until yesterday that he lost weight, and this morning (as I mentioned) she pushed him away pretty forcefully

 

[sayuriel]

I'm really at a loss.  I could hardly get him to take 3 mL, I don't have any idea how I'm going to manage to feed him 12mL every 3 hours.

On top of that I read back over all of their weights for the past three weeks and they've all started losing weight--it just hasn't been as drastic as the change I noticed in the gray kitten.  Is it possible that mama isn't producing enough milk?  Or as much as she was at the start, anyways?  Should I start supplementing all of them with KMR?

They've been doing so well--walking and playing and purring--I'm really upset with myself for not noticing their weight loss sooner, even though I was recording it all!

Thanks again for any and all advice!

 

[talkingpeanut]

How old are they now and how much do they weigh? Can you post your tracker?