New foster to 4 newborn kittens

[P-chan96]

The carrier will be kept in the bathtub, gonna try to replace the newspaper with puppy pads and just change them out as I can. The vet I took her to offers more services along with the spay so she's going to get a full exam and whatever she needs, I'm glad because most places won't accept strays. The house is about 77 degrees, should I have a heater for her?

Kitties keep just pooping the the bedding, should that be worrisome. They are like little smooth hard poops. I don't know who's pooping because of it.

 

[Sarthur2]

You’ll need a larger crate that will fit a small litter box and food and water, or you’ll need to let her be free in the bathroom. She can’t stay in that small crate. 77 degrees sounds very comfortable with no heater running.

 

[P-chan96]

Just picked up mama, turns out she had a bladder infection or something like that, so the spay should fix it. They flushed her and was told to keep her inside for 2 weeks, or at least a week and monitor her in the garage. She's vaccinated and got a pain shot. Hopefully her recovery is speedy and she is able to enjoy her life once more!!

 

[Sarthur2]

I’m glad the spay went well!

However, a bladder or urinary tract infection would not be cured by a spay. She would need antibiotics for that. Did she receive any?

Have you worked out a place for her to stay in your home where she has litter, food, and water and will not be in the crate? It’s also a chance for her to learn to socialize a little more.
P P-chan96

 

[P-chan96]

I can't remember the exact name if what she had, but the vet tech said that what she had is fixed by the spay, and then they flushed her with something so that nothing was left, but the vet didn't order for antibiotics, I asked. Uti was what she kinda simplified it as for me, explaining that's why she had the discharge and stuff, it wasn't exactly that, but they said taking out her uterus fixes it. She said to monitor her stitches and stuff.

I was able to set up a large kennel we have, I dont have a room she can stay in, I live with my sister and only have a small bathroom that me, my husband and 3 kids all use pretty frequently so she would get a bit stressed out I would think. Ultimately, once my older sister comes back from vacation I'll see what she wants to do. She has the master bedroom and a bigger bathroom. I can sit in the kennel with her. It's huge. But that is the best I can do right now. It has space for her litter box in one corner and plenty of space for her to stretch out.

I want to try to wash her, but I feel like it would be a challenge. Her tail is very crusty and dirty from the birth and stuff. Maybe if I sit in there and she come up to me, I can wipe her with a damp towel? I dont think wet wipes will do the trick or it will take a long time

 

[Sarthur2]

I would definitely not wash her right now. Her stitches need to heal. Are they internal and dissolving or external and will need to be removed?

When she feels a little better try softening the dried stuff on her tail with a wet cloth. It may take repeated attempts over a few days, but it will come off.

Glad to hear she’s got s big kennel and you’ll be spending time with her.

 

[P-chan96]

They didnt say anything about bringing her back to remove them so im assuming they should dissolve. But they also didn't give me a cone for her, so hopefully internal.

This has been a very eventful week for me and I am eternally grateful for you and everyone else on this site. Now that things have calmed down and everyone is checked out, I am excited for the future of these babies and mama.

Random question, are all outdoor cats considered feral? Like how does that work. In case they need to bring her in for something, should we just be like oh our outdoor cat instead of the stray that lives in our garage? Because shes friendly to us. So I wouldn't consider her feral.

 

[Sarthur2]

No, all outside cats are not feral. This was a friendly stray who your family has now adopted, so she is now your pet.

Cats can be indoor only (healthiest and safest), outdoor only, or indoor cats who go out or outdoor cats who come in. I hope this cat will begin to stay inside more often.

A feral cat is not owned nor is it tame. Most ferals are not socialized to humans and fear them, and so therefore do not allow people to handle them. Feral kittens and some feral adults can be tamed and socialized, but it can take months.

Thank you for all you are doing for this mama cat and her kittens!

You can introduce her to her kittens again when she feels better. She may want to mother them or play with them a bit.

I now think that the reason she did not nurse her kittens is because she was in pain and not feeling well enough. It sounds like she had a uterine infection called pyometra, which could have killed her had you not spayed her.

 

[P-chan96]

Yes that is what she had. Haha I am like running on only a few hours of sleep at a time so she probably said uterine but my head did not grasp it and was like oh okai urine.
But im glad to have acted fast as I did. The babies seemed fine the first day, we left them with her, but the end of the second day she just completely changed so it makes sense.
Just transferred her to the kennel. Should I hold off on food? Or just have it there incase she wants some. She's still wobbly walking.

 

[Sarthur2]

Put the food and water inside the kennel. When her anesthesia wears off she may be hungry and she will definitely be thirsty.

 

[P-chan96]

End of week 1 weigh in
Orange Tabby is 149g
Black # 1 is 163g
Calico is 122g
Black # 2 is 153g

So proud of theses babies gaining weight and sleeping so well! Although they won't poop for me, they are pooping. Black #1 has a white spot on her chest and a while line on her belly. Both black kitties purr instantly when you pick them up. Calico is the biggest cry baby.

 

[Sarthur2]

Weights are good! Sometimes kittens cry when they are hungry. Calico is the smallest. Is she getting enough food?

Try feeding her first, then the others, then come back around to her at the end and offer her more. It may help to top her off and get a little more food into her.

 

[P-chan96]

Calico eats a lot. She eats her fill and falls asleep right away. She just doesn't seem to like to be held not according to her terms. But im thinking she doesn't like the miracle nipple anymore, it takes her a bit to latch on it and suckle, she's been gnawing at it. Would it be bad to cut the tip off so its a little shorter? Or is it supposed to go deep in their mouth? She did the best on it in the beginning, but she seems over it now. I might switch her to the blue KMR as well, it has more protein in it than the pink one I've been using.
Should I feed her every hour to catch her up? Or would the constant waking up be bad?

 

[Sarthur2]

Snip the nipple a bit to shorten it, but make sure the hole that is left is not too big. You don’t want her to aspirate milk into her lungs. Or use a different nipple for her.

As long as she continues to gain she can keep going as is - no need to feed every hour.

 

[P-chan96]

They like the shortened nipple, I have a new technique to make them eat better. I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner but I have to wake them up and let them stir a little otherwise they won't want to latch. Reminds me when I would wake my babies to nurse, can't feed a sleepy baby!

I finally caught one of them mid poop. It was a big poop and I had to help him poop it out. All of their poops are hard though, does that count as dehydration? Or is it the formula? The poop with be brown with some parts yellow. I've still been giving them the oil. I have not gotten a soft serve stimulated poop. All of their poops I have found in the bedding.

 

[Sarthur2]

You can add a bit more oil, and you can also use unflavored pedialyte instead of water to mix the powdered formula. This may help with hydration.

 

[P-chan96]

One of the kitties is sucking on their siblings and I think its the orange one. The black ones have been having their bottoms soaked the last 2 feedings. That one also sucks his paw, and I am noticing a dark growth on them. One is bigger than the other. What can I do to get him to stop sucking? I read to separate them, but I feel like that would stress then out more. I am able to divide them in the carrier they are in, it has extensions that I can separate them into.

When can I wash the babies? The black ones have peed on themselves a few times, but wet wipes don't get the smell out. What soap, should I blow dry or just leave a heater or just towel dry?

 

[Sarthur2]

You can wash them in Blue Dawn dish soap. The blue one is safe and is the one wildlife officials use to clean up oil-slicked wildlife. Towel dry then blow dry on low or use a heater. Sounds like they only need their lower half washed - not past their necks.

You’ll need to separate them - suckling on one another is a no-no and can cause all sorts of problem. Is the dark growth a sort of blood blister or mold?

Cut pieces from an old but clean cloth and soak the pieces in kitten formula and give that to them to suckle.

They may also learn to suckle on a stuffed toy. I had a cat that suckled a furry teddy bear all her life. Literally suckled the fur off in places. She would knead on it while suckling as though it was a mama cat.

 

[P-chan96]

It seems to be like a blister kinda, but it kinda hangs off like a skin tag, I don't see how it would be from sucking, but I can imagine he could suck on them. I honestly don't remember seeing it before, so im not sure if it's just something I have overlooked and barely noticing.

The sucking has only been a problem from today, should I separate all of them or just the orange one? How long do I keep them separate?

 

[Joelle and the kittens]

Aww my boy kitten Orange&White loves to suckle this super-soft bed we got. It probably feels like a mother cat.

Grey Kitten used to suckle it too but now they're too big to both fit and O&W is a little suckle-hog anyway.