My babies refused their bottles today, 2 refused last night and most of yesterday. Today they all got mad and were not interested...I still offer it but they don't want it. This means my time with my babies has come to an end. They are weaned and doing so well, it's time for me to let them go and finish growing up with another bunch of kittens about their age so they can learn that they are cats and what that involves.
I imagine by weeks end I will have given them their last kisses on their heads before bed, last cuddles when they ask for it, scooped their litter for the last time. with them doing as well as they are and not staying in their weigh buckets there is no need for me to post on this litter anymore. If however anything changes with them I WILL post and let everyone know.
This has been am amazing experience, I didn't intend on loving them this much, but I am glad I did. I feel successful in the fact that they are alive, healthy and normal kittens. The chances of losing a kitten after weaning is very small, so I feel like i can honestly say, I have beaten the stats....I kept 75% of my babies alive, while stats say that only 30% survive.
I thank you all for reading, the wonderful comments in real life and on facebook. I loved people watching these babies grow up right along with me. The condolences when we lost DW at 8 days old.
One final word....PLEASE spay and neuter your pets, not only so they can't reproduce but to keep them healthy. I promise you, they really do live longer if fixed. Too many animals are on death row b/c who thought that fixing your pet wasn't important, too many animals die at the roadside every day b/c they wandered off in search of a mate...too many are left to have litter after litter...to many are suffering with cancers and illness that could have prevented with a quick surgery.
Take care and when/if I get a new litter, I will start posting again if people can stand to "listen" to me. Once again thank you very much for your interest in my blog.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
from the perspective of an 8 year old
I decided tonight to "interview" Jilly to get her opinion on these kittens and the idea of fostering. I will do the typing so you can read it, but I assure you these are her thoughts and opinions.
Questions I asked Jilly?
1) did you like having the kittens stay with you?
2) Who is your favorite and why?
3) what was the most fun part?
4) what did you like least about them?
5) Will you be sad when they go in a day or so?
6) Would you foster kittens with your mom again?
ANSWERS?
1) yes
2) Baby Kate, because she is cute and cuddly and she is the one who mostly plays. She doesn't bite me when I feed her from my finger, if she does I just say "no biting" and she doesn't do it again.
3) playing with them all over the house, watching them grow up because they were blind and deaf when we got them
4) That they couldn't see for a week or 2
5) Yes i will be very sad. We already named them and we already like them
6) yes, they are cute, cuddly and won't bite.
So there you have it.
I think we are pretty close to being fully weaned for Kate and Arthur anyway, neither of them were interested in there last 2 bottles. Arthur ate a small bit but Kate would have none of it. Arthur fought his 2pm feed, scratching me and chewing the nipple, pulling away and finally getting right ticked off at the nerve of me for trying to feed him. Kate just chews the nipple but doesn't want to suck. Muffy still likes her bottles but even she has decreased in the amount she will take at once. It makes it a little tough for me, to not waste formula I am making smaller amounts at one time which means I am making formula more often. I could probably stop offering it totally, but worry that they will not eat enough solids. Which is silly, b/c they eat an entire can between the 3 of them a day, and I am mixing leftover formula from their bottles into that so they should be getting enough, nobody cries or seems unhappy, they are all full of energy and quite wound up at times with excitement.
I couldn't get weights on them tonight as nobody would stay in their weigh tub long enough to let the scale register. So I don't have any numbers for you, but I am certain they are all fine and well. I hate not being able to see the numbers as that is often the first indicator of any brewing trouble.
Tomorrow they will be 1 month old, an entire month, 30 days, 2 592 000 seconds, 720 hours, 43,200 minutes, 1/12 of an entire year.....
Questions I asked Jilly?
1) did you like having the kittens stay with you?
2) Who is your favorite and why?
3) what was the most fun part?
4) what did you like least about them?
5) Will you be sad when they go in a day or so?
6) Would you foster kittens with your mom again?
ANSWERS?
1) yes
2) Baby Kate, because she is cute and cuddly and she is the one who mostly plays. She doesn't bite me when I feed her from my finger, if she does I just say "no biting" and she doesn't do it again.
3) playing with them all over the house, watching them grow up because they were blind and deaf when we got them
4) That they couldn't see for a week or 2
5) Yes i will be very sad. We already named them and we already like them
6) yes, they are cute, cuddly and won't bite.
So there you have it.
I think we are pretty close to being fully weaned for Kate and Arthur anyway, neither of them were interested in there last 2 bottles. Arthur ate a small bit but Kate would have none of it. Arthur fought his 2pm feed, scratching me and chewing the nipple, pulling away and finally getting right ticked off at the nerve of me for trying to feed him. Kate just chews the nipple but doesn't want to suck. Muffy still likes her bottles but even she has decreased in the amount she will take at once. It makes it a little tough for me, to not waste formula I am making smaller amounts at one time which means I am making formula more often. I could probably stop offering it totally, but worry that they will not eat enough solids. Which is silly, b/c they eat an entire can between the 3 of them a day, and I am mixing leftover formula from their bottles into that so they should be getting enough, nobody cries or seems unhappy, they are all full of energy and quite wound up at times with excitement.
I couldn't get weights on them tonight as nobody would stay in their weigh tub long enough to let the scale register. So I don't have any numbers for you, but I am certain they are all fine and well. I hate not being able to see the numbers as that is often the first indicator of any brewing trouble.
Tomorrow they will be 1 month old, an entire month, 30 days, 2 592 000 seconds, 720 hours, 43,200 minutes, 1/12 of an entire year.....
Sunday, May 22, 2011
4 weeks old
the babes are 4 weeks old today, they went from total blindness to having vision, they were once deaf but now they can hear. They went from totally helpless, to almost independent creature. Its amazing how fast they grow and I am so thankful that our human children do not grow that fast, they grow fast but not quite as quick as kittens.
It's hard to imagine them being on their own in this big world.
I had them locked in the kitchen this morning to make cleaning their area easier. They can run, and pretty fast too. I was impressed at just how last week they were still wobbly legged, but are running just 7 days later.
They have become little balls of fire. Arthur seems to have quite the temper, he was fighting with me about his night time bottle, I knew he needed it but man he is stubborn and when he finally did take it he was growling and pissed right off, I have never seen anything like that from him. He has been fighting all his bottles today, but when he realizes that everyone else has had one, he wants it, so now I leave him to the last. Between the 3 of they drink a little less than 4 oz, about every 4 hrs thru the day as well as kitten food mixed with formula.
I did some calculations between both formulas I have given them:
KMR is much easier to mix with the water:powder not changing based on weight. It gets very lumpy and I run it thru a small strainer to get it lump free. I also mix it with the liquid KMR. They gained less on a daily basis with the KMR but were also less colicky and bloated, and their poops were better as well.
Born Free, is less simple to mix as the ratio changes with each bottle, this makes making bottles a pain in the butt since you have to mix each bottle for each kitten differently. They did however gain more weight daily while on the just born.
I will NOT use born free for the mixing reasons unless its a last resort. KMR is much more simpler for me and for anyone, even my 8 year old was able to make bottles for me. However in an emergency, I will resort to this stuff. I have read about homemade formulas online and the fact that they contain raw egg, and mayonnaise concerns me. We all know raw eggs can carry serious risks of illness, I just don't see how tiny newborn kittens would be immune from these illnesses. I suppose though in a true emergency it would be better than nothing. I have also been researching whiskas cat milk, I haven't found anything that says you can give it to unweaned kittens but I do know that in general, whiskas food is not that great. Cats in the wild would seek out a corn field to get their supper, they would however seek out chicken, fish etc etc. ANy food that has corn, rice or any other grain as their first ingredient is not a great diet.
Anyway I have pics tonight, but firs here are their weights
Muffy - She did it and is now 1lb .15oz
Kate - 1lb.15oz notice something about her and Muffy?? for the first time ever, muffy is the same weight as Kate....I no longer have a "smallest" kitty, I have 2 that weigh the same :)
Arthur - weighs in a 1lb.2oz
Pics :
Kate is such a pretty girl , don't be alarmed at the dirt on her face, learning to eat cleanly is tricky business for the cat who is just learning
Muffy has the cutest wee face, I got her while the others were sleeping, but she was awake just sitting there all by herself.
None of Arthur though tonight, he is camera shy and keeps turning himself around so I get great pics of his butt which nobody wants to see. Will try again tomorrow to get some of him.
It's hard to imagine them being on their own in this big world.
I had them locked in the kitchen this morning to make cleaning their area easier. They can run, and pretty fast too. I was impressed at just how last week they were still wobbly legged, but are running just 7 days later.
They have become little balls of fire. Arthur seems to have quite the temper, he was fighting with me about his night time bottle, I knew he needed it but man he is stubborn and when he finally did take it he was growling and pissed right off, I have never seen anything like that from him. He has been fighting all his bottles today, but when he realizes that everyone else has had one, he wants it, so now I leave him to the last. Between the 3 of they drink a little less than 4 oz, about every 4 hrs thru the day as well as kitten food mixed with formula.
I did some calculations between both formulas I have given them:
KMR is much easier to mix with the water:powder not changing based on weight. It gets very lumpy and I run it thru a small strainer to get it lump free. I also mix it with the liquid KMR. They gained less on a daily basis with the KMR but were also less colicky and bloated, and their poops were better as well.
Born Free, is less simple to mix as the ratio changes with each bottle, this makes making bottles a pain in the butt since you have to mix each bottle for each kitten differently. They did however gain more weight daily while on the just born.
I will NOT use born free for the mixing reasons unless its a last resort. KMR is much more simpler for me and for anyone, even my 8 year old was able to make bottles for me. However in an emergency, I will resort to this stuff. I have read about homemade formulas online and the fact that they contain raw egg, and mayonnaise concerns me. We all know raw eggs can carry serious risks of illness, I just don't see how tiny newborn kittens would be immune from these illnesses. I suppose though in a true emergency it would be better than nothing. I have also been researching whiskas cat milk, I haven't found anything that says you can give it to unweaned kittens but I do know that in general, whiskas food is not that great. Cats in the wild would seek out a corn field to get their supper, they would however seek out chicken, fish etc etc. ANy food that has corn, rice or any other grain as their first ingredient is not a great diet.
Anyway I have pics tonight, but firs here are their weights
Muffy - She did it and is now 1lb .15oz
Kate - 1lb.15oz notice something about her and Muffy?? for the first time ever, muffy is the same weight as Kate....I no longer have a "smallest" kitty, I have 2 that weigh the same :)
Arthur - weighs in a 1lb.2oz
Pics :
Kate is such a pretty girl , don't be alarmed at the dirt on her face, learning to eat cleanly is tricky business for the cat who is just learning
Muffy has the cutest wee face, I got her while the others were sleeping, but she was awake just sitting there all by herself.
None of Arthur though tonight, he is camera shy and keeps turning himself around so I get great pics of his butt which nobody wants to see. Will try again tomorrow to get some of him.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
what have I learned?
Sometime next week I will be laid off as my babies will move on to their next foster home, the last one before they become adoptable. I will miss them and will probably wonder daily how they are, who has them, and are they ok. I have learned a lot in the almost 4 weeks....wanna know what was learned?
1) I learned that it's important to wear old clothing or clothing that you don't mind getting peed on or pooped on b/c newborns will do this without any warning or care.
2) I learned that staying up late to wait for the next feed will make me exhausted in the morning. so best to go to bed earlier.
3) I learned that I need more towels, and receiving blankets
4) I learned that these particular kittens are genius and very clever
5) I learned that no matter when you just cleaned them last, they will need it again in 5 mins.
6) I also learned that despite them being so tiny, kittens bladders and bowels can hold a surprising amount, but only if you are letting them play on my couch, my bed with sheets just put on that day.
7) I learned that Ruby is really a great dog, she took care of a lot of the work for me and never once did she complain....
8) I learned that sometimes no matter how much you do right and care, sometimes bad things happen. I also learned that when DW wasn't getting enough food from mom, that there was a reason why. Mom was saving her precious milk for those kittens she had no doubt would survive. I probably shouldn't have pulled her and supplemented her, I probably should have let nature make its decision without my intervention, but I would intervene again, so I guess I didn't learn that much in that aspect lol.
9) I learned that I really did love these past weeks, despite the work, the time, the worry, watching my 3 babies grow up into healthy kittens makes everything so worth it. I would do this all over again in a heartbeat.
ok so really most of this stuff I already knew since I have tended to newborn kittens in the past, it was however all stuff I had forgotten. Kinda like when you have a human baby and in 9 or 10 years you have another, you forget how much work, how much you will worry, how much you will fall in love.... it all is. Each milestone was just as exciting for the 3rd kitten as it was for the first. Will I be able to be strong when they leave? maybe, but since I cry at the drop of a hat I am not expecting to be. Sometime this week I will be laid off from my job until new kittens need my help. Sometime this week, my babies will begin a new journey of their life.
Their weights tonight were pretty good.
Muffy - 15.9oz - I didn't think she would make a 1lb tonight but that didn't stop me from hoping.
Kate - 1lb .08oz - a small gain but again she is pretty active, I don't think she is even still when she is sleeping, always something moving with her lol.
Arthur - my big boy is 1lb .12oz
1) I learned that it's important to wear old clothing or clothing that you don't mind getting peed on or pooped on b/c newborns will do this without any warning or care.
2) I learned that staying up late to wait for the next feed will make me exhausted in the morning. so best to go to bed earlier.
3) I learned that I need more towels, and receiving blankets
4) I learned that these particular kittens are genius and very clever
5) I learned that no matter when you just cleaned them last, they will need it again in 5 mins.
6) I also learned that despite them being so tiny, kittens bladders and bowels can hold a surprising amount, but only if you are letting them play on my couch, my bed with sheets just put on that day.
7) I learned that Ruby is really a great dog, she took care of a lot of the work for me and never once did she complain....
8) I learned that sometimes no matter how much you do right and care, sometimes bad things happen. I also learned that when DW wasn't getting enough food from mom, that there was a reason why. Mom was saving her precious milk for those kittens she had no doubt would survive. I probably shouldn't have pulled her and supplemented her, I probably should have let nature make its decision without my intervention, but I would intervene again, so I guess I didn't learn that much in that aspect lol.
9) I learned that I really did love these past weeks, despite the work, the time, the worry, watching my 3 babies grow up into healthy kittens makes everything so worth it. I would do this all over again in a heartbeat.
ok so really most of this stuff I already knew since I have tended to newborn kittens in the past, it was however all stuff I had forgotten. Kinda like when you have a human baby and in 9 or 10 years you have another, you forget how much work, how much you will worry, how much you will fall in love.... it all is. Each milestone was just as exciting for the 3rd kitten as it was for the first. Will I be able to be strong when they leave? maybe, but since I cry at the drop of a hat I am not expecting to be. Sometime this week I will be laid off from my job until new kittens need my help. Sometime this week, my babies will begin a new journey of their life.
Their weights tonight were pretty good.
Muffy - 15.9oz - I didn't think she would make a 1lb tonight but that didn't stop me from hoping.
Kate - 1lb .08oz - a small gain but again she is pretty active, I don't think she is even still when she is sleeping, always something moving with her lol.
Arthur - my big boy is 1lb .12oz
Friday, May 20, 2011
TGIF
I love Fridays, it means that for 2 days I don't have to rush around trying to get ready for school, have other kids and I get to relax. This weekend is even better since it's along weekend.
In 4 days the babies will be 1 month old, how incredible it has been to watch them grow and develop from blind, deaf and totally helpless newborns, into strong and healthy kittens. They have typical kitten behaviour now, they play, they hiss, they chase things, shadows mostly, they run and are learning to pounce. Arthur especially will be a great mouser, fly chaser, anything that moves he will likely chase lol.
Kate will do well in a family who can lover her up, she is a snuggle bunny, and eyelid licker, a nose and lip sucker.
Muffy, is a cross between her brother and sister. She is the smallest, but doesn't lack the energy or skill. She was by far the easiest kitten ever to raise. She just kinda goes with the flow and follows what everyone else is doing.
Their weights are great and as predicted, baby Kate hit 1lb today. It's weird b/c she looks smaller than muffy, but the scale says otherwise.
Their weights are:
Muffy - 15.5oz I don't think she will hit 1lb until Sunday, mind you she might surprise me and get there tomorrow.
Arthur - 1lb.7oz
Kate - 1lb even
I bought them some toys today. I bought some specifically so Jilly could interact with them, they still sleep a lot and I don't like them being bothered while resting after a feed. Maybe this will be a great way for her to be with them when they are awake and as they get older I expect them to play a little more each day. None of them are real serious about life and love to play.
In 4 days the babies will be 1 month old, how incredible it has been to watch them grow and develop from blind, deaf and totally helpless newborns, into strong and healthy kittens. They have typical kitten behaviour now, they play, they hiss, they chase things, shadows mostly, they run and are learning to pounce. Arthur especially will be a great mouser, fly chaser, anything that moves he will likely chase lol.
Kate will do well in a family who can lover her up, she is a snuggle bunny, and eyelid licker, a nose and lip sucker.
Muffy, is a cross between her brother and sister. She is the smallest, but doesn't lack the energy or skill. She was by far the easiest kitten ever to raise. She just kinda goes with the flow and follows what everyone else is doing.
Their weights are great and as predicted, baby Kate hit 1lb today. It's weird b/c she looks smaller than muffy, but the scale says otherwise.
Their weights are:
Muffy - 15.5oz I don't think she will hit 1lb until Sunday, mind you she might surprise me and get there tomorrow.
Arthur - 1lb.7oz
Kate - 1lb even
I bought them some toys today. I bought some specifically so Jilly could interact with them, they still sleep a lot and I don't like them being bothered while resting after a feed. Maybe this will be a great way for her to be with them when they are awake and as they get older I expect them to play a little more each day. None of them are real serious about life and love to play.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
YAY!! he did it
My baby boy Arthur hit 1lb today, just over actually. When he came to me he was 126.2G he has gained 334G in just under 4 weeks. I am so proud of him and it was so worth every sleepless night, every 5am knowing I was up for the day, every bum wipe, every cry etc etc. It really is incredible how fast they grow in weight and maturity.
I was shocked when I got up this morning, NOBODY wanted their morning bottle, they wanted real food. I was kinda sad but yet it was another milestone. Last night Kate refused her bedtime bottle, I was worried it was gonna make for a long night, but I guess she got enough food yesterday b/c at 6am they were ALL still sound asleep. They didn't actually take a bottle until 10am.
Their weights:
Muffy still the smallest baby at 14.2oz
Kate will hit her lb mark in the next 2-3 days I am betting, tonight she weighed 15.3oz
Arthur weighed in at 1lb .25oz
I discovered today that Arthur doesn't much like the vacumn, not sure why the sudden change, I vacumn everyday and its never bothered him, but today poor guy backed up into a corner and started hissing, the vacumn wasn't even near him, it was just on. I felt bad, but with dogs, kids, parrots and kittens I MUST do this task at least 1x a day. It's also a household noise that he will hear a lot and needs to get used to it. I am going to work with him the next few days and see if I cannot make him less afraid.
I was shocked when I got up this morning, NOBODY wanted their morning bottle, they wanted real food. I was kinda sad but yet it was another milestone. Last night Kate refused her bedtime bottle, I was worried it was gonna make for a long night, but I guess she got enough food yesterday b/c at 6am they were ALL still sound asleep. They didn't actually take a bottle until 10am.
Their weights:
Muffy still the smallest baby at 14.2oz
Kate will hit her lb mark in the next 2-3 days I am betting, tonight she weighed 15.3oz
Arthur weighed in at 1lb .25oz
I discovered today that Arthur doesn't much like the vacumn, not sure why the sudden change, I vacumn everyday and its never bothered him, but today poor guy backed up into a corner and started hissing, the vacumn wasn't even near him, it was just on. I felt bad, but with dogs, kids, parrots and kittens I MUST do this task at least 1x a day. It's also a household noise that he will hear a lot and needs to get used to it. I am going to work with him the next few days and see if I cannot make him less afraid.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
why spay and/or neuter your pets?
Why people are so against fixing their animal so they can not create any more is beyond me. It makes me crazy to see so many animals bred irresponsibly, back yard breeders are my pet peeve. The only reason an animal should ever be bred is to better the breed, that means that only purebred bitches should be bred, and not many cats these days are purebred though I admit there are several of them out there, but the majority are a mix of many breeds.
Did you know that if you spay/neuter your cat or dog:
1) you can eliminate certain types of cancers? Remove the uterus, uterine cancer is gone, dogs and cats that have never had a litter, lose a huge chance of getting breast cancer, yes animals get this as well. These are both fatal diseases in many cases. ALL cases could have been prevented. Neuter a male dog and you can cross testicular cancer and unwanted behaviours off your list, of course some behaviours are just that behavioral and they will require training to end, but a good number can be stopped with that snip.
2) have you ever heard a cat in heat? that awful constant calling they do? the cat calls are terrible to listen to, terrible to watch. By looking and listening you might actually thing your cat is dying. What about the Toms that take over your yard b/c they can smell a cat in heat? What about the dogs that go crazy b/c they can smell that female from miles away?
3) neutered dogs are less likely to become roamers, decreasing or eliminating the chance of being hit by a car, stolen etc etc. Spayed females will not break through your fence to get the dog next door, nor will that dog next door dig up his yard to get under the fence. Neuter a male cat young enough and they don't spray, cat spray is terrible, it smells so bad and it's a small that is hard to get rid of.
4) take a walk thru a shelter one day, look and pay attention to how many animals they have, see how over crowded they are? There is no need for this, if people would fix their pets, more pets would have homes and not laying on death row wishing for just 1 more day, 1 more hour, 1 more chance.
5) female dogs bleed while in heat, fix them and your furniture, carpet, bed, car etc etc are saved from unwanted blood stains.
6) fixing your pet can SAVE you money, by cutting down health risks your pet is healthier, the end result is a healthy pet who doesn't get sick, who doesn't need you to spend thousands on a vet bill when a couple of hundred could have saved a lot of grief in the first place.
Lots of reasons for you, your pet, your family, your life. Cats and dogs do not live for tomorrow, they do not plan families, they do not mate to have babies. They mate b/c it's instinct, b/c nature and hormones are telling them to. Animals live for today, this moment. It's us as humans who are in the wrong...buster will not even notice his boy bits are gone, nor will he care. SO fluffy has no more uterus, she doesn't even have a clue what a uterus is or what its for. Humans need to step up and need to be responsible and sensible....if you have a prize winning show dog, and you can better the breed, not think you can but KNOW you can, than by all means, as long as its done right, go ahead. Animals do NOT need to experience birth to know what it's like, nor does it calm them down, nor does it make them better pets.
Breeding an animal isn't as simple as locking them in a room and letting nature take its course...its about seeing the vet first, checking both the dame and sire, queen and tom for genetic disease, making sure they are in good body condition. It's about knowing what disease run with the breed and having each and every one of those babies tested for the disease. It is about an emergency vet visit to extract puppies or kittens that are in trouble, major surgery for the animal, and sometmes with c-sections the mom won't feed her babes, than you need to be willing to hand feed the babies around the clock, every 2 hrs day AND night, you can't ever slack off, if you do it could cost a life or lives. Any life you had is now gone...all b.c you felt your dog, your kid, etc needed to witness the miracle of life...go watch you tube if you wanna see some miracles, there are hundreds of them on there.
Ok, getting off my soapbox. I didn't have much to write tonight so I decided to post this instead with of course the weights of my babies.
Muffy - 13.90z
Arthur - 15.5oz he will be at least 1lb by tomorrow.
Kate - 14.8oz
Arthur will surely surpass 1lb at tomorrows weigh, I am so excited. They say when you get a kitten to 1lb, the chances if their survival goes up to 90%...I am so close for all 3 but that first one hitting that mark is more of a milestone for me instead of them lol. I took them visiting tonight. We went to visit Mary D a few houses down, she was pretty impressed with their sizes, and capabilities given their age of 23 days!!
Did you know that if you spay/neuter your cat or dog:
1) you can eliminate certain types of cancers? Remove the uterus, uterine cancer is gone, dogs and cats that have never had a litter, lose a huge chance of getting breast cancer, yes animals get this as well. These are both fatal diseases in many cases. ALL cases could have been prevented. Neuter a male dog and you can cross testicular cancer and unwanted behaviours off your list, of course some behaviours are just that behavioral and they will require training to end, but a good number can be stopped with that snip.
2) have you ever heard a cat in heat? that awful constant calling they do? the cat calls are terrible to listen to, terrible to watch. By looking and listening you might actually thing your cat is dying. What about the Toms that take over your yard b/c they can smell a cat in heat? What about the dogs that go crazy b/c they can smell that female from miles away?
3) neutered dogs are less likely to become roamers, decreasing or eliminating the chance of being hit by a car, stolen etc etc. Spayed females will not break through your fence to get the dog next door, nor will that dog next door dig up his yard to get under the fence. Neuter a male cat young enough and they don't spray, cat spray is terrible, it smells so bad and it's a small that is hard to get rid of.
4) take a walk thru a shelter one day, look and pay attention to how many animals they have, see how over crowded they are? There is no need for this, if people would fix their pets, more pets would have homes and not laying on death row wishing for just 1 more day, 1 more hour, 1 more chance.
5) female dogs bleed while in heat, fix them and your furniture, carpet, bed, car etc etc are saved from unwanted blood stains.
6) fixing your pet can SAVE you money, by cutting down health risks your pet is healthier, the end result is a healthy pet who doesn't get sick, who doesn't need you to spend thousands on a vet bill when a couple of hundred could have saved a lot of grief in the first place.
Lots of reasons for you, your pet, your family, your life. Cats and dogs do not live for tomorrow, they do not plan families, they do not mate to have babies. They mate b/c it's instinct, b/c nature and hormones are telling them to. Animals live for today, this moment. It's us as humans who are in the wrong...buster will not even notice his boy bits are gone, nor will he care. SO fluffy has no more uterus, she doesn't even have a clue what a uterus is or what its for. Humans need to step up and need to be responsible and sensible....if you have a prize winning show dog, and you can better the breed, not think you can but KNOW you can, than by all means, as long as its done right, go ahead. Animals do NOT need to experience birth to know what it's like, nor does it calm them down, nor does it make them better pets.
Breeding an animal isn't as simple as locking them in a room and letting nature take its course...its about seeing the vet first, checking both the dame and sire, queen and tom for genetic disease, making sure they are in good body condition. It's about knowing what disease run with the breed and having each and every one of those babies tested for the disease. It is about an emergency vet visit to extract puppies or kittens that are in trouble, major surgery for the animal, and sometmes with c-sections the mom won't feed her babes, than you need to be willing to hand feed the babies around the clock, every 2 hrs day AND night, you can't ever slack off, if you do it could cost a life or lives. Any life you had is now gone...all b.c you felt your dog, your kid, etc needed to witness the miracle of life...go watch you tube if you wanna see some miracles, there are hundreds of them on there.
Ok, getting off my soapbox. I didn't have much to write tonight so I decided to post this instead with of course the weights of my babies.
Muffy - 13.90z
Arthur - 15.5oz he will be at least 1lb by tomorrow.
Kate - 14.8oz
Arthur will surely surpass 1lb at tomorrows weigh, I am so excited. They say when you get a kitten to 1lb, the chances if their survival goes up to 90%...I am so close for all 3 but that first one hitting that mark is more of a milestone for me instead of them lol. I took them visiting tonight. We went to visit Mary D a few houses down, she was pretty impressed with their sizes, and capabilities given their age of 23 days!!
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
graduation day!!
I have 3 kitten areas:
the first one is file box, its a small box with a lid, this is used to keep newborns contained and warm.
When They get to be about 2 weeks old or can climb out of the file box, they get moved into a 3.5ft long rubber maid tote box, this has room for some toys, their bedding area and when they get big enough a litter box.
The 3rd and final area is between my front door and the wooden door that opens up into the living room, this is a bigger space, allowing for play, food and water dishes, litter box, toys and of course their bed. I laid down some carpet in this area so they had some good traction and makes it warmer. It's also gated off to keep dogs and kids away, I don't want the door shut b/c I fear I will not hear them and I can't see them as easily.
Today they went to the final room. Which means of course that my babies are getting to big to be living in a box. It's only a matter of time before they outgrow this area as well, and as active as they are now they really do need the extra space to play and they get to choose sleeping areas, they have a nice cozy bed in there, the heating pad to keep them warm and where do they choose to sleep? on the floor right next to the gate lol.
I called Mary today to let her know that the babies really need to be moved into a home with other cats soon. They need to learn how to be cats, if they miss this socialization part of their lives there can be some serious consequences for them, ones that might mean a kitten gets kicked out of a home, or worse b/c it was never taught the life skills a cat needs to know. Something that no matter how much I love them or Ruby thinks they are her, they just cannot learn from humans, the best teacher for them is another cat. Mary thinks that another foster mom with a litter and the mom about their age will take. This will happen sometime next week due. I will miss them but I know that letting them learn how to be their own species is the best thing for them and their future. So probably on Tuesday they will be picked up and moved into a new foster home...for me there will be more babies in the future, you always hope that the need will not be there, but its one of those things that you know the need will always be there.
Weights for tonight are pretty darn good. I expect Arthur to hit 1lb sometime in the next 2-3 days. At the rate he eats and grows it wouldn't shock me if tommorow he has surpassed 16oz.
Muffy - 13.4oz her and Kate are so close to each other, but she is still the smallest!
Athur - 14.5oz
Kate - 13.6oz her gains have slowed right down, but she is also the most active of the 3, and doesn't eat quite as much as everyone else.
the first one is file box, its a small box with a lid, this is used to keep newborns contained and warm.
When They get to be about 2 weeks old or can climb out of the file box, they get moved into a 3.5ft long rubber maid tote box, this has room for some toys, their bedding area and when they get big enough a litter box.
The 3rd and final area is between my front door and the wooden door that opens up into the living room, this is a bigger space, allowing for play, food and water dishes, litter box, toys and of course their bed. I laid down some carpet in this area so they had some good traction and makes it warmer. It's also gated off to keep dogs and kids away, I don't want the door shut b/c I fear I will not hear them and I can't see them as easily.
Today they went to the final room. Which means of course that my babies are getting to big to be living in a box. It's only a matter of time before they outgrow this area as well, and as active as they are now they really do need the extra space to play and they get to choose sleeping areas, they have a nice cozy bed in there, the heating pad to keep them warm and where do they choose to sleep? on the floor right next to the gate lol.
I called Mary today to let her know that the babies really need to be moved into a home with other cats soon. They need to learn how to be cats, if they miss this socialization part of their lives there can be some serious consequences for them, ones that might mean a kitten gets kicked out of a home, or worse b/c it was never taught the life skills a cat needs to know. Something that no matter how much I love them or Ruby thinks they are her, they just cannot learn from humans, the best teacher for them is another cat. Mary thinks that another foster mom with a litter and the mom about their age will take. This will happen sometime next week due. I will miss them but I know that letting them learn how to be their own species is the best thing for them and their future. So probably on Tuesday they will be picked up and moved into a new foster home...for me there will be more babies in the future, you always hope that the need will not be there, but its one of those things that you know the need will always be there.
Weights for tonight are pretty darn good. I expect Arthur to hit 1lb sometime in the next 2-3 days. At the rate he eats and grows it wouldn't shock me if tommorow he has surpassed 16oz.
Muffy - 13.4oz her and Kate are so close to each other, but she is still the smallest!
Athur - 14.5oz
Kate - 13.6oz her gains have slowed right down, but she is also the most active of the 3, and doesn't eat quite as much as everyone else.
Monday, May 16, 2011
it's a messy job!!
You know what happens when you give kittens canned food for one of their first times?? let's just say, my floors needed washed, my cupboards needed a wipe down and the kittens themselves needed a good wash as well (thanks Ruby). What a mess it makes, truthfully I don't know if they even managed to eat any or if they just got it all over themselves. Again the girls were not impressed and seems more concerned about the food all over their paws, there is hope though that when they groomed themselves that they may have actually ingested some food. I went tonight and bought them some dry kitten food, I hope that I can make it less wet and messy that the girls will try it. Arthur eats pretty darn well, but this last feed he just made a mess.
With them eating solids a couple times of day now, they are drinking from their bottles less, but when they do take a bottle, they usually take just under an oz per kitten, that seems like a lot. I stopped putting the colic drops in their bottles, and I'm not sure of its the food or the lack of gas drops but let me tell you 1 of these babies is more than capable of stinking me out of my very own house lol.
Muffy's bottom was healed and looking good....until tonight, it started to bleed again, not much but again it isn't normal, it makes me wonder if maybe she has something dietary going on, or if she is maybe a wee bit constipated. Much to her disgust I ran a warm water drip faucet over her to stimulate her. She was horrified and screamed her fool head off, and as usual she hasn't let me down, she still has the loudest voice of the 3 lol.
Weights are up for all 3, Looks like the no gain for Kate yesterday was just a fluke. So here are their weights for these 22 day old babies.
Muffy - 12.8oz up from 11.9 yesterday
Arthur - 13.9oz up from 13.5
Kate - 13.1 up from 12.9, so while its not a huge gain, it's a gain just the same.
While I am really glad that they are doing well and growing up, it makes me sad to know that very soon, my time with these guys will be done. Soon they will be placed in another home and I will have so much free time, I'm not quite sure what I will do to fill my time lol.
With them eating solids a couple times of day now, they are drinking from their bottles less, but when they do take a bottle, they usually take just under an oz per kitten, that seems like a lot. I stopped putting the colic drops in their bottles, and I'm not sure of its the food or the lack of gas drops but let me tell you 1 of these babies is more than capable of stinking me out of my very own house lol.
Muffy's bottom was healed and looking good....until tonight, it started to bleed again, not much but again it isn't normal, it makes me wonder if maybe she has something dietary going on, or if she is maybe a wee bit constipated. Much to her disgust I ran a warm water drip faucet over her to stimulate her. She was horrified and screamed her fool head off, and as usual she hasn't let me down, she still has the loudest voice of the 3 lol.
Weights are up for all 3, Looks like the no gain for Kate yesterday was just a fluke. So here are their weights for these 22 day old babies.
Muffy - 12.8oz up from 11.9 yesterday
Arthur - 13.9oz up from 13.5
Kate - 13.1 up from 12.9, so while its not a huge gain, it's a gain just the same.
While I am really glad that they are doing well and growing up, it makes me sad to know that very soon, my time with these guys will be done. Soon they will be placed in another home and I will have so much free time, I'm not quite sure what I will do to fill my time lol.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
3 weeks old
I was watching them sleep this morning and a few things about their development occurred to me.
Muffy has been the easiest kitten of the 3, she switched from mom to bottle in a snap, no issues and right away. Her eyes were the first to open, she was the first baby to start purring, she was also the first bub to suck my chin and nose. She is the bully of the bunch. She is the smallest
Arthur, was the hardest to get to take a bottle, his eyes were last to open and were open about 5 days later than his sibs. He is probably the most demanding of them all, he wants your attention and he wants it now. He cries now just to get attention or if he is lost b/c his litter mates are in a different part of their box. He wills scream until one of them approaches him, he then knocks them over and lays down and goes to sleep with whomever it was. He is the biggest
Kate, is also an easy baby, she was the 2nd to open her eyes, the first to use the litter box, and the first to use it consistantly, she was the first to hold her bottle between her paws at feeding time. She sleeps on her back, totally exposed and vulnerable. She is probably the snuggest of them all, she will actually lay beside you, on your chest etc and not move all the while you are petting her, the others are all over the place. She looks like the smallest but the scale pegs her at the middle.
~~
Today since they are 3 weeks old to the day, I decided to see how they did with solid food. I set out 1 tbsp of canned kitten food, put them all in front of it, stuck my finger it and wiped a bit on their lips. YOu would think that for the first time feed 1 tbsp would be plenty for the entire 3...but NOOOO Arthur chose to eat the entire amount by himself...the girls just had little to no interest in it, they did try some but didn't eat much. But after their run about in the kitchen they all had great 5 hr naps. At 5 hrs I woke them up b/c it was a long time to be napping in the day. I tried again 2 feeds later and the 2 girls still have no interest, this time I put it on a rubber tipped baby spoon and fed them that way, by the end of the meal they had gotten the idea. Arthur again ate more than I would have expected.
I didn't have to change beds at all today, they have all gotten the idea of the litter box. Am going to attempt using litter again tomorrow and hopefully the desire to eat it won't be there. We do have some issues when I change the paper which is often, paper towel just doesn't absorb that much, no matter what bounty says it's all lies lol.
Weights are:
Muffy, 11.9oz, a small jump
Kate, 12.9oz...this is the same as yesterday, I am not worried, as she seems fine, active, playing, eating etc etc. Not gonna stress over 1 day as long as she seems ok.
Arthur, 13.5oz, as you can see the solid food he guzzled back today helped with this gain.
Of course this post would be useless without some pics, keep in mind that the 2 girls were not intereted much, so Arthur is our dominating poser today lol
Muffy has been the easiest kitten of the 3, she switched from mom to bottle in a snap, no issues and right away. Her eyes were the first to open, she was the first baby to start purring, she was also the first bub to suck my chin and nose. She is the bully of the bunch. She is the smallest
Arthur, was the hardest to get to take a bottle, his eyes were last to open and were open about 5 days later than his sibs. He is probably the most demanding of them all, he wants your attention and he wants it now. He cries now just to get attention or if he is lost b/c his litter mates are in a different part of their box. He wills scream until one of them approaches him, he then knocks them over and lays down and goes to sleep with whomever it was. He is the biggest
Kate, is also an easy baby, she was the 2nd to open her eyes, the first to use the litter box, and the first to use it consistantly, she was the first to hold her bottle between her paws at feeding time. She sleeps on her back, totally exposed and vulnerable. She is probably the snuggest of them all, she will actually lay beside you, on your chest etc and not move all the while you are petting her, the others are all over the place. She looks like the smallest but the scale pegs her at the middle.
~~
Today since they are 3 weeks old to the day, I decided to see how they did with solid food. I set out 1 tbsp of canned kitten food, put them all in front of it, stuck my finger it and wiped a bit on their lips. YOu would think that for the first time feed 1 tbsp would be plenty for the entire 3...but NOOOO Arthur chose to eat the entire amount by himself...the girls just had little to no interest in it, they did try some but didn't eat much. But after their run about in the kitchen they all had great 5 hr naps. At 5 hrs I woke them up b/c it was a long time to be napping in the day. I tried again 2 feeds later and the 2 girls still have no interest, this time I put it on a rubber tipped baby spoon and fed them that way, by the end of the meal they had gotten the idea. Arthur again ate more than I would have expected.
I didn't have to change beds at all today, they have all gotten the idea of the litter box. Am going to attempt using litter again tomorrow and hopefully the desire to eat it won't be there. We do have some issues when I change the paper which is often, paper towel just doesn't absorb that much, no matter what bounty says it's all lies lol.
Weights are:
Muffy, 11.9oz, a small jump
Kate, 12.9oz...this is the same as yesterday, I am not worried, as she seems fine, active, playing, eating etc etc. Not gonna stress over 1 day as long as she seems ok.
Arthur, 13.5oz, as you can see the solid food he guzzled back today helped with this gain.
Of course this post would be useless without some pics, keep in mind that the 2 girls were not intereted much, so Arthur is our dominating poser today lol
Saturday, May 14, 2011
quiet day
All 3 have been fairly quiet today, they started out very noise at 5:30am, they were all bright eyed and ready to face their day, to bad I wasn't quite ready yet lol. Ate, played and slept all day, all are very snuggly today so thats nice for both Jilly and I.
all 3 have made great gains in the litter box dept, and I am happy to say that I only had to change their bed once today due to their success. Kate has the scratching part down to a science. I have tried litter, but they seem to think its good to eat, thankfully I was using the old style clay litter. I removed it and gave them newspaper with paper towel. I'm not sure when I will use litter again. It doesn't sound or smell like it would be very appetizing in the least and the last thing I want is any trouble because of it. If any of you reading this use litter, what kind do you use?
Tomorrow we start solids, I am excited to see how they will respond, or even if they will eat it, I suspect it will something to play with more than eat until they figure it out.
Tonights weight don't seem as drastic as they have been all week, maybe they are slowing down their growth rate a bit? Gotta admit gaining 30+ grams a day is a lot of weight to gain.
Muffy - 11.4oz
Arthur - 12.9oz
Kate - 12.9oz, no idea why we callher "baby" kate when clearly she is not the smallest of the crew lol.
all 3 have made great gains in the litter box dept, and I am happy to say that I only had to change their bed once today due to their success. Kate has the scratching part down to a science. I have tried litter, but they seem to think its good to eat, thankfully I was using the old style clay litter. I removed it and gave them newspaper with paper towel. I'm not sure when I will use litter again. It doesn't sound or smell like it would be very appetizing in the least and the last thing I want is any trouble because of it. If any of you reading this use litter, what kind do you use?
Tomorrow we start solids, I am excited to see how they will respond, or even if they will eat it, I suspect it will something to play with more than eat until they figure it out.
Tonights weight don't seem as drastic as they have been all week, maybe they are slowing down their growth rate a bit? Gotta admit gaining 30+ grams a day is a lot of weight to gain.
Muffy - 11.4oz
Arthur - 12.9oz
Kate - 12.9oz, no idea why we callher "baby" kate when clearly she is not the smallest of the crew lol.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Very picture heavy
I decided tonight to do a pic/video post instead of words. These can say more about the babies than I ever could and besides that it's Friday night, who wants to sit and read to someone as long winded as me anyway? I did of course have to post a couple with Ruby, she is never far from them and watches every move we make and heaven forbid one of those babies cry, she drops whatever she is doing to see what the problem is. I think she might miss them just as much as I do when the time comes.
I will post their weights of course, I switched from grams to ounces now that they are bigger. But I also showed you what it is in G so that you will have a better idea of the growth. It's huge again lol. My porker bellies are doing amazingly well.
Muffy weighed in at 11oz even. 312G
Arthur at 12.8Oz, 362G
Kate 12.2OZ, 345G
ok pictures and videos.
Arthur, his eyes are a bit hazy still but they all have such pretty blue eyes ...for now.....I still think he looks like a baby chimp more than a kitten, especially in some of his pics, not sure if its his colour or what it is but he is my "chimmpy boy"
\
Muffy, she is a hard one to get to sit still for more than 1.4 seconds.
Kate, she was less then impressed with having her picture take, to bad too b/c she is gorgeous.
I will post their weights of course, I switched from grams to ounces now that they are bigger. But I also showed you what it is in G so that you will have a better idea of the growth. It's huge again lol. My porker bellies are doing amazingly well.
Muffy weighed in at 11oz even. 312G
Arthur at 12.8Oz, 362G
Kate 12.2OZ, 345G
ok pictures and videos.
Arthur, his eyes are a bit hazy still but they all have such pretty blue eyes ...for now.....I still think he looks like a baby chimp more than a kitten, especially in some of his pics, not sure if its his colour or what it is but he is my "chimmpy boy"
\Muffy, she is a hard one to get to sit still for more than 1.4 seconds.
Kate, she was less then impressed with having her picture take, to bad too b/c she is gorgeous.
wow!!
I am so proud of my babies. Not quite 3 weeks old and 1 of the 3 is using the litterbox on her own regularly, thats impressive and exciting. I am afraid to blink anymore for fear they will have grown up all the way in the .2 seconds I wasted blinking lol.
I tried to post last night but blogger was in read only format. Muffy's vet visit went well, thankfully it isn't a big problem. She thinks its from the babies suckling on her, she gave me some mineral jelly to rub onto her after she goes but said the best thing really for her is to hurry up and start using the potty on her own, she is the one who still needs to be stimulated to go, the other 2 can mostly go on their own but Arthur still needs to be started, he can finish on his own. Kate seems to be able to fully go all on her own. Kate is now starting to groom herself which is great.
The vet said it was ok to drop the night feeds if they are willing, so I did last night..nobody woke me up, needless to say when I woke up this morning, I felt rested and a bit nervous. But they all did well all thru the night, I fed them last at just after 11 and was up before them this morning, they went just a bit longer than 7 hrs. They were hungry when they got up this morning, but not any more than any other time.
2 days until my teeny tiny babies are 3 weeks old...than the fun begins, we start solids and they grow into actual kittens who will be able to survive in the big world.
Since I couldn't post last night here are their weights from then:
Muffy, 295G a small gain but satisfactory
Kate - 332G a significant gain for her
Arthur - 325G another big gain for him.
I will put anew post tonight with weighst from today, providing of course that blogger is fixed now
I tried to post last night but blogger was in read only format. Muffy's vet visit went well, thankfully it isn't a big problem. She thinks its from the babies suckling on her, she gave me some mineral jelly to rub onto her after she goes but said the best thing really for her is to hurry up and start using the potty on her own, she is the one who still needs to be stimulated to go, the other 2 can mostly go on their own but Arthur still needs to be started, he can finish on his own. Kate seems to be able to fully go all on her own. Kate is now starting to groom herself which is great.
The vet said it was ok to drop the night feeds if they are willing, so I did last night..nobody woke me up, needless to say when I woke up this morning, I felt rested and a bit nervous. But they all did well all thru the night, I fed them last at just after 11 and was up before them this morning, they went just a bit longer than 7 hrs. They were hungry when they got up this morning, but not any more than any other time.
2 days until my teeny tiny babies are 3 weeks old...than the fun begins, we start solids and they grow into actual kittens who will be able to survive in the big world.
Since I couldn't post last night here are their weights from then:
Muffy, 295G a small gain but satisfactory
Kate - 332G a significant gain for her
Arthur - 325G another big gain for him.
I will put anew post tonight with weighst from today, providing of course that blogger is fixed now
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
2 weeks
2 weeks ago today mom took off in a thunderstorm. 2 weeks today I have been playing momma to my 3 wee booger balls.
Gonna make this post super short as I have a bad headache and hope to get some sleep and have it gone when they wake me up for the next feed. Weights are all up which is awesome, they have been wormed today and I will do again in another 2 weeks.
Muffy - 288G, 28G increase from yesterday
Arthur - 325G, a 27G increase from yesterday
Kate - 284G up a 23G increase from yesterday
I promise to give a better post tomorrow.
Gonna make this post super short as I have a bad headache and hope to get some sleep and have it gone when they wake me up for the next feed. Weights are all up which is awesome, they have been wormed today and I will do again in another 2 weeks.
Muffy - 288G, 28G increase from yesterday
Arthur - 325G, a 27G increase from yesterday
Kate - 284G up a 23G increase from yesterday
I promise to give a better post tomorrow.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Holy Hannah!!
Their weights today are INCREDIBLE. I will post them at the end of the update as usual.
They are getting so big, it makes me sad to know they are growing up so fast, but yet thrilled that out of 4 I have 3 that are doing very well. Tomorrow they will be de-wormed. Hopefully back on KMR as well. The just born formula is terrible stuff, I would never suggest it to anyone unless you had no choice but to use it. The only good thing I have to say is that their weight gain on it has been better than KMR but they are also eating so much more of it, which doesn't make it cost effective at all.
They have grown out of my newborn file box, so I put them in a big tv box, they outgrew the big tv box, so today I got a plastic rubber maid tote thats about 4ft long and maybe 20 inches wide. It's huge. The pluses are that it is 100% washable and disinfectable, so all the babies can live in there and I can just sterilize it between litters. getting rid of anything that the previous kittens may have. the other thing I like is that b/c it is so long, I can get a divider in it for brand new babies and gradually increase their space as they grow, making it so much easier on me and them.
The bad thing is, is that it isn't quite high enough to keep Ruby out, remember she thinks these are her babies and she feels that she should be with them ALL.THE.TIME, while I don't mind, I do find that at times it's very inconvenient, especially now that she keeps putting her own bed in there and jumping in and sleeping with them. 2x she has dragged her own bed over, worked it over the edge and hopped in and slept. The babies don't mind and it really is kinda neat to see my hyper poodle snuggling with baby kittens lol. As long as the kittens don't start barking and the dogs start meowing, it's probably harmless though lol.
The price of kitten formula is crazy, not sure about anywhere else or if it's the same price everywhere but a 6oz can of powdered KMR is nearly $30 a can 0f 8oz liquid is nearly $9 a can lasts at most 3 days but even with only 3 babes, it lasts just a day and a half. 6oz of powder makes 30oz mixed up, again each of my guys drink about 1-1/2oz in a day, so it doesn't go far. This prompted me to call pet-ag and see about getting discounts on the price or coupons or anything to lessen the price. They directed me to several distributors. I spent the afternoon yesterday on the phone and I have a fellow who will sell me cases of formula for a good price. If anyone who reads this is interested in going in on the cases with me to cut costs even further please let me know. It's crazy to have to pay such prices for formula, b/c of the cost it makes me wonder how many people feed their kittens human formula to save money? How many of those kittens are healthy and growing at a normal rate? what if any health issues do those kittens have in life because of a poor dietary start in their lives? It makes sense to feed them what is meant for them, but when moms milk isn't available, than why should the next best thing cost so much money?? So if anyone wants to go in, let me know.
They are getting fun now, they all have they preferences about how they are fed, which way they are facing, which blanket they are laying on, how warm the milk is....kate likes her very warm while Muffy likes hers pretty cool, and Arthur well as long as you feed him he doesn't seem to care how it is. Some like to potty before they eat some after. It seems that Muffy may have a bit of a temper, after feeding today, they were playing and I'm not sure what happened, but for some reason she freaked out on poor baby Kate, it was quick and nobody was hurt and probably for kittens its all normal, but for me it wasn't lol.
And finally, their weights.
Muffy - Sunday she weighed in at 223G...today just a little less then 48 hrs weighs in at 260G. thats a big gain for her.
Arthur - Sunday weighed in at 262G, today at 298G
Kate - Sunday 239G, today 284G
Now when you are looking at this and thinking OMG what is she feeding them, keep in mind, that their weights may be a bit higher this time simply b/c they were contained in a tub and unable to walk around, so the fact that they were still may have made a difference. As well the container that was holding them was much smaller and fit better, so again that may cause some fluctuations in weight. These are also 2 day weights as opposed to my usual 1 day so on average its about a 15G a day increase. Which is usual for everyone except Muffers who has always been a slow gainer.
They are getting so big, it makes me sad to know they are growing up so fast, but yet thrilled that out of 4 I have 3 that are doing very well. Tomorrow they will be de-wormed. Hopefully back on KMR as well. The just born formula is terrible stuff, I would never suggest it to anyone unless you had no choice but to use it. The only good thing I have to say is that their weight gain on it has been better than KMR but they are also eating so much more of it, which doesn't make it cost effective at all.
They have grown out of my newborn file box, so I put them in a big tv box, they outgrew the big tv box, so today I got a plastic rubber maid tote thats about 4ft long and maybe 20 inches wide. It's huge. The pluses are that it is 100% washable and disinfectable, so all the babies can live in there and I can just sterilize it between litters. getting rid of anything that the previous kittens may have. the other thing I like is that b/c it is so long, I can get a divider in it for brand new babies and gradually increase their space as they grow, making it so much easier on me and them.
The bad thing is, is that it isn't quite high enough to keep Ruby out, remember she thinks these are her babies and she feels that she should be with them ALL.THE.TIME, while I don't mind, I do find that at times it's very inconvenient, especially now that she keeps putting her own bed in there and jumping in and sleeping with them. 2x she has dragged her own bed over, worked it over the edge and hopped in and slept. The babies don't mind and it really is kinda neat to see my hyper poodle snuggling with baby kittens lol. As long as the kittens don't start barking and the dogs start meowing, it's probably harmless though lol.
The price of kitten formula is crazy, not sure about anywhere else or if it's the same price everywhere but a 6oz can of powdered KMR is nearly $30 a can 0f 8oz liquid is nearly $9 a can lasts at most 3 days but even with only 3 babes, it lasts just a day and a half. 6oz of powder makes 30oz mixed up, again each of my guys drink about 1-1/2oz in a day, so it doesn't go far. This prompted me to call pet-ag and see about getting discounts on the price or coupons or anything to lessen the price. They directed me to several distributors. I spent the afternoon yesterday on the phone and I have a fellow who will sell me cases of formula for a good price. If anyone who reads this is interested in going in on the cases with me to cut costs even further please let me know. It's crazy to have to pay such prices for formula, b/c of the cost it makes me wonder how many people feed their kittens human formula to save money? How many of those kittens are healthy and growing at a normal rate? what if any health issues do those kittens have in life because of a poor dietary start in their lives? It makes sense to feed them what is meant for them, but when moms milk isn't available, than why should the next best thing cost so much money?? So if anyone wants to go in, let me know.
They are getting fun now, they all have they preferences about how they are fed, which way they are facing, which blanket they are laying on, how warm the milk is....kate likes her very warm while Muffy likes hers pretty cool, and Arthur well as long as you feed him he doesn't seem to care how it is. Some like to potty before they eat some after. It seems that Muffy may have a bit of a temper, after feeding today, they were playing and I'm not sure what happened, but for some reason she freaked out on poor baby Kate, it was quick and nobody was hurt and probably for kittens its all normal, but for me it wasn't lol.
And finally, their weights.
Muffy - Sunday she weighed in at 223G...today just a little less then 48 hrs weighs in at 260G. thats a big gain for her.
Arthur - Sunday weighed in at 262G, today at 298G
Kate - Sunday 239G, today 284G
Now when you are looking at this and thinking OMG what is she feeding them, keep in mind, that their weights may be a bit higher this time simply b/c they were contained in a tub and unable to walk around, so the fact that they were still may have made a difference. As well the container that was holding them was much smaller and fit better, so again that may cause some fluctuations in weight. These are also 2 day weights as opposed to my usual 1 day so on average its about a 15G a day increase. Which is usual for everyone except Muffers who has always been a slow gainer.
Monday, May 9, 2011
I have genius kittens
No word of a lie I really do and I have the pics to prove it.
All the babies were really active and seemed like they were on a sugar high this afternoon. Usually I feed them, and they sleep until the next feed or just before...today I fed them at 3 and when i got back about 4 pm from doing my school run, they were all wide awake and hollering their heads off. I just fed them so I knew they were not hungry, so I brought them out to play. I set all 3 on the kitchen floor and we played, well ok so they climbed all over me, sucking my fingers and just kinda trotting around on their still wobbly legs. I decided to put a litter pan out with some litter and put them in...they didn't do anything which I expected, as I was wiping and they were peeing I was letting it just drip into the box, what better way to learn then by smell right? They got bored with the thing really quickly and as soon baby Kate climbed out, she began to poop, so I picked her up and put her in and she finished IN the box...climbed out and laid down and went to sleep. Of course I had to take pics of the first poop, I'm a mom and even though these guys are not human I was still very excited about the "poop in a box". I am going to this before and after each feed and since they are genius kitties, I expect they will have out quickly.
I didn't weigh them tonight for a few reasons, the biggest reason is that they do not sit still in the scale AT ALL, they are all over the place and the scale fluctuates and as they get bigger and more mobile it's much harder. I have a new container with a lid to weigh them in but I won't be able to get it until later tonight. So I will weigh them tomorrow. As long as I know they are ok, I am not going to stress.
Muffy's bum looks good, no more bleeding. I suspect it was from being rubbed a bit to often, to long, or even maybe too rough. I have been putting the butt paste on and will until she is 100% better at that end.
Anyway, just b/c I was so excited about my poop in a box, I figured I would post a pic, of not only the first one, but a perfect looking one as well. You can tell a lot from looking at their presents and it can give clues away as to health so yeah I look sometimes lol.
All the babies were really active and seemed like they were on a sugar high this afternoon. Usually I feed them, and they sleep until the next feed or just before...today I fed them at 3 and when i got back about 4 pm from doing my school run, they were all wide awake and hollering their heads off. I just fed them so I knew they were not hungry, so I brought them out to play. I set all 3 on the kitchen floor and we played, well ok so they climbed all over me, sucking my fingers and just kinda trotting around on their still wobbly legs. I decided to put a litter pan out with some litter and put them in...they didn't do anything which I expected, as I was wiping and they were peeing I was letting it just drip into the box, what better way to learn then by smell right? They got bored with the thing really quickly and as soon baby Kate climbed out, she began to poop, so I picked her up and put her in and she finished IN the box...climbed out and laid down and went to sleep. Of course I had to take pics of the first poop, I'm a mom and even though these guys are not human I was still very excited about the "poop in a box". I am going to this before and after each feed and since they are genius kitties, I expect they will have out quickly.
I didn't weigh them tonight for a few reasons, the biggest reason is that they do not sit still in the scale AT ALL, they are all over the place and the scale fluctuates and as they get bigger and more mobile it's much harder. I have a new container with a lid to weigh them in but I won't be able to get it until later tonight. So I will weigh them tomorrow. As long as I know they are ok, I am not going to stress.
Muffy's bum looks good, no more bleeding. I suspect it was from being rubbed a bit to often, to long, or even maybe too rough. I have been putting the butt paste on and will until she is 100% better at that end.
Anyway, just b/c I was so excited about my poop in a box, I figured I would post a pic, of not only the first one, but a perfect looking one as well. You can tell a lot from looking at their presents and it can give clues away as to health so yeah I look sometimes lol.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
videos!!
Things are well with the bubs, muffy has a bit of bleeding from her bum. I put some bordeoux Butt paste on it. If it isn't cleared up tomorrow, it will require a call to the vets office I think. It isn't bleeding much and it did stop quickly, but I don't like it. I can't see anything there but we'll see how she looks tomorrow. The butt paste sis amazing on human butts and I expect it will be just as grand on a kitten's as well.
I took some video's of them wrestling a bit. They are so stinking cute. I am sure these 3 babies will find homes in no time.
I took some video's of them wrestling a bit. They are so stinking cute. I am sure these 3 babies will find homes in no time.
why rescues??
People have asked me some questions, I feel like I am answering the same ones all the time. I thought I might help myself out a bit by answering here and maybe only once lol.
"Barb, how are you going to do this, what will you do when it's time for the kittens to go"
to be honest I don't know, I have fallen into such a routine with feeds, cleaning etc etc that when I no longer am doing that, I imagine I may feel a bit lost. When it's time for them to go, my plan is to call the rescue and let them know that my job is done. I doubt they are going to come immediately to get them so I figure I will have at least a day or so to unattach myself and say my goodbyes.
"Will you know where they went and how they are doing?"
I don't know, I don't expect to, I would like to know that at least they went to good homes and will be loved and cared for but I want them spayed and neutered, so that one day I am not bottle feeding their children.
"why such young cats, why not foster an adult"
Simple.....I have 2 dogs and a parrot already. While the dogs can learn to live with cats, parrots are a big threat to cats and cats to them. A newborn Kitten can be contained in a box for 4-6 weeks and be ok, they can be loved, get playtime etc etc and be safe, so can my parrot.
"You said you let your dog lick their butts, are you crazy?"
Well it's already a known fact that I am crazy, as far as Ruby licking bums, why not? She isn't hurting them, its normal for a momma cat to lick her kittens and clean up waste. The dog doesn't know that she isn't a cat and what she is doing is odd, nor do the kittens know they are cats and they know no different. I also think that Ruby would be much more gently on their behinds than a human can be. So much of their little lives isn't the way it was meant to be, so I see no harm in letting Ruby continue with what she is doing, and the vet said "no problem". With more of a "natural" stimulation my % of constipation has been 0%, constipation in a kitten can kill. It also saves me a bit of time and time is precious. So again why not?
"are you not afraid Ruby will catch worms?"
truth be told, with the amount of times they latch on my lips and suck, it's possible I will get worms myself. Will it be pleasant? of course not, but it's easily treated and not a big issue in my mind. Both my dogs are wormed regularly and neither has ever tested for worms of any sort, intestinal or heart :) ....
"why rescues"?
these babies need someone, I am home most of the time, my schedule is flexible b/c of this. To many people go get a cat and "forget" that they are beings with needs, they need food, love, shelter, shots, fixing etc etc Pets are not as disposable as some people think. When you take one on you take it for life. With the amount of cats that get tossed after a short while from their "homes" cat population is high, population of unwanted kittens is even higer.
"how do you manage them?"
I have an 8 year old, she is in school all day long, I run a small daycare, I am feeding rescues, I am a girl guide leader coming into my 5th year. My life is not that busy. I manage them very carefully. I have them on a schedule, the same one, so when feeding time comes it only requires about 45min-hr. Not much time at all. Between that time, I boil their bottle, clean their beds, keep my house clean and keep all kids happy. It isn't hard once you get used to it. I find I enjoy routine more than having none and just winging it. at 7am, I feed them while my own is eating breakfast. By the time she is done, so are they and I can get her ready for school. At 10am it's snacktime, again I feed them while everyone else is eating their snack. at 1pm, all kids are napping and I feed them while I watch my soap. At 4, the kids are eating their afterschool snacks or playing outside, I feed the bubs then. At 7 it is wind down time, so Jilly and I feed them together, give them their nightly wash downs, weigh them and snuggle until she goes to bed at 8. I feed them again at 10pm and go to bed. When I am up in the night with them, it's very quick, about 20 mins, and than I go back to bed....I get up the next morning at 6:30 and start over. if I need to go out, I go out right after a feed and make sure I am home in time for the next one.
It's not complicated for me, remember i don't work out of my house so am here most of the time. If I had a "real" job, things would be harder for certain. Really though, only the first few days are hard, once everyone is on a routine and nursing from a bottle is taught it gets better.
"why did you choose this rescue, when there are so many"?
I didn't pick them, they picked me. All i did was call my vet a few years ago and let them know I was willing. I never heard from anyone so forgot about it, got a call a few months ago and now here I am. I had no idea that there was even had rescue workers in my town. turns out there IS one just a few doors down from me. Obviously I am not a nosy enough neighbor if I didn't know she existed lol.
" with the kitten you lost and how sad you were, would you do it again?"
You bet your bottom dollar I would. Losing DW was tough, but I look at the other 3 that are thriving and doing so well, it boosts my confidence enough to know that for sure I would do it again. Hopefully it won't ever be needed but its one of those things that you know will never be NOT needed. Hand raising any animal is hard. Losses happen, its expected when a human is caring for any animal other than a human baby. The successes far outweigh the death of any baby. Doesn't mean it hurts any less, it just means that this is how I have dealt with it. I also look at the positive, if the survival rate of a kitten birth to weaning is only 30% and I have lost only 1 of 4, than so far my survival rate is 75%...much better than the 30% given.
"what else have you hand raised"
Parrots, puppies, kittens. I tried baby rats one year but they are so tiny, it was impossible. I would hand raise just about anything if it needed it. Well spiders are out and so would earwigs and other creepy stuff lol. If I ever had the chance to raise a koala I would jump at it. I love K bears but how can anyone not love a face like that??
"Barb, how are you going to do this, what will you do when it's time for the kittens to go"
to be honest I don't know, I have fallen into such a routine with feeds, cleaning etc etc that when I no longer am doing that, I imagine I may feel a bit lost. When it's time for them to go, my plan is to call the rescue and let them know that my job is done. I doubt they are going to come immediately to get them so I figure I will have at least a day or so to unattach myself and say my goodbyes.
"Will you know where they went and how they are doing?"
I don't know, I don't expect to, I would like to know that at least they went to good homes and will be loved and cared for but I want them spayed and neutered, so that one day I am not bottle feeding their children.
"why such young cats, why not foster an adult"
Simple.....I have 2 dogs and a parrot already. While the dogs can learn to live with cats, parrots are a big threat to cats and cats to them. A newborn Kitten can be contained in a box for 4-6 weeks and be ok, they can be loved, get playtime etc etc and be safe, so can my parrot.
"You said you let your dog lick their butts, are you crazy?"
Well it's already a known fact that I am crazy, as far as Ruby licking bums, why not? She isn't hurting them, its normal for a momma cat to lick her kittens and clean up waste. The dog doesn't know that she isn't a cat and what she is doing is odd, nor do the kittens know they are cats and they know no different. I also think that Ruby would be much more gently on their behinds than a human can be. So much of their little lives isn't the way it was meant to be, so I see no harm in letting Ruby continue with what she is doing, and the vet said "no problem". With more of a "natural" stimulation my % of constipation has been 0%, constipation in a kitten can kill. It also saves me a bit of time and time is precious. So again why not?
"are you not afraid Ruby will catch worms?"
truth be told, with the amount of times they latch on my lips and suck, it's possible I will get worms myself. Will it be pleasant? of course not, but it's easily treated and not a big issue in my mind. Both my dogs are wormed regularly and neither has ever tested for worms of any sort, intestinal or heart :) ....
"why rescues"?
these babies need someone, I am home most of the time, my schedule is flexible b/c of this. To many people go get a cat and "forget" that they are beings with needs, they need food, love, shelter, shots, fixing etc etc Pets are not as disposable as some people think. When you take one on you take it for life. With the amount of cats that get tossed after a short while from their "homes" cat population is high, population of unwanted kittens is even higer.
"how do you manage them?"
I have an 8 year old, she is in school all day long, I run a small daycare, I am feeding rescues, I am a girl guide leader coming into my 5th year. My life is not that busy. I manage them very carefully. I have them on a schedule, the same one, so when feeding time comes it only requires about 45min-hr. Not much time at all. Between that time, I boil their bottle, clean their beds, keep my house clean and keep all kids happy. It isn't hard once you get used to it. I find I enjoy routine more than having none and just winging it. at 7am, I feed them while my own is eating breakfast. By the time she is done, so are they and I can get her ready for school. At 10am it's snacktime, again I feed them while everyone else is eating their snack. at 1pm, all kids are napping and I feed them while I watch my soap. At 4, the kids are eating their afterschool snacks or playing outside, I feed the bubs then. At 7 it is wind down time, so Jilly and I feed them together, give them their nightly wash downs, weigh them and snuggle until she goes to bed at 8. I feed them again at 10pm and go to bed. When I am up in the night with them, it's very quick, about 20 mins, and than I go back to bed....I get up the next morning at 6:30 and start over. if I need to go out, I go out right after a feed and make sure I am home in time for the next one.
It's not complicated for me, remember i don't work out of my house so am here most of the time. If I had a "real" job, things would be harder for certain. Really though, only the first few days are hard, once everyone is on a routine and nursing from a bottle is taught it gets better.
"why did you choose this rescue, when there are so many"?
I didn't pick them, they picked me. All i did was call my vet a few years ago and let them know I was willing. I never heard from anyone so forgot about it, got a call a few months ago and now here I am. I had no idea that there was even had rescue workers in my town. turns out there IS one just a few doors down from me. Obviously I am not a nosy enough neighbor if I didn't know she existed lol.
" with the kitten you lost and how sad you were, would you do it again?"
You bet your bottom dollar I would. Losing DW was tough, but I look at the other 3 that are thriving and doing so well, it boosts my confidence enough to know that for sure I would do it again. Hopefully it won't ever be needed but its one of those things that you know will never be NOT needed. Hand raising any animal is hard. Losses happen, its expected when a human is caring for any animal other than a human baby. The successes far outweigh the death of any baby. Doesn't mean it hurts any less, it just means that this is how I have dealt with it. I also look at the positive, if the survival rate of a kitten birth to weaning is only 30% and I have lost only 1 of 4, than so far my survival rate is 75%...much better than the 30% given.
"what else have you hand raised"
Parrots, puppies, kittens. I tried baby rats one year but they are so tiny, it was impossible. I would hand raise just about anything if it needed it. Well spiders are out and so would earwigs and other creepy stuff lol. If I ever had the chance to raise a koala I would jump at it. I love K bears but how can anyone not love a face like that??
Saturday, May 7, 2011
whohoooooo!!!
2 of the babies finally have doubled their birth weight. this is something they say should happen in 7-10 days (keep in mind their initial weights are from when they were already a little over 24hrs old, so they may have surpassed birth weight already mind you I don't think so) so if you follow that rule they are about 2-3 days behind. Muffy however is not there yet, within the next 2 days I am betting. My alarm didn't go off thru the night like it was supposed to, so the bubs went about 6hrs with no food. When I woke up at 7am I freaked, nobody was crying or had cried all night long....I was very thankful when I lifted the blanket and saw 3 tiny bodies breathing and sleeping contentedly. Not sure why it didn't go off but you can bet tonight I will be sleeping on full alert to make sure that it doesn't happen again. Some people have said to NOT wake them up if they are sleeping, while others say you MUST, I'm not really sure why each has their views all I know is that being diabetic I know what low blood sugar feels like and I know how sleepy and out of sorts it can make you feel. With the amount they are eating leaving them for 6 hrs worries me, if their sugars drop they may not be alert enough to cry out for me.
They will be 2 weeks old tomorrow. they all have a pair of eyes that are open, YEP,Arthur;s eyes were opened on Tuesday but they closed back up again, I have been wiping with a warm cloth at each feed and putting in some med to help. Today I was excited to see that I had a baby boy that was looking right back at me :).
They have teeth, and those milk teeth are pretty darn sharp.
They can walk, kinda. Still wobbly and shaky but the skill is there.
They can hear, when I talk and I am to close to their box, they wake up and start screaming.
They are starting to toilet on their own, this may be from the stimulation from their bedding, but they can still do it.
They have had their nails filed for the first time yesterday.
They can wrestle with one another, this is so funny to watch b/c it's really quite awkward looking. Muffy likes tails lol.
They each have their own personalities, I can tell who is crying just by the way they are crying.
Lots of accomplishments in just 14 days. it's amazing how fast they grow when compared with the way my own human child grew, it took her 8 months to walk, almost 4 years to be potty trained, 7 months to get her first tooth etc etc.
I ran out of KMR this morning, and the vet's offices in town don't have any, its all on back order. Our pet food place doesn't have any either, but they did have the "just born" formula so I had no choice but to get that instead. Let me just say I HATE it, with KMR, its a simple formula mix, 1 part formula mixed with 2 parts water....simple a monkey could figure that out...but the Just Born is weird, the amount of formula to water varies with their age and weight. I much prefer the standard and consistent ratio of KMR no matter how old the babies are or how much they weigh. I can't wait to get KMR again. I am also a bit worried that the new formula might cause some gastric upset, so I am mixing the wee bit of KMR I have left with the just born and slowly adding in more of the new stuff at each feed. So far it seems to be ok but I won't know until tomorrow or maybe Monday.
Baby weights:
Muffy - 217G - another day of slow gain, but no loss and a gain is a gain, She is strong, and still as mouthy as ever, I am not concerned about her at this point. She has always been a bit behind the others.
Arthur - Doubled his bw and then some with 256G today, 4G over his 252G double.
Kate - 226G right bang on for doubling!!
They will be 2 weeks old tomorrow. they all have a pair of eyes that are open, YEP,Arthur;s eyes were opened on Tuesday but they closed back up again, I have been wiping with a warm cloth at each feed and putting in some med to help. Today I was excited to see that I had a baby boy that was looking right back at me :).
They have teeth, and those milk teeth are pretty darn sharp.
They can walk, kinda. Still wobbly and shaky but the skill is there.
They can hear, when I talk and I am to close to their box, they wake up and start screaming.
They are starting to toilet on their own, this may be from the stimulation from their bedding, but they can still do it.
They have had their nails filed for the first time yesterday.
They can wrestle with one another, this is so funny to watch b/c it's really quite awkward looking. Muffy likes tails lol.
They each have their own personalities, I can tell who is crying just by the way they are crying.
Lots of accomplishments in just 14 days. it's amazing how fast they grow when compared with the way my own human child grew, it took her 8 months to walk, almost 4 years to be potty trained, 7 months to get her first tooth etc etc.
I ran out of KMR this morning, and the vet's offices in town don't have any, its all on back order. Our pet food place doesn't have any either, but they did have the "just born" formula so I had no choice but to get that instead. Let me just say I HATE it, with KMR, its a simple formula mix, 1 part formula mixed with 2 parts water....simple a monkey could figure that out...but the Just Born is weird, the amount of formula to water varies with their age and weight. I much prefer the standard and consistent ratio of KMR no matter how old the babies are or how much they weigh. I can't wait to get KMR again. I am also a bit worried that the new formula might cause some gastric upset, so I am mixing the wee bit of KMR I have left with the just born and slowly adding in more of the new stuff at each feed. So far it seems to be ok but I won't know until tomorrow or maybe Monday.
Baby weights:
Muffy - 217G - another day of slow gain, but no loss and a gain is a gain, She is strong, and still as mouthy as ever, I am not concerned about her at this point. She has always been a bit behind the others.
Arthur - Doubled his bw and then some with 256G today, 4G over his 252G double.
Kate - 226G right bang on for doubling!!
Friday, May 6, 2011
milestone #2
Wow, what a day it has been. All babies are fussier than normal, had me worried until a few mins ago when I was doing my nightly body check to discover that...they.....have....teeth!! YAY. Arthur has his top fronts as well does Kate. Muffy's are there and while I can feel them there is no distinct sharpness, I suspect by tomorrow she will also be sporting her first teeth. The teeth scare me though...the last milestone I lost a babe in that same 24hrs....They are all well and doing very well, so I don't expect that to happen this time, but I am still nervous.
As I said all bubs have been fussy today...That is probably my fault. I tried to do something that it almost impossible. When a kitten is born, they often prefer one of moms nipples over any other, they claim rights to that nipple and most of the time its hard to convince them to find another to allow that "good" nipple a rest. The same thing with bottle nipples. The nipple they have been using for over a week now, is very worn and the hole is huge, nipple is stretched in general. So I got the brilliant idea of giving them a new one. Well they won't take another, its the ratty one or nothing and I am not in a position to allow them to get hungry enough to "force" them into taking the new one. If you consider that each kitten uses the nipple at least 8x a day and there are 3 of them, then multiply that by the 8 days I have been nursing them, well thats a lot of wear on a small nipple. I have tried putting them in my bra, which is where each kitten spends a good chunk of their day. I was hoping it would smell like me so there would be no issue, WRONG, i tried giving them a bigger nipple in general, WRONG. I ran out of ideas and decided to give them back the ratty one...RIGHT, probably the only right thing I have done all day if you ask them lol.
I am also pretty convinced that they can hear pretty well now, b/c heaven forbid I should talk, they wake up instantly and cry. If I am even near their box, they cry, if I put my hand in the box, they jump. No kidding, they really do jump at my hand. It's crazy crazy.
I had a scary experience yesterday. The babies are all to big for the "file box" so I set up a big TV box and moved them in. but when I went to move the heating pad and plug it into the surge protector that I use for my stereo and satellite, I heard a huge pop and sparks came flying. Freaked me out. Can you guess how angry and sad I was when I realized that my satellite and stereo were now not working?? I am thinking my parrot Echo (who has that name for a reason lol) learned some new words which I hope and pray he decides to try out when nobody is home or at least nobody important lol. Turns out the surge protector blew up, but it kept its word kept my electronics safe. If I had of had to miss, vampire diaries, grey's and private practice I would have been livid. I suppose I should have been happy to not have been killed but true to my nature I was more worried about my weekly shows than my own life, which if you knew me would be no shock (lol, like my pun?? lol)
anyway enough of my boring almost being killed crud, baby weights are:
Muffy - 213G, a small gain...only 13more grams to go until she doubles her birth weight
Kate - 215G a tiny gain but only 11 more grams until she doubles her birth weight
Arthur - 234G only 8G gain but only 18 more grams until he doubles his birth weight.
They started wrestling a bit today and it seems that Muffy is the instigator, which doesn't surprise me. It's really very cute to see them playing a bit, Muffy was trying to swat at Kate's tail as it swished back and forth. I filed their nails a bit tonight in hopes that they don't scratch as much.
Take care, next update tomorrow :)
As I said all bubs have been fussy today...That is probably my fault. I tried to do something that it almost impossible. When a kitten is born, they often prefer one of moms nipples over any other, they claim rights to that nipple and most of the time its hard to convince them to find another to allow that "good" nipple a rest. The same thing with bottle nipples. The nipple they have been using for over a week now, is very worn and the hole is huge, nipple is stretched in general. So I got the brilliant idea of giving them a new one. Well they won't take another, its the ratty one or nothing and I am not in a position to allow them to get hungry enough to "force" them into taking the new one. If you consider that each kitten uses the nipple at least 8x a day and there are 3 of them, then multiply that by the 8 days I have been nursing them, well thats a lot of wear on a small nipple. I have tried putting them in my bra, which is where each kitten spends a good chunk of their day. I was hoping it would smell like me so there would be no issue, WRONG, i tried giving them a bigger nipple in general, WRONG. I ran out of ideas and decided to give them back the ratty one...RIGHT, probably the only right thing I have done all day if you ask them lol.
I am also pretty convinced that they can hear pretty well now, b/c heaven forbid I should talk, they wake up instantly and cry. If I am even near their box, they cry, if I put my hand in the box, they jump. No kidding, they really do jump at my hand. It's crazy crazy.
I had a scary experience yesterday. The babies are all to big for the "file box" so I set up a big TV box and moved them in. but when I went to move the heating pad and plug it into the surge protector that I use for my stereo and satellite, I heard a huge pop and sparks came flying. Freaked me out. Can you guess how angry and sad I was when I realized that my satellite and stereo were now not working?? I am thinking my parrot Echo (who has that name for a reason lol) learned some new words which I hope and pray he decides to try out when nobody is home or at least nobody important lol. Turns out the surge protector blew up, but it kept its word kept my electronics safe. If I had of had to miss, vampire diaries, grey's and private practice I would have been livid. I suppose I should have been happy to not have been killed but true to my nature I was more worried about my weekly shows than my own life, which if you knew me would be no shock (lol, like my pun?? lol)
anyway enough of my boring almost being killed crud, baby weights are:
Muffy - 213G, a small gain...only 13more grams to go until she doubles her birth weight
Kate - 215G a tiny gain but only 11 more grams until she doubles her birth weight
Arthur - 234G only 8G gain but only 18 more grams until he doubles his birth weight.
They started wrestling a bit today and it seems that Muffy is the instigator, which doesn't surprise me. It's really very cute to see them playing a bit, Muffy was trying to swat at Kate's tail as it swished back and forth. I filed their nails a bit tonight in hopes that they don't scratch as much.
Take care, next update tomorrow :)
Thursday, May 5, 2011
pictures.
I admit that none of these pics are great quality but it is really hard to take a pic of a squirmy kitten, who refuses to sit still. They are all so active lately. Here are some of the best ones:
This is Muffy, or Muffers as I call her most times. She appears to be the biggest kitten out of the bunch, but she isn't. She was the first one to start sucking on the bottle, first one to start purring, first one to poop all over the vet tech the other day and she by far as the loudest mouth. She is a very stubborn baby, who knows what she wants and if you don't give it to her, she will meow a little louder with each mew, just to get her point across. She is my favorite one to feed b/c she is so eager and the cuddles afterwards from her are awesome. She gets right under your neck and nuzzles right in.
This is our only little boy. Arthur is a big eater, very loud burper and the one who will stink you out of a room when doing his business. He has the loudest purr and as much as he likes the snuggles, he really is just more nosier about whats going on around him. his eyes have closed up again and I have been working to get them open again. It may be he just needs more time, or it may be the sunlight is just to much for his wee eyes, so he chooses to keep them closed. And really, he is being fed by a human, being toileted by a dog, it could be he just possibly doesn't want to see who is doing what so he refuses to open them up and see lol.
This is baby Kate, she is seemingly the smallest baby out of the bunch, I expect she will get bigger then the rest in time. Look at her feet? they are HUGE compared to her brother and sister. She doesn't eat as much, and he main goal in life to date is to find a nice warm lap to curl up in, if you feed her even better. She is more patient in waiting for her turn to eat comes than the other 2, so much so that she is often the last one to get fed. She likes to suck on fingers, sibling feet, human noses, human fingers etc et. She will be the one I think that will be hardest to wean given her strong need to suck. She loves to be kinda folded up and wrapped in a blanket after a feed, she is also a belcher, she is not a quiet, polite female when it comes to showing appreciation for her last meal.
This was our baby DW, we lost her at 8.5 days old, less than 12 hrs after this picture was taken. She was smaller then the rest, not sure if you can tell them from the pics or not, but she wasn't an abnormally small bub. She was a bub that had I guess what we humans might equate to failure to thrive. Her loss was a hard one. This was my first rescue mission and to lose one was heartbreaking. There is something special about the first...first mission, first loss, forst success etc etc. She won't ever be forgotten.
They make me laugh, when eating, they look so relaxed like this is all normal kitten ways. Being fed by a fur less animal, being licked by a barking cat with a smooth tongue...just another day in the life. I love how they stretch out and eat. Makes my heart melt everytime.
Some random pics of my brood..notice how they went from rescue kittens to MY babies?? that wasn't supposed to happen, I was supposed to be an adult and keep my distance, if I have learned anything over the past 11 days, it's that, it is impossible not to fall in love with these babies, no matter who they belong to. I tried to keep myself from bonding, I tried and I failed....lol...thats me though.
4 kitty babies resting with nicely full, plump bellies.
Muffy at the beginnings of her eyes opening.
Muffy, strecthed out getting down to the business of growing
I like this pic of Arthur, it's a terribly focussed pic and he more resembles a baby chimp than a cat lol.
If you look you can see the tiny kitty scratches on my wrist from the babies, kate is usually the one who leaves these marks when nursing. Sometimes after our snuggles you can see the red welts on my neck from their teeny tiny nails....I think I may be allergic to cats, my hands and feet itch like crazy. I have started taking allergy meds which makes it more tolerable, and in all honesty, It's just an itch and not worth trying to cure it, these faces, these warm snuggly bodies make every itch, every welt, every sleepless night all worth it :)
Weights for the crew
Muffy - 207G up about 14G
Kate - 211G up 18G, big gains for her
Arthur - 226G a small gain of 5G for him.
This is Muffy, or Muffers as I call her most times. She appears to be the biggest kitten out of the bunch, but she isn't. She was the first one to start sucking on the bottle, first one to start purring, first one to poop all over the vet tech the other day and she by far as the loudest mouth. She is a very stubborn baby, who knows what she wants and if you don't give it to her, she will meow a little louder with each mew, just to get her point across. She is my favorite one to feed b/c she is so eager and the cuddles afterwards from her are awesome. She gets right under your neck and nuzzles right in.
This is our only little boy. Arthur is a big eater, very loud burper and the one who will stink you out of a room when doing his business. He has the loudest purr and as much as he likes the snuggles, he really is just more nosier about whats going on around him. his eyes have closed up again and I have been working to get them open again. It may be he just needs more time, or it may be the sunlight is just to much for his wee eyes, so he chooses to keep them closed. And really, he is being fed by a human, being toileted by a dog, it could be he just possibly doesn't want to see who is doing what so he refuses to open them up and see lol.
This is baby Kate, she is seemingly the smallest baby out of the bunch, I expect she will get bigger then the rest in time. Look at her feet? they are HUGE compared to her brother and sister. She doesn't eat as much, and he main goal in life to date is to find a nice warm lap to curl up in, if you feed her even better. She is more patient in waiting for her turn to eat comes than the other 2, so much so that she is often the last one to get fed. She likes to suck on fingers, sibling feet, human noses, human fingers etc et. She will be the one I think that will be hardest to wean given her strong need to suck. She loves to be kinda folded up and wrapped in a blanket after a feed, she is also a belcher, she is not a quiet, polite female when it comes to showing appreciation for her last meal.
This was our baby DW, we lost her at 8.5 days old, less than 12 hrs after this picture was taken. She was smaller then the rest, not sure if you can tell them from the pics or not, but she wasn't an abnormally small bub. She was a bub that had I guess what we humans might equate to failure to thrive. Her loss was a hard one. This was my first rescue mission and to lose one was heartbreaking. There is something special about the first...first mission, first loss, forst success etc etc. She won't ever be forgotten.
They make me laugh, when eating, they look so relaxed like this is all normal kitten ways. Being fed by a fur less animal, being licked by a barking cat with a smooth tongue...just another day in the life. I love how they stretch out and eat. Makes my heart melt everytime.
Some random pics of my brood..notice how they went from rescue kittens to MY babies?? that wasn't supposed to happen, I was supposed to be an adult and keep my distance, if I have learned anything over the past 11 days, it's that, it is impossible not to fall in love with these babies, no matter who they belong to. I tried to keep myself from bonding, I tried and I failed....lol...thats me though.
4 kitty babies resting with nicely full, plump bellies.
Muffy at the beginnings of her eyes opening.
Muffy, strecthed out getting down to the business of growing
I like this pic of Arthur, it's a terribly focussed pic and he more resembles a baby chimp than a cat lol.
If you look you can see the tiny kitty scratches on my wrist from the babies, kate is usually the one who leaves these marks when nursing. Sometimes after our snuggles you can see the red welts on my neck from their teeny tiny nails....I think I may be allergic to cats, my hands and feet itch like crazy. I have started taking allergy meds which makes it more tolerable, and in all honesty, It's just an itch and not worth trying to cure it, these faces, these warm snuggly bodies make every itch, every welt, every sleepless night all worth it :)
Weights for the crew
Muffy - 207G up about 14G
Kate - 211G up 18G, big gains for her
Arthur - 226G a small gain of 5G for him.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
So close
the 3 bubs are so close to having doubled their birth weight. This is usually done by the end of the first week when the Queen takes care of her own babies, these guys do not have that advantage so they are a bit behind, but they are now just a day or of meeting that. They are no longer in single digit for age, this morning they turned 10 days old, it's their 7th with me as kitty momma. Every day I love them a bit more than I did the day before. Giving them up is going to be really tough and heartbreaking. I'm not sure if I will get info on them at all after they leave here or if they just go and I get to imagine that they are all living in giant kitten castles and eating cavier!
Muffy's eyes are now fully opened, and they are so cute, they obviously do not have much vision at this point those peepers should be peeping really well within another week or so. Arthur has a bit of an infection so I am treating that for him.
My dog Ruby, is a mini poodle. She is very self absorbed and quite noisy. Her main purpose in life is to drive me crazy and she succeeds many times on any given day lol. When mom and babies came Ruby was terrified, wouldn't even come into the room they were all in, avoided them like a human would avoid the plague, or rabies. She has come full circle, she has gone from being terrified of these new beings to being a mom. The other day just out of the blue she started licking the babies, she did a few licks on each one and walked away. From there things have progressed, from quick licks to guarding, to waste stimulation. Ruby is my faithful bum licker...lol it's crazy, and never again will she lick my face or any one else's. She also sleeps very close to the box and the instant those babies make the slightest peep she is right at the box getting it open to check on what the problem is. If I am holding a babe, she has to come and sit right beside me and she keeps her eyes on me the entire time. I expected her to want to mother them but not to this degree, she is so gentle and so attentive to these babies who are not even feline form. I can only imagine what the kittens must be thinking when they are being forced to use the bathroom by a dog lol.
Weights continue to rise and I am getting my confidence back, I didn't sleep much last night for fear someone would have made an exit during the night, thankfully my 3 thriving kittens are doing really well.
their weights are as follows:
Muffy didn't gain as much but she is still doing very well, she gained 5G and is now up to 193G
Kate made a huge gain and is soon to be "not the smallest" she gained 15G and is now at 192G
Arthur as usual gained a fantastic amount and gained 18G and is now 221G
Muffy's eyes are now fully opened, and they are so cute, they obviously do not have much vision at this point those peepers should be peeping really well within another week or so. Arthur has a bit of an infection so I am treating that for him.
My dog Ruby, is a mini poodle. She is very self absorbed and quite noisy. Her main purpose in life is to drive me crazy and she succeeds many times on any given day lol. When mom and babies came Ruby was terrified, wouldn't even come into the room they were all in, avoided them like a human would avoid the plague, or rabies. She has come full circle, she has gone from being terrified of these new beings to being a mom. The other day just out of the blue she started licking the babies, she did a few licks on each one and walked away. From there things have progressed, from quick licks to guarding, to waste stimulation. Ruby is my faithful bum licker...lol it's crazy, and never again will she lick my face or any one else's. She also sleeps very close to the box and the instant those babies make the slightest peep she is right at the box getting it open to check on what the problem is. If I am holding a babe, she has to come and sit right beside me and she keeps her eyes on me the entire time. I expected her to want to mother them but not to this degree, she is so gentle and so attentive to these babies who are not even feline form. I can only imagine what the kittens must be thinking when they are being forced to use the bathroom by a dog lol.
Weights continue to rise and I am getting my confidence back, I didn't sleep much last night for fear someone would have made an exit during the night, thankfully my 3 thriving kittens are doing really well.
their weights are as follows:
Muffy didn't gain as much but she is still doing very well, she gained 5G and is now up to 193G
Kate made a huge gain and is soon to be "not the smallest" she gained 15G and is now at 192G
Arthur as usual gained a fantastic amount and gained 18G and is now 221G
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
we lost her
First off let me apologize. My post last night stated that it as baby Kate who was having issues. the fact is, is that it was DW who was in trouble. With them looking almost identical, it was an easy mistake to make. I apologize about the error.
I was up overnight, about every hr with the babies, mostly to make sure that DW was still alive and doing well. She did ok until about 5am. I fed her at 5am and got up, fed her some, she didn't want much more than a few drops, so I put her back to bed. I got up an hr later to find that the sweet baby girl had passed sometime in that last hr. From what I can see, she simply went to sleep. She was off on her own, on her side, eyes closed. She wasn't in a weird position or anything so I can only believe that it was peaceful.
All babies went to the vet this morning and the 3 remaining were said to be vigorous, and seem to be healthy. The biggest factor is that they did not get the colostrum from momma cat and this makes a huge impact in the immunity of newborn kittens. If we can find a queen that has a litter close to their age we will try to see if she will adopt the 3 babes left. If not than I will continue doing what I am doing and hoping for the best. The vet said I was doing all the right things plus, and I really needed to hear that. With DW'S passing, my confidence dropped huge. I needed to have someone tell me, "you didn't do it" or "it isn't your fault". Logically I know it wasn't anything I did, but hearing from someone who knows better than you really helps.
We are now left with Muffy, Kate and Arthur and I am happy to say that my ability to sex kittens has not failed. I did guess their genders all with 100% accuracy. It isn't like they care if they have opposite gender names, but I do, so I was happy to know that I was right about that. I will post weight updates tonight or tomorrow morning. I have my last girl guide meeting tonight so will not be home.
Muffy weighs in at 188G an awesome gain for her
Kate weighs in at 177 a 7G increase
Arthur weighs in at a whopping 203G a BIG gain for the man of the bunch
I was up overnight, about every hr with the babies, mostly to make sure that DW was still alive and doing well. She did ok until about 5am. I fed her at 5am and got up, fed her some, she didn't want much more than a few drops, so I put her back to bed. I got up an hr later to find that the sweet baby girl had passed sometime in that last hr. From what I can see, she simply went to sleep. She was off on her own, on her side, eyes closed. She wasn't in a weird position or anything so I can only believe that it was peaceful.
All babies went to the vet this morning and the 3 remaining were said to be vigorous, and seem to be healthy. The biggest factor is that they did not get the colostrum from momma cat and this makes a huge impact in the immunity of newborn kittens. If we can find a queen that has a litter close to their age we will try to see if she will adopt the 3 babes left. If not than I will continue doing what I am doing and hoping for the best. The vet said I was doing all the right things plus, and I really needed to hear that. With DW'S passing, my confidence dropped huge. I needed to have someone tell me, "you didn't do it" or "it isn't your fault". Logically I know it wasn't anything I did, but hearing from someone who knows better than you really helps.
We are now left with Muffy, Kate and Arthur and I am happy to say that my ability to sex kittens has not failed. I did guess their genders all with 100% accuracy. It isn't like they care if they have opposite gender names, but I do, so I was happy to know that I was right about that. I will post weight updates tonight or tomorrow morning. I have my last girl guide meeting tonight so will not be home.
Muffy weighs in at 188G an awesome gain for her
Kate weighs in at 177 a 7G increase
Arthur weighs in at a whopping 203G a BIG gain for the man of the bunch
Monday, May 2, 2011
Really worried.
The babies have all been really quiet today, not something to worry about all alone, but when I went to feed them for their 7pm feed and nightly weigh, baby Kate who has been eating lost 8G, thats a huge loss for such a young baby. She was also very hard to wake up and slept in my palm for a bit. I was able to get some formula into her but not enough. I think she may have FKS, I am not sure what causes this, all I know is that it affects seemingly healthy kittens suddenly. If she is still here in the morning I will be taking them all to the vet for a once over. If the vet can fix her, she will, but if not I will have her euthanized. I am told that FKS isn't painful but I can't imagine how dying wouldn't be. I also know that the chances of 100% success rate in hand raising any animal is not likely, but yet I want that 100%, I guess anyone would. Dw is down 3G, not a big loss but enough to continue the worry. Arthur and Muffy are doing well and had some big gains, I will post weights at the end as usual.
Their eyes are more open tonight then they were last night and even this morning. Muffy's are almost fully open and Arthur is just behind her, the other 2 are slitted but not enough to see an eyeball just yet. It's a big milestone for their eyes to open, and I am very excited to see how they will look when they can see me, the dogs, the kids etc etc. I can't imagine living my life and not being able to see, even for just a short time. Once their eyes open they grow up into kittens so fast. It's hard to believe that by the end of May beginning of June these babies will be ready to leave here and look for their forever homes. In Another 2 weeks or so they can start eating kitten food, while it probably won't be their main source of nutrition at that point, once they catch on to it, my time will be nearly done with them.
They all had mini baths this afternoon, they woke up about 1pm all covered in someones poop. It's a good thing they are so stinking cute b/c they sure as heck smelled pretty bad lol. None of them seemed to mind the wipe down, and we got extra snuggle time b/c I didn't want to put them back in bed wet or even damp. Snuggle time is tough, you have 4 active kittens who don't wanna sit still. I did get some pics of them as well today, but they are not great pics, again they wouldn't sit still to get them done.
Weighing them tonight was tough, 3 of the 4 are active and I had a heck of a time keeping them on the scale long enough to get a reading.
1) Muffy weighs in at 179G a huge (16G) jump from yesterday's 163...I am not sure that she really did gain all that, but more a high reading due to her activity and being stubborn at weigh time
2) Dw is in at 170G, a 3G loss from last night
3) kate is 172G an 8G loss from last night.
4) Arthur the big brute of a boy is at 185G he is up 11G from yesterday.
Please send some good thoughts to this entire litter, especially baby kate. I will post a follow up of their appt tomorrow.
Their eyes are more open tonight then they were last night and even this morning. Muffy's are almost fully open and Arthur is just behind her, the other 2 are slitted but not enough to see an eyeball just yet. It's a big milestone for their eyes to open, and I am very excited to see how they will look when they can see me, the dogs, the kids etc etc. I can't imagine living my life and not being able to see, even for just a short time. Once their eyes open they grow up into kittens so fast. It's hard to believe that by the end of May beginning of June these babies will be ready to leave here and look for their forever homes. In Another 2 weeks or so they can start eating kitten food, while it probably won't be their main source of nutrition at that point, once they catch on to it, my time will be nearly done with them.
They all had mini baths this afternoon, they woke up about 1pm all covered in someones poop. It's a good thing they are so stinking cute b/c they sure as heck smelled pretty bad lol. None of them seemed to mind the wipe down, and we got extra snuggle time b/c I didn't want to put them back in bed wet or even damp. Snuggle time is tough, you have 4 active kittens who don't wanna sit still. I did get some pics of them as well today, but they are not great pics, again they wouldn't sit still to get them done.
Weighing them tonight was tough, 3 of the 4 are active and I had a heck of a time keeping them on the scale long enough to get a reading.
1) Muffy weighs in at 179G a huge (16G) jump from yesterday's 163...I am not sure that she really did gain all that, but more a high reading due to her activity and being stubborn at weigh time
2) Dw is in at 170G, a 3G loss from last night
3) kate is 172G an 8G loss from last night.
4) Arthur the big brute of a boy is at 185G he is up 11G from yesterday.
Please send some good thoughts to this entire litter, especially baby kate. I will post a follow up of their appt tomorrow.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Happy 1 week Birthday kitties
Things with the babies seem to be looking up. Nobody is colicky nor does anyone have diarreah today. All babies are very happy and contented. I finally got some much needed time to clean the house, been so busy taking care of everyone else I kinda forgot my house, I hate a messy house, so I was really happy today to be able to have the time to do it.
Given the status on the bubs last night, their weights are not changed much. This is fine considering they all had diarreah at some point thru the night. Gladly that has passed so now hopefully we are on the right path to getting these little guys doing better. They have all been pooping normally, except for Arthur who decided that pooping in his box was a great plan. It was a huge mess and I cleaned him and Muffy up the best I could but I can't bathe them yet so will be working with damp cloths to get them looking their best.
Their eyes appear to be starting to open. the corners are looking a little bigger than yesterday. I imagine they will be open sometime in the next few days, if not then certainly by weeks end.
Weights are as follows:
1) 163G She lost a gram but with diarreah what it is, it was expected.
2) 173G a gain of only 2 grams but again, it was expected
3) 180G a big gain
4) 186G a loss of 1 gram but given the bowel output today I am sure he pooped out at least 15G lol.
Given the status on the bubs last night, their weights are not changed much. This is fine considering they all had diarreah at some point thru the night. Gladly that has passed so now hopefully we are on the right path to getting these little guys doing better. They have all been pooping normally, except for Arthur who decided that pooping in his box was a great plan. It was a huge mess and I cleaned him and Muffy up the best I could but I can't bathe them yet so will be working with damp cloths to get them looking their best.
Their eyes appear to be starting to open. the corners are looking a little bigger than yesterday. I imagine they will be open sometime in the next few days, if not then certainly by weeks end.
Weights are as follows:
1) 163G She lost a gram but with diarreah what it is, it was expected.
2) 173G a gain of only 2 grams but again, it was expected
3) 180G a big gain
4) 186G a loss of 1 gram but given the bowel output today I am sure he pooped out at least 15G lol.
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