Feeding Frenzy!

Over the past four days, the kittens have essentially said "enough with that bottle already, mom!"

Since their introduction to solid food (wet cat food mixed with formula) last Thursday they have become harder and harder to bottle feed. Today I gave up the bottle altogether and here's how we did...

Looks civilized enough, right? Think again!!!


"I'm swimming in food!" -- Napoleon


"I eat like a lady" -- Tabitha


"I could get used to this" -- Magnus


"What do you mean there's something in my hair?" -- Tabitha

"I'm saving those bits on my head for later..." -- Spock

"Mom... I made a mess!" -- Tabitha

And while the transition to solid food is going great... with more solid food comes LESS solid STOOL. Um, yeah, you get the idea. LOVELY! Aaaah, the joys of being a kitten mama!

Gaining Weight!

The kittens are continuing to gain weight. Wahoo! It's a slow process, especially since I am overly sensitive to it and want to weigh them and check in on them all the time, but they are getting there.

Since I first posted about their weights a week ago Monday, they have all gained 3 to 4oz each! Magnus is the big guy (always has been!) who is weighing in at 7oz, while the other three babies are each coming in at 6oz each.

The website I've been referring to, lists the following information on how to determine age of a kitten, and their appropriate weights. I have highlighted in red all of the items I have observed in one, or multiple kittent thus far:

- Under one week: (3-8 oz) Eyes are shut, ears are folded down, and kittens are unable to walk. They can purr and make tiny noises. The umbilical cord may still be visible.

- One-two weeks: (8-11 oz) Eyes start to open (they are blue) and focus. Ears begin to open and movement is improved to crawling, snuggling, and kneading.

- Three weeks: (7.5-14.5 oz) Eyes fully open and ears are open and standing up. The kitten will start to respond to noises and movement. The first wobbly steps are taken and baby teeth start to come in.

- Four-five weeks: (8-16.75 oz) Running, playing, digging, and pouncing occur often. Kittens will start to wean and will be able to lap up formula, eat soft food, and use the litter box by themselves. Eyes have fully changed from blue to their adult color.

- Eight weeks: (2 lbs) Kittens look like little versions of full grown cats. This is the best age at which to begin the socialization process.

In the four-five week category, I have started to see beginnings of playing, wrestling, etc. I have also noticed several of the kittens using their tongues to lick, lap and clean themselves from time to time.

If you look at the weights listed for each category, they are a little confusing to me. According to the chart the kittens are quickly approaching the low end of the three-four-five week ranges. I can only assume this is good news!

Feeding is going really well. I've switched from a syringe to a kitten bottle (yes, they make such things!) and not only is it easier for me, but less messy for them. They got the hang of the bottle really quickly. I've upped the food to the amount listed on the formula container for their weight range - but they still seem ravenous all the time! I think I will increase a little more still over the next few days.

And you know what? I can't believe how much I have thought and worried about kitten poop over the past few weeks! Gross, yes, but necessary. In case you're wondering - pooping is going very well. Nice work, kitties!

More pictures and videos coming soon - thanks for checking in on the kittens!

Weighing In

I'll preface this post with reiterating that I have NO IDEA what I'm doing when it comes to these kittens! I mean, really, I'm winging it!

Figuring out how much and how often to feed the kittens has been quite confusing to say the least. Everything I've read and everyone I've talked to has had slightly different ideas. I guess just like there's no handbook to raising a kid, there's no handbook to raising kittens either - and a lot of it seems like trial and error, and situational dependent on your kittens.

I was feeding them 2ml of kitten formula every three hours - but I was told to dilute the formula with one extra part water to help them digest and avoid constipation. All was going well (except for my nights sleep - of course!)

Yesterday we went out and purchased a cheap kitchen scale, since we didn't own one, because I wanted to get the weights of the little guys and gals. We came home and I got to weighing. Here's what we came in at:

MAGNUS: 4oz


SPOCK: 3oz


GIRL #1 (Pink? Chloe?): 4oz


GIRL #2: 3oz

I checked a weight chart I found online at Alley Cat Allies and was horrified to find them at about HALF the weight they should be for their age. Yikes!

Now, I have to take this with a grain of salt because I'm sure there are resources all over the web with different ideas of weight vs. age etc. but at the same time I had a mini panic attack. I looked at the recommended feedings on the formula container and according to that I am definitely not feeding them enough - especially since I'm diluting it further.

Soooo... I'm upping the food. I don't know if that is right or wrong but we're going to see how it goes. I'm doing 4ml - no extra dilute - every four hours. I'm also leaving them over night (feeding right before bed and first thing in the morning) since almost everything I've read says that kittens this age can start being fed 3-4 times a day and go for 8 hours overnight. I don't want to feed them TOO much because they are so little and have little bellies - but I want to make sure they are getting the nourishment to grow - you know?

We'll see how this goes, huh? I figure with this up in nourishment, if they can handle it, they should put on weight pretty quickly. I'll weigh them again later in the week.

The good news is that they are very active, and vocal, so I think other than being soooo little they are doing just fine.

Wish me luck!