Tomorrow the babies will have survived their first week and day 5 with me as their caretaker. Today has been a bit tougher than the other days, logic would state that any hungry baby should be fed until they feel satisfied, this isn't so with kitten or any other animal you hand feed really. Kittens like any other mammal can become "piggies" they just don't wanna stop eating, maybe its for comfort or maybe they really do feel hungry, but this usually means that the brain hasn't registered yet that it has been fed and the belly is full, so they cry and us humans who hate to hear babies cry, feed them just a little more. I spoke to the vet yesterday who said that they should be allowed to eat until the "fall" off the bottle. So ok I did as she said with my own doubts, but I am not the one who spent years at vet school, so what do I know? So I tried her way, and today baby 1 has just started with diarrhea, not severe or anything to be frantic about (this may be because of the formula change even, I started with powder but it was so lumpy I switched to premade), but given her age, it IS a worry. So I am going to back to the way that I have been taught when it comes to hand rearing any animal, the animal lies, it might think it's hungry, but it isn't. Wait 10 mins or so and see if they stop fussing, if not give just a smidge more and that will usually settle them.
We have also given the babies names. I said I was never going to name any babe that I had no intention of keeping. The inevitable happens and you get attached and that baby gets taken away and you are heart broken. So naming them was something I put off because of my own insecurities and my own heart's protection. today, I needed to name them, 1,2,3,4 just has nothing attached to it. It means nothing, it's a number. So names are as follows.
1) is now know as Muffy, or Muffers as I call her...why? well, she is a snuggler, and she likes to be under my chin, when under there she is very muffly sounding in her communication. Given the theme of the names, Muffy fits her, she is also very bossy and needs to be first for food, love, weighing etc etc..very much like the character she is named after.
2) is now known as Dw, she is one of the middle sisters and like middle children, have issues about feeling left out. She is the one who will start to cry first and fuss the loudest and until she gets attention she won't stop.
3) is now known as Kate, she is the youngest female. She likes all the attention is demands to lay across the "pile of kittens"
4) is our only male (I think) and he is known as Arthur. He is a pretty independent little man, he is content to be off on his own in the "baby box". He isn't to interested in what's going on around him, unless it involves food
These 4 names all have 1 thing in common, if you have young children I'm sure "Arthur" has shown up on your tv a time or 2. this is a great show that teaches kids "things" instead of "stuff". Things are important for living life, learning to be a friend, about growing up etc etc....stuff is junk stuff like how to catch a roadrunner a million different ways, or how to avoid the canary getting eaten by a sneaky Sylvester.
Anyway, I am tired, been a long day, and going ot be longer tomorrow. So here are their weights for today, you will see that Muffy (1) had a huge gain and she is also the one with diarreah, while I am no expert it would seem that this would make my theory more logical.
1) 164G increased 14 grams from 24 hrs ago....
2) 171G a 10 gram gain from 24hrs
3) 163G an increase of 9G from 24 hrs
4) 186G and increase of 10G
In case you are not sure how much the average gain of any newborn is, they say it's about 10G in a 24hr period. So while the babies have all been very close to their 10G gain, they seem to have finally leveled off a bit and become more predictable, as well as their eating schedules seems to have been regulated. I am off to the store to buy some plain yogurt for Muffers and some anti-diarrheal in case we should need it, which at this point we don't but I would rather have it and not need it than not have it and need it at 3am, when everything is closed.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Friday, April 29, 2011
Lonnnng night
The babies were up all night long pretty much, they slept but not any longer than 30 mins at a time. I think they must have hit a growth spurt during that time because they have been eating machines. They finally had some good poops today which is great news as I was getting a little concerned about them. I spoke with the vet this morning who said that as long as they ate every 2-2.5hrs during the day that they would probably be fine to go all night, but if they cry obviously feed them, not sure how thats gonna go but it's worth a try. My concern with them going all night is that they will be really hungry in the morning and over do their formula, but in the end we'll see. They are purring after every feed now which is great, its so funny to hear these tiny beings purring, you would be surprised at just how loud those little motors are!!
Anyway, tonights weights are as follows:
1)150G
2)161G
3)163G
4)176G
Not quite as much in gains as I had hoped but as I said they have also been pooping very well, so I am assuming that since they are all active, noisy and thriving, that the low gain is from passing their poop.
Anyway, tonights weights are as follows:
1)150G
2)161G
3)163G
4)176G
Not quite as much in gains as I had hoped but as I said they have also been pooping very well, so I am assuming that since they are all active, noisy and thriving, that the low gain is from passing their poop.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Good news
No mommy hasn't come home yet, but the bubs are eating well, gaining well and even pooping now. I am very excited about the feed I just did all 4 bubs left me nice teeny tiny yellow logs of poop!!
Thursday weights are as follows:
1) 145G
2) 165G
3) 150G
4) 163G
I have been feeding about every 2.5 hrs today. They have been eating machines as well, so this is very encouraging for me. They are really cuddly babies and a few have taken up residence in my bra. It keeps them close when they are wanting and needing it and allows me to still get stuff done around the house. Tonight I am hoping that they will eat about every 3, in hopes I can get a little more sleep but if they can't I will feed them obviously. Thankfully they eat, use the bathroom fairly quickly, all 3 times I was up in the night with them, I was up for no more than 30 mins each time. Their little personalities are starting to show, they are so snuggly and lovey and if you hold one close to your face you may find that someone is trying to suck on your lips lol.
Thursday weights are as follows:
1) 145G
2) 165G
3) 150G
4) 163G
I have been feeding about every 2.5 hrs today. They have been eating machines as well, so this is very encouraging for me. They are really cuddly babies and a few have taken up residence in my bra. It keeps them close when they are wanting and needing it and allows me to still get stuff done around the house. Tonight I am hoping that they will eat about every 3, in hopes I can get a little more sleep but if they can't I will feed them obviously. Thankfully they eat, use the bathroom fairly quickly, all 3 times I was up in the night with them, I was up for no more than 30 mins each time. Their little personalities are starting to show, they are so snuggly and lovey and if you hold one close to your face you may find that someone is trying to suck on your lips lol.
Meet me and them
I wanted to start this blog so that the people who adopt my new fosters will know about every aspect of their lives from the time i get them, until they find forever homes. Therefore you won't find much of anything about me or my family as it is strictly for kitten blogging.
First off, lets start at the basics, my name is Barb. I am a 30 something year old woman (if I'm smart I will remain 30 something for the next 60 years). I am a single mom to an 8 year old Jillian. I also have 2 dogs, Quincy is my hairless chinese crested, he will be 8 in June. Ruby is our 2.5 year old mini poodle. Echo is our 14 month old quaker parrot. So thats the quick run down of my family.
A long while ago, I called around and let people know that I would be willing to foster baby kittens in need of bottle feedings. Why did I chose this age? Well, having parrots and dogs in the house, with a full grown cat can be dangerous for the cat as well as for my own animals. Kittens can be contained for a few weeks until they are big enough to be running a muck and getting into all sorts of trouble. I got a call about 2 months ago from 2 local rescues asking me to get my apps in so I could start as soon as it was needed. Of course you are always hoping that you won't be needed, but you know that eventually you will.
Sunday evening (Easter Sunday) I got a call from my neighbor asking me if I would consider taking a mom and her 4 newly born babes. They had been born on a porch earlier in the day. I hesitated, not b/c I was interested, but was wary of bringing a mom and her 4 new borns into my already loud and crazy home. My fear was that she would bolt out of fear and being moved and abandon her babes. Thought about it all night, all the possibilities and what ifs, and how I would handle each situation. I decided that to keep mom feeling safe and not threatened it would probably be sensible to have her in my mudroom, I gated off a portion of it to keep dogs and kids out and set it all up for her.
Monday we picked her and her youngsters up in a town not far from my own. Mom was surprisingly friendly and lovable. She was pushing into the hands of anyone who would pet her and give her some love. So we came home, set them all up and just watched for that first night. She did great, she is a great mom, who doesn't leave her kittens for long periods of time.
Once she seemed settled and content I had a look at all babes and weighed them in, it's important for me to know that they are gaining weight a steady pace.
We had 4 beautiful kittens. I have them numbered for now but will give them names in a few days:
1) is a stripped female her admission weight was 113 grams
2) is a black with white legs Female admission weight was 124 Grams
3) is a black with white feet Female admission weight was 113 Grams
4) is an all black male just like the mom, admission weight was 126.2 Grams
Tuesday morning weights were : The morning weights were all great except for #2, I ended up pulling her and giving her some supplement for the day, I put her back with mom that night after I had seen that she did gain quite a bit more during the day. She was hard to feed at first, but after that first bottle feed, she took it well and did well, putting her gain in a 24 hr time span up to 10 grams. Perfect.
1) 133 Grams
2) 134 Grams
3) 133 Grams
4) 144 Grams
Wednesday we had some trouble, we had a huge storm move thru the area that brought with it lots of lightning and some pretty loud thunder booms. Momma cat apparently is terrified of thunder and the one loud bang we had sent her running about 10:30am. I waited until about 1:30 than started to panic, that she wasn't coming back, had gotten lost or worse. I called the vets office and let them know she was missing, I also called Mary D and bunch of my friends and got the word out that momma was missing. By 3pm I couldn't wait anymore, I had to feed the babies, they ate some but not great, so I let them back to rest again. At 4, i fed them again, this time I gave them each a bit of glucose to give them some energy so they could suck productively. They all ate and did great.
Jilly and I went out to look for mom again about 5:30, no luck in finding her, I am really worried by now and wondering what if she doesn't come back. I figured I was in for a long night. I got a live trap in hopes that she would be trapped and I could bring her back in to her children....we did trap something but it wasn't the cat, Ruby the poodle was very unimpressed with getting stuck in the trap. Set it up again and left it, took it back in before bed and got up every few hrs to feed the babes and see if by chance she was on the porch waiting to get in...no such luck. At one point there was a black cat who came in when I opened the door, she went to the baby area and laid down, since I haven't had mom long enough to really know if it was her, I decided to get a baby and see if it was her....It wasn't, when I got close to her with the babe, she started hissing, growling and swatting. Couldn't have been mom so I sent the cat back outside. She hasn't been seen or heard from since yesterday morning. It's looking less and less likley that she is going to come back and even if she does will she accept her children?
Wednesday weights were:
1) 133 Grams
2) 147 Grams
3) 138 Grams
4) 150 Grams
As you can see they are doing well.
I will continue to post updates daily on the babies.
First off, lets start at the basics, my name is Barb. I am a 30 something year old woman (if I'm smart I will remain 30 something for the next 60 years). I am a single mom to an 8 year old Jillian. I also have 2 dogs, Quincy is my hairless chinese crested, he will be 8 in June. Ruby is our 2.5 year old mini poodle. Echo is our 14 month old quaker parrot. So thats the quick run down of my family.
A long while ago, I called around and let people know that I would be willing to foster baby kittens in need of bottle feedings. Why did I chose this age? Well, having parrots and dogs in the house, with a full grown cat can be dangerous for the cat as well as for my own animals. Kittens can be contained for a few weeks until they are big enough to be running a muck and getting into all sorts of trouble. I got a call about 2 months ago from 2 local rescues asking me to get my apps in so I could start as soon as it was needed. Of course you are always hoping that you won't be needed, but you know that eventually you will.
Sunday evening (Easter Sunday) I got a call from my neighbor asking me if I would consider taking a mom and her 4 newly born babes. They had been born on a porch earlier in the day. I hesitated, not b/c I was interested, but was wary of bringing a mom and her 4 new borns into my already loud and crazy home. My fear was that she would bolt out of fear and being moved and abandon her babes. Thought about it all night, all the possibilities and what ifs, and how I would handle each situation. I decided that to keep mom feeling safe and not threatened it would probably be sensible to have her in my mudroom, I gated off a portion of it to keep dogs and kids out and set it all up for her.
Monday we picked her and her youngsters up in a town not far from my own. Mom was surprisingly friendly and lovable. She was pushing into the hands of anyone who would pet her and give her some love. So we came home, set them all up and just watched for that first night. She did great, she is a great mom, who doesn't leave her kittens for long periods of time.
Once she seemed settled and content I had a look at all babes and weighed them in, it's important for me to know that they are gaining weight a steady pace.
We had 4 beautiful kittens. I have them numbered for now but will give them names in a few days:
1) is a stripped female her admission weight was 113 grams
2) is a black with white legs Female admission weight was 124 Grams
3) is a black with white feet Female admission weight was 113 Grams
4) is an all black male just like the mom, admission weight was 126.2 Grams
Tuesday morning weights were : The morning weights were all great except for #2, I ended up pulling her and giving her some supplement for the day, I put her back with mom that night after I had seen that she did gain quite a bit more during the day. She was hard to feed at first, but after that first bottle feed, she took it well and did well, putting her gain in a 24 hr time span up to 10 grams. Perfect.
1) 133 Grams
2) 134 Grams
3) 133 Grams
4) 144 Grams
Wednesday we had some trouble, we had a huge storm move thru the area that brought with it lots of lightning and some pretty loud thunder booms. Momma cat apparently is terrified of thunder and the one loud bang we had sent her running about 10:30am. I waited until about 1:30 than started to panic, that she wasn't coming back, had gotten lost or worse. I called the vets office and let them know she was missing, I also called Mary D and bunch of my friends and got the word out that momma was missing. By 3pm I couldn't wait anymore, I had to feed the babies, they ate some but not great, so I let them back to rest again. At 4, i fed them again, this time I gave them each a bit of glucose to give them some energy so they could suck productively. They all ate and did great.
Jilly and I went out to look for mom again about 5:30, no luck in finding her, I am really worried by now and wondering what if she doesn't come back. I figured I was in for a long night. I got a live trap in hopes that she would be trapped and I could bring her back in to her children....we did trap something but it wasn't the cat, Ruby the poodle was very unimpressed with getting stuck in the trap. Set it up again and left it, took it back in before bed and got up every few hrs to feed the babes and see if by chance she was on the porch waiting to get in...no such luck. At one point there was a black cat who came in when I opened the door, she went to the baby area and laid down, since I haven't had mom long enough to really know if it was her, I decided to get a baby and see if it was her....It wasn't, when I got close to her with the babe, she started hissing, growling and swatting. Couldn't have been mom so I sent the cat back outside. She hasn't been seen or heard from since yesterday morning. It's looking less and less likley that she is going to come back and even if she does will she accept her children?
Wednesday weights were:
1) 133 Grams
2) 147 Grams
3) 138 Grams
4) 150 Grams
As you can see they are doing well.
I will continue to post updates daily on the babies.
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