Good morning! I just wanted to say first THANK YOU for all members here who post great information and advice. My daughter and I have found this specific forum to be so helpful the last several days.
We live in the Houston area and a few weeks ago my daughter found a stray cat hiding under the bench on our front porch. This was just before Harvey was expected, so she spent some time with food out there trying to gain her trust. She finally got her in the house and we determined she was pregnant. We have other pets, so she isolated the stray in her bedroom.
We did not get a chance to take her to the vet right away, but did check her over for fleas or any other noticeable issues but she looked great. She was skittish at first but warmed up quickly which makes me think she wasn't a stray for long. We posted on several local resources hoping to find owners but no luck. So unless we do find owners, my daughter has decided she really wants to keep the momma - she's named her Cleo - short for Cleocatra :-) I believe she's fairly young, but we do not know her age or even if this was her first litter.
Cleo had six kittens this last Saturday night (9/9). We didn't get a scale until yesterday but at less than 2 days old they all weighed between 138 and 155 grams, so (so far) they all seem to be doing well. She's being a good momma - nursing well and attentive - and she's eating dry kitten food and 1 can of wet kitten food a day.
So I do have a few questions:
- Cleo is a gray tabby and all six kittens are gray tabbies. Two of them are a little darker but we're still having a very hard time telling them apart. We tried a bit of nail polish on their claws to help keep track, but it's hard to see and I'm not sure how long it will last. Any other recommendations for keeping track of them individually?
- We are already trying to find future homes for the kittens at 10-12 weeks and will take Cleo in to be fixed once they are weaned. Should we take her in earlier than that for vaccines and/or do the kittens need anything before 8 weeks or so? Money is an issue but we will do what we can.
- Should Cleo get more than 1 can of wet food a day? She's eating and eliminating well but I'm sure six kittens is a lot to keep up with so we want to make sure she's getting everything she needs.
I think that's it for now. I'll try to get more pictures of the kittens individually in a few days. Cleo does not like when we take them away.
We live in the Houston area and a few weeks ago my daughter found a stray cat hiding under the bench on our front porch. This was just before Harvey was expected, so she spent some time with food out there trying to gain her trust. She finally got her in the house and we determined she was pregnant. We have other pets, so she isolated the stray in her bedroom.
We did not get a chance to take her to the vet right away, but did check her over for fleas or any other noticeable issues but she looked great. She was skittish at first but warmed up quickly which makes me think she wasn't a stray for long. We posted on several local resources hoping to find owners but no luck. So unless we do find owners, my daughter has decided she really wants to keep the momma - she's named her Cleo - short for Cleocatra :-) I believe she's fairly young, but we do not know her age or even if this was her first litter.
Cleo had six kittens this last Saturday night (9/9). We didn't get a scale until yesterday but at less than 2 days old they all weighed between 138 and 155 grams, so (so far) they all seem to be doing well. She's being a good momma - nursing well and attentive - and she's eating dry kitten food and 1 can of wet kitten food a day.
So I do have a few questions:
- Cleo is a gray tabby and all six kittens are gray tabbies. Two of them are a little darker but we're still having a very hard time telling them apart. We tried a bit of nail polish on their claws to help keep track, but it's hard to see and I'm not sure how long it will last. Any other recommendations for keeping track of them individually?
- We are already trying to find future homes for the kittens at 10-12 weeks and will take Cleo in to be fixed once they are weaned. Should we take her in earlier than that for vaccines and/or do the kittens need anything before 8 weeks or so? Money is an issue but we will do what we can.
- Should Cleo get more than 1 can of wet food a day? She's eating and eliminating well but I'm sure six kittens is a lot to keep up with so we want to make sure she's getting everything she needs.
I think that's it for now. I'll try to get more pictures of the kittens individually in a few days. Cleo does not like when we take them away.
