There's no such thing as a stupid question on this website. My guess was by the names you chose, which I love, by the way, Vic, Bob, LOL, love those names, and they fit their personalities the way you put it, with Bob being "laid back" and Vic, the forward bully. LOL And then of course there is the sweet little girl. Cotton, the verdict is still out on that one. Ha
We have a clear winner, Cotton, who gained a whooping 21g since yesterday.
Smallest gain is Bob, as expected, he gained 9 g. Is that enough to still be ok? He is still eating, as well as Pepita. The two big chunks are passed out in food coma.
I discovered the problem with Zoé, she is one spoiled kitten. If I give her a lot of attention she doesn't want to stay with the kids, way more fun to play with me and ask for treats. I ignored her a lot during the day yesterday and she spent way more time with the kittens, so they got more milk. Will do that again today. She will have all the fun again when these babies are a bit older.
If I'm not mistaken, Zoe is but a kitten herself. She herself is very immature. As long as you monitor the time she spends away from with her babies, making sure it is not too much time, and the babies are getting enough "mommy time" and nutrition, I would guess things would be alright..
Can you focus your "Zoe time" in the vicinity of the kittens, that way she will never be far from them. When Suzie had her kittens, she was older, 2 years old, she would walk off and spend say 20 minutes in another room from her kittens when they were asleep as a relaxation, getaway time for mom. But, only when the kittens were asleep.
Your mama cat will have a blast playing with her kittens once they are out of the nest and really start getting active. The stray I took in last year was barely a year, if that, when she had 4 kittens last spring. She played chase and tussled with them endlessly when the time came. She still enjoys playing with them almost a year later! (Yes, I've kept them all!)
But yes, she needs to primarily focus on the babies right now, though a couple of play sessions with you are fine. [emoji]128522[/emoji]
Yes, Zoé is a kitten herself, she is 6 months old. I do try to spend some time and cuddle her next to the kittens, not in the living room anymore. I work from home so I can't be all day with her in the bedroom, but I go there often. She leaves the kittens for an hour at a time, which seems a lot to me but I try to let her relax and redirect her when she "forgets" about them.
It is my first time having a cat at all and I started with a cat and kittens, kind of the full program!
Kittens are asleep when she is gone, none of them is crying.
I play with her at night now, so cute that she discovered the fun of toys, finally!
But during the day, I try to get her to focus on the babies more. Speaking of it, it has been more than an hour of her jumping around the living room, time for kittens!
I would love to see her play with her babies when they start moving around! I do no plan to keep them all, that would be too much in a one bedroom
I've always had about 5-7 cats at once, and all have lived to be 17-21, having acquired them as babies and strays. Over the last 3-4 years I had to put down one elderly cat after another, until I had none after my daughter took her cat off to college with her. When this pregnant stray showed up, I took her in, then decided to keep the whole family. I guess I'm a multiple cat lover!
Anyway, they were all spayed and neutered early on. It's been expensive, but joyful!
And an hour away from her babies while they sleep is perfectly fine. Strays and ferals leave their kittens for much longer to hunt and forage.
Thanks! I'm a sucker, that's why! I got attached and couldn't decide amongst them. They get along so well. In the past I always had to deal with introductions, and I figured I'd end up with multiple cats eventually, so I kept the whole family. Never had a family before. It's interesting how attached to each other they all are. At nearly a year old next month, mama kitty still comes running if one of them is getting into trouble.
Awww, it sounds so nice to have a family. I am working hard on not getting attached. But I am trying to find a home for Vic and Cotton together, they are like twins, so close.... Would hate to separate them.