New Kittens Questions

[Desley (booktigger)]

Glad things are going well, but please dont spay her at 5 weeks, the babies are too young to be on their own all day, and if somethign went wrong, you would have to step in. Most vets advise a week or two after the kittens have been rehomed to give their milk time to dry up - this also has the advantage that they can build themselves up a bit as well.

[Linda (Bengalbabe)]

Hi

Glad to hear all is going well with the kittens.  I have some experience and am happy to be there to answer any questions you may have or even just to have a chat on msn.  If you PM me happy to give you my details 

[onewingedangel]

Hello

Yep, all three kitties are fine now, i've completely fallen in love with them! I have some cimicat on standby just in case and, like Dawn said, the vet advised giving Pepitoz some too. Managed to get some cat litter but no litter tray - am using an old baking tray for now (will have to remember NOT to use it for cooking again!).

Have taken some pictures and will have to post them up when I'm next online at home, they really are sooooo sweet

Thanks again for everyone's help

[Millys Mum]

Is little one ok now? I would have checked for a cleft palate, thats a slit in the roof of the mouth.

A litter tray is the best thing, if she goes out for the loo and goes missing then your stuck with handrearing, she can also come into heat again while still nursing so its really important that she is now an indoor only cat until she has been spayed. 

In regards to spaying and when, some vets wont spay until all her milk has gone, others will do it when she still has some there. Best thing is to speak to your local vet (avoid the receptionists who are pre programmed)

Despite what many people think, the kittens will need to stay with mum longer than 6 weeks 

[onewingedangel]

Thank you everyone Have had to come into work today but all was well this morning, my housemate is going to keep an eye on them whilst i'm in the office. Will call past the local rescue on my way home to see if they have a pen I can borrow - will need to buy a litter tray etc I think!

The main thing that concerns me is that they might be inbred. I have no neighbours for miles but we have a farm nearby. We have had cats who look like Pepitoz come round before, and I have worries that they are not spaying their animals thus Pepitoz coming here pregnant. Since she seems to have pretty much chosen us I'll take her in properly as a pet - I have read that waiting approximately 5 weeks after birth is an okay time to have her spayed?

They are just sooooo adorable, but very noisy at night! Pepitoz had some breakfast this morning and got up for a stretch, was worried she'd just leave them but she went back, bless her.

Thanks for everyone's help, I have been a nervous wreck all night!

[Desley (booktigger)]

Good luck with them.

[Maddiesmum]

Best of luck, hope all is going well with the mum and kits and well done to you for helping her

[Dawn (DiddyDawn)]

You could move the kittens but ideally you need to wear surgical gloves so as not to get your scent on them, if you haven't got any of these, I would use a cloth and gently move them.  If mum is pretty chilled out, she should just go in the box with them but it would be an idea to keep her enclosed in the room as she may end up moving them if she feels threatened.  Any rescues I get in with kittens, I usually put them into a kitten pen and you know they are safe, maybe you could loan one from your local rescue.   Make sure that mum doesn't go outside now until she is spayed, you wouldn't want any harm coming to her or her getting pregnant again.  Well done for taking her in and I'm sure they'll be others on tomorrow to give advice 

[onewingedangel]

Thanks Dawn When is it okay to move them? I've read not to touch the kittens, but I have a box with an old towel for Pepitoz (the mother) and the kits to go into when it's okay for them to be moved.

Wasn't expecting an evening like this! Trust her to choose my nice clean dressing gown to do it on too, knew I should have hung it up this morning, lol.

[Dawn (DiddyDawn)]

I'm not sure about the little gasping noise unless the kitten is sucking in some air as well.  They all sound as if they are doing okay and if the little one is feeding regularly, that's a good sign.  I would keep an eye on things and try and make sure the little one does manage to find a nipple when he wants to feed.  You usually find with litters, there is usually one that may be a bit slower on the feeding than the others but they do tend to catch up when they get a little bigger.  I would also suggest getting a milk substitute as Susanne has mentioned, Cimicat or Lactol are both available from the vets.  This is handy to have in in case you have to do top up feeds but it's also good for mum cat as it's full of nutrients.  Make sure she has plenty of food and water to keep her strength up and also try and keep her nice and quiet so she can get used to being a mum.  Good luck with her, and I hope all goes well with the kittens, xxxxxxxxxx

[onewingedangel]

Okay, the kit is now feeding again, can't tell if I am just over worrying or not! I shall pick up some cimicat first thing in the morning. Looks like I've been booted off my bed for the night, bless them! Don't think i'll be getting much sleep tonight!

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

I don't know about kittens as I've never had any!  but good look with these.  It might be worth getting some milk substitute in just in case you have to hand feed them.

[onewingedangel]

Thank you - just a quick update, the kitten has been feeding readily since being born, and had another quick feed whilst I typed the last post, i can't tell whether she is just taking a nap! The other two are very fiesty and still feeding.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Dawn is online so will pm her for you

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

I dont know if any of our kitten experts are on but will look and draw there attention to your post.

We have a live chat room which will be better than msn for most.

[onewingedangel]

Hi All,

I am new to this forum so apologies if I've posted in the wrong section but need some advice asap.

A couple of months ago a stray cat started coming to our house and was friendly enough to come inside a lot. Today I came home from work to find her giving birth on my bed! Three healthy kittens - but I am worrying! They have all been feeding constantly since being born (first was at about 6pm, last was at about 8pm).  There was a fourth kitten but it unfortunately passed away within a few minutes depsite our best efforts - the mother wasn't interested at all.

What's worrying me is that one of the kits stops feeding every once in a while and does a strange little 'gasp' thing as though it's looking for a nipple. He/She does keep going back to feed but isn't doing it as much as the other two, is there anything I can do to help?

Have dealt with chinchilla kits before but never kittens! Just want to make sure that everything is going okay so far. Mother seems fine, have given her some milk and water which she has taken - is there anything else I should give her?

If anyone has msn and could help me out for a while before bed then please add me: Perri_one_winged_angel@hotmail.com, if not then please reply here

Thank you