D-Day

Today was the day that I have been waiting for / dreading / excited about since the day the kittens came into my life. It was the day they were ready to be spay/neutered. Today was daunting for a variety of reasons...

1) WEIGHT: Remember how little they were? Remember how behind they were? It felt like they would never, ever reach the 2lb mark - which is what they need to be before they can undergo surgery. The fact that they made it to that weight (truth: Tabitha is still 1.8lb, but that's close enough in my book for right now!) is staggering to me.

2) SURGERY: Okay - this is melodramatic of me - but I always have this fear whenever ANY of my pets have been spay/neutered. You hear horror stories of pets dying during it. It's not common, not at all, but you know me... I'm a little neurotic...

3) Feline Leukemia / HIV: This was the big one for me. You see, cats/kittens with either of these two FATAL diseases don't have a lot of options. It is not uncommon for these cats to be euthanized. From what I know (and I'm no expert!) it is passed from nose to nose contact so could easily be spread from a non-vaccinated mother to her kittens. Grand Rapids is lucky enough to have a sanctuary for these cats - and they can, in fact, live in a home with other animals as long as the other cats' vaccinations are kept current. Regardless of the options - I knew that if they were positive that it would be a whole other ball game. To come this far, with every kitten living through extroadinary circumstances I would have been nothing short of devastated if they had had a fatal disease. When I walked into the vet today to pick them up and saw a sticky note on their paperwork with NEGATIVE highlighted I almost cried. Honest!

The kittens have just done so well today. Here they are all crated up and ready for the ride to the vet this morning...

Tabitha

Magnus and Spock (hard to see I know!)

Napoleon

I picked them up this afternoon and other than being a little groggy, they were in good spirits. Now they are back in the kitten closet, and you know the first thing they did when they got home?...

Yup! They stuffed their faces! And you know what - after all they have been through today, and in their little lives so far - they deserve it!

So now we can move forward. I am so thrilled that they are all healthy and ready for adoption. I feel like I have 100% succeeded in giving these kittens the chance at live they deserve.

Crazy Kittens!

Phew! These babies are NUTS! : ) To say that I have four mischievous and energetic kittens on my hands is an understatement!

Now weighing between 1lb 8oz and 1lb 10oz each (just 6-8oz to go before they hit 2lbs!) they are little bundles of crazy! They LOVE to run, play, wrestle, and climb. Just like little monkeys!


Still living in my bathroom for now, they get lots of free roaming time during the day, but go back in their box at night to stay safe. This morning I woke up, walked into the bathroom, and Magnus was tightrope walking along the edge of the box wall! I put hm back in, only to go back in minutes later and find him sitting NEXT to the box looking up at me as if to say "take that!"

Travis and I have been debating over the past week or so where a better place to house them would be. It's hard having three other animals, and lots of STUFF that kittens can get in to (the particularly like any kind of cable, and garbage cans!) We really couldn't think of a great place to put them.

And then it hit me!

We live in a beautiful 1920's house and both bedrooms feature HUGE, long closets. While we obviously have lots of clothes in our closet, and use it frequently, the closet in the spare bedroom is well... full of junk...


It's about 6 foot wide by 24 foot long... it's actually bigger than my office, with sloped ceilings, a window, and hardwood floors. It's going to be the PERFECT kitten room! So... after we get this weekend out of the way (Travis is in a wedding and our house will be full of human guests) the closet will be cleaned out and the kittens will be moving in. It's going to be great!

Come back and visit soon for photos of the new kitten room - and more kitten updates!

Quick Update!

I am so swamped today with my work for Carol's Ferals, setting up my new Stampin' Up business and grad classes starting tonight, but I wanted to give you a super quick mini update...

THEY ARE GROWING LIKE WEEDS!

Seriously, it's pretty exciting! Spock, Tabitha, and Napoleon are all weighing in at 1lb 4oz while Magnus is almost 1lb 8oz!

Here's a couple of quick picks while the kitties were lounging around this morning...

Napoleon (at top), Tabitha (in middle with food on her nose!) and Spock (upside down)

Magnus!

They've sure come a long way since this photo was taken... don't you think?

(taken the day we found them, at approximately two days old)

Good Morning, Bella!

As the kittens waited in the bath tub for their breakfast (it's a lot easier to clean up if I feed them in the bathtub - they make SUCH a mess when they eat!) Bella came in to say hello...


Bella desperately wants to be friends with the kittens - she just doesn't understand how much bigger than them she is!

Good news on the weight front - Magnus is now weighing in at 13oz while the other three are weighing in at 11oz. That's a 9oz gain for Magnus and a 8oz gain for the other three in just over two weeks! They have each gained 3-4oz since last Thursday alone!

Let's remember, according to Alley Cat Allies...

- 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.

This is all true! While I would like to see them be at the upper end of the weight scale - everything else seems to be coming along nicely! Today we start LITTER BOX TRAINING! Wish me luck!

Looking GOOD!

I am absolutely thrilled to report that as of this morning - all four kittens weigh just about 8oz each! Some are a little under, around 7.5oz, but for the most part they are all there! I am just SO excited! Granted, I think they are still underweight for their age, but they have gained a lot of weight and look so much better than they did even a week ago! Yea!

With their added weight has come some notable developmental differences... particularly in their eyes. The pupils are pretty much completely formed and their eyes are changing from their bluish color to their adult color. They are really starting to look like little kittens now!

Every evening this week we've brought a kitten downstairs, one at a time, for about 15 minutes each, while we watch TV to sit with us. We're really trying to get them socialized as best we can and used to being held and petted. Travis has been awesome this week - he's been very involved in our evening kitten time. I think he has a soft spot for Magnus... : )

Tonight a "real" kitten foster is coming over to check in on the kittens and see how they are doing. I hope I get a good report!

Video update coming tomorrow! Happy Thursday!

Morning snuggles after breakfast...

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!

Video Blog & Weight Update

I am VERY pleased to say that the kittens are putting on some serious weight! In just a few days of upped food they are fattening up nicely... : ) Magnus is now weighing in at 6oz while the other three babies are weighing in at 5oz each. That's a 1 to 2oz gain for everyone. Yeah!

Enjoy the latest video update - and check back next week for more kitty progress!



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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!