Keep an eye on the tiny ones; make sure the big ones don't hog all the milk.
When I was a kid, I'd pick up the tiny ones and put them right near the nipple to make sure they got plenty to eat...and shoo away the big ones when they tried to butt in. Probably not the best way to do it, but I was just a little kid...and we never lost a kitten, even the time my cat had a litter of 10.
I've been taking away the four big ones and putting them on a heating pad (on low) to sleep as I guide the small ones to nipples. It seems to be working fine... the two little ones gained 10 grams today, and the most anyone gained was 20 grams. They seem to be nursing okay... but I'll keep up my little scheme for a week or so just to make sure.
You guys know that if you ask for pics, I'll be posting them every single day... you'll get tired of them.
I'll try to restrain myself and only post every other day or so.
They're beautiful kittens! Do you have any plans for rehoming and altering them once they are old enough, or are you keeping them? They're quite lovely! Good luck with them!
We will keep one or two of them... we will give them away with coupons for food and altering, and with their shots already given. It will depend on the person I give each one to, though... if I know them, I won't pay my own money. We'll only do that for the ones that we will have to give to strangers.
I'm debating how strict I should be. On the one hand, I don't want to be irresponsible, but on the other hand, I need to get rid of them. Also, there's a lot of money involved, and while we have some saved up for this, I'm not sure how far that money will go. But I want to make sure they go to good homes and not to someone irresponsible, but if I am too strict on my stipulations, then I may never be able to find homes.
Actually, some of these pictures were taken just a couple days after birth, but besides getting about double their birth weight, they haven't changed much yet.
One of them has his eyes open now... he was the one with leaking eyes. Now that they are open, I was able to swab them clean with warm water and put some antibiotic ointment on them. He's doing much better now! No leaks, no swollen membranes, just perfect.
He's the runt too... 60 grams at birth, now he weighs 120. The biggest one weighs 180 grams.