Questions about my growing kittens!!

[jenelleaurora12]

Heyy - Aurora and her kittens are doing pretty well. We have had a few hiccups and worries here and there but for the most part ALL have their eyes open. They are ALL trying to walk, actually today each one of them took a turn coming out to me and trying walk. They can barley all fit to feed at the same time!! Aurora is tiny - she is only a year in a half but she handles it SO well. She purrs like CRAZY when the kittens feed from her. She loves it! She is the BEST momma ever. I am SO relieved. She also doesn't mind sharing them with me, although I have tried to back off! I'm like an overbearing mother!!

I am curious about a few things that are coming. I read on a website that by NEXT WEEK the kittens will start to go to the bathroom without being stimulated!! I also read that she will take care of it for 4-5 weeks. Next week will only be 3 weeks. So I am very curious as to what this means and what will be happening. Will they be just peeing and pooping? Will they still be waiting for her to do it? Is it time to get their litters ready? Does each kitten need their own litter? I bought 2 regular box litters that are small and low, and I have Auroras litter box which is one that has a cover. Do I keep them away from it? Can 2 share a litter box? I know to buy non-clumping or the wood kind if they eat it. 

Also wondering when you think I should introduce food? I am told to use a wet food mixed with some KMR and make it a paste. What about water? Do I leave them a bowl? Should I put it in their food? Will they know to drink the water?! And do I start this once we hit the 3 week mark?! I'm so confused. I don't know if I feed them or if I let them eat when they want. Or if I make them eat. Like do they HAVE to eat by a month old? Or is it OK if they start late?!! I am SO confused! So scared too! It's weird to me that they don't need water. I'm afraid I don't know how to teach them how to eat and when!! Do they all get their own dish or can they share?

Does anyone have a personal check list for these coming weeks? A list of things I should go out and buy now? I plan on going to Petco this weekend. Any recomendations on what kind of wet food to feed them? Also how do you keep them? Do you keep them in a playpen and let them out a few times a day? Or do you keep them in the playpen at night? How do I control 4 kittens!! I plan on buying a playpen I'm just not sure when to use it. Do I use it all day? Do I use it to potty train? Is it OK to keep them in there or is that kind of cruel? I mean I plan on having them in my bed with me for at least an hour everyday - I just don't know the proper way to do that. Scratching Posts a must?? I have some toys already. I just don't know what to do with them. What kind of schedule to give them. When to keep them contained and when to let them run free!! I am in the process of cleaning and kitty proofing as we speak (well I'm on break now) so everything will be ready as I said they are already starting to walk. Well trying.

Aurora was a stray. She was a friendly stray who I LOVED. I also planned on getting her in here (we had a sick cat for a while who died) and when she was pregnant it was no question to bring her in. I feed 4 cats from outside so you can understand it's hard to chose when to take one in and when to stop wanting all of them. I'm in an apartment that actually doesn't allow pets... imagine my dilemma. Aurora was supposed to go with a foster home to have her babies. But Aurora is my baby and she CHOSE us to be her family. She hopped 3 feet into my roommates window and thru the blinds to sleep in his bed. We used to have go out a different door because Aurora slept on her porch and tried leaping in our house (at the time our cat was very ill - he passed). So when our cat died I couldn't bear to let Aurora go and have no cat here. It would have broke my heart to have Aurora with someone else, as I know this is her home and it woulda hurt her too.

My point is I'm scared! I'm scared I got myself in too deep. I'm afraid I acted on emotion. All this googling just gives me 12 different answers and I'm afraid I'm not good enough and not prepared and I want these kittens to have everything and more. So PLEASE ANY help or suggestions would be great. I WANT to be over prepared. If anyone has tips on schedules they used for kittens, how they kept them in their home, a check list of what I need and when to do it. I am sooo confused and soooo nervous and I am so excited for them to get big - I just wanna do right by them!! I'm 23 and currently between jobs. So these cats are my main priority right now. THANK YOU

 

[missymotus]

A litter tray is needed once they start eating. My girls are fed in the kitten pen, in front of the kittens. Around 3 weeks of age they toddle over and just start eating mums wet or raw food. I never water or KMR anything down for kittens. They'll just start when ready.

I use foil lasagne trays for their first litter tray, again they watch their mum use hers and just copy her. 

My kittens are penned until they're litter trained, around 4 weeks old they come out for supervised playtime. I keep a scratch pole in their pen and they start climbing around 3-4 weeks. 

You need a pen that's large enough for their bed, scratching pole, food, water, litter trays for mum and kittens, and space to play. I keep the door of the pen open so mum can have time away, but is still shut in a room.

Once they are using the litter trays they are loose in the room.

 

[eb24]

I leave dry food and water out at all times for the Mom and feed a wet canned food 3x/day heated in the microwave for a few seconds to make it nice and smelly.  When they are ready they will wander over and start sniffing around Mom's food. When they do that I start putting a separate dish of wet out for them. At first they will most likely play in it- you can dab a little on their lips and paws to show them how good it tastes! Other than that you don't need to teach them to eat or drink. They will learn from Mom. 

Yes, many kittens can eliminate on their own at 3 weeks (meaning they have control of the bodily function whereas they didn't before). But, that doesn't mean Mom will stop eliminating them. Usually she keeps doing it until they start on solids and then stops. So, it's good to get those boxes ready sooner rather than later!

As for wet food, I like Nutro canned kitten chicken formula. I prefer to feed only grain free but I have learned if I do that with fosters they get very sick when they go back to the shelter and eat the crummy food there. The Nutro is one of the only brands I have found that does kitten food in 5.5oz can vs the little 3 oz can. So far it's the best deal I have found. With 5 kittens and Mom I go though on average 4 big cans a day. 8 little ones adds up! 

When you say playpen do you mean a kittening pen with a zipper top? The problem I have with those is they are rarely big enough to confine Mom and kittens together with everything that they need. I use an extra large dog crate (a lot of people use a bathroom). I only close them in at night but I have a sectioned off area where they can safely be during the day. Once they start potty training you will learn it is a full time deal so if you need to confine them it will have to be all the time with supervised play sessions. I don't think it's cruel to do this at first, but once they really start romping they need the room to roam. You just have to see what you can do with your set up. Don't use a normal baby playpen- it seems ideal for keeping kittens in and letting Mom out but they will figure out how to climb out in a matter of days. 

Remember they will keep nursing even after they start on solids so if you confine them you need to confine Aurora too. Make sure you kitten proof whatever room they will be in now just in case there is an escape. Get down on your hands and knees and secure any cords, cover any dangerous hiding places, and pick up anything they could choke on. 

So your asking for lists, this is my lists of musts for this stage with a mom and 4 kittens:

- closed off area if needed (cage or even a bathroom)

- Towels or blankets for closed off area. You will need to change these everyday and sometimes twice a day so make sure you have extras!

- at least one standard (for mom) and 2 small litterboxes (or lasagna trays) for kittens for litter training. The more you can have the better. 

- Non-clumping litter 

- large bowl for water

- large bowl for dry food

- two dishes for wet food 

- placemats! (they will make a huge mess)

- at least one scratching post

- a variety of toys (wand toys, toys with sound, and small soft ones for teething)

- dry kitten food

- wet kitten food

- Urine and stain remover (like natures miracle) 

- Puppy wee wee pads. I use them as a mat for the litterboxes and also put them down if there is a particular spot the kittens keep going if a litterbox won't fit there

- Dog waste bags. - I use these for cleaning out the litterboxes. Keeps my trash from reeking and makes it fast and efficient. 

As far as play goes it will take them a little while to catch on but keep showing them toys and they will. Once they start teething make sure you have a toy on you at all times. When they go for your fingers replace it with the toy so they learn hands are not for play. 

You do need to have some sort of routine (for your sanity) but what it is just depends on you. Here is a very general example of mine. 

Morning: 

- wake up, change water, give wet food

- clean litterboxes 

- 15 minute play session

Afternoon:

- wet food

- 15 minute play session

Before bed:

- change out bedding in cage, wipe down mats, vacuum if needed 

- Fresh water, refill dry food if needed, give wet food

- clean litterboxes

- good 45 minute play session 

The only other thing I would say is  be cautious about playing with them on your bed while training. Unless you have an extra set of sheets! Playing with them on the floor in "their area" is better. It gives them familiarity and gets you on "their level." 

- 

 

[mcmurphy]

I was in the same situation as you, with a pregnant stray and no idea what to do.  My kitties are 6 weeks old now, and the momma cat has done a good job teaching them what they need to know.  I worried about each stage, but really there was nothing I needed to do.  She took care of all urination/defecation till the kitties were about 4 weeks.  We had about 3 days of accidents beside the litter box, and the kitties have been accident free since then!  Same thing with water and food...one at a time they started noticing food, and by 5 weeks all were eating three times a day.

They need a lot of play and exploration time at 6 weeks....we keep them in a small room and make sure they get out 2 - 3 times a day to explore.  I put a 4 story cat condo in the room, and the kitties love it...all of them can make it to the top and they picked one level where they all sleep together.  We put strange household things in there periodically to entertain them.  This week it was a shallow Sterilite storage container...right side up one day, upside down the next.  They think it is great!  Most use a scratching post too. 

Our mamma cat does not like to spend much time in the room with the kitties anymore, and seems to be feeding them rarely. Not sure if this is normal or ok, but  I try to let her come out for a couple of hours at a time when we are home. I can't blame her for wanting out...they are wild!

Good luck with your kitties...it sounds like your momma is doing a good job, so I hope your transitions will be as easy as mine!

 

[orientalslave]

It's normal for mother cats to gradually wean their kittens.  6 weeks is on the early side but it sounds like your kittens are doing just fine.  Hope you are giving them a wide range of different foods as well.  In the UK we can buy cheap packs of frozen white fish fillets which can be cooked from frozen in the microwave in a covered dish with a little water, and those make a great treat once or twice a week.  So does raw beef or lamb mince, and they might find a raw chicken wing (or the wingtips) very interesting.  Never, ever give any dog, cat or kitten cooked chicken bones - they become brittle and can splinter into sharp fragments.

When I was fostering, socialising the kittens once they were 4+ weeks old was a great excuse to pick all them up for cuddles several times a day!

 

[missymotus]

Our mamma cat does not like to spend much time in the room with the kitties anymore, and seems to be feeding them rarely. 

She might be coming back into heat, that often causes them to not be as interested in the kittens. Calling again usually starts at 4-8 weeks.