New kitten questions - updated

purrfect mom

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Hi! One kitten sometimes plays with littermates, but often is hiding in a corner/nook somewhere while others are rough-housing. She was however, just feeding while one of the more rambunctious and larger kittens had to scramble to find a spot.
She seems a little more scared than littermates. I have tried to give her extra attention; and, when I bring up watered down wet food on a little plastic tray I have put some on my finger and tried to get her to eat it.
None of the other kittens seem particularly interested in the food, except for one of the more rambunctious and larger kittens, who will lap at the liquid.
I think the one I'm worried about is a teensy bit smaller than others, though not a ton. When I pet her she sometimes just kind of sits there, whereas the others seem to move around.
Queen is perfectly fine.
There are 4 tabbies (she is 1) 1 of tabbies has a lot more black, and 1 orange in litter.
Any ideas? For instance, just now 4 were resting in a huddle after feeding; she was sitting apart. I thought of physically moving her over to the huddle.Thank you!
 

Norachan

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Hi purrfect mom purrfect mom

Have you been weighing the kittens regularly? It's quite common for one kitten to be smaller than the others in the litter, but you still want the kittens to gain weight steadily.

Five weeks old is a good age to start the kittens on solid food. Offer them some canned food that has been formulated for kittens. Try warming up the wet food to make it more appetizing.

Have the kittens had their first round of vaccines yet? It would be a good idea to get them all checked over by a vet now and start vaccinating them. Your vet will be able to let you know whether there is anything seriously wrong with her.

Good luck, please keep us posted.
 
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purrfect mom

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Thanks so much for your reply! Warming up the food is a great idea! I will start weighing the smallest;just now the smallest was curled up by itself in a new pet bed I put by the nest, I assumed others were together in nest; earlier, after feeding, they were all together.
Should I physically put the little one with others when it is apart?
Thanks!
 

StefanZ

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You can try to put her with the others. Watch out, if they are any hostile or rough, but as long nobody protests, why do so.

Hopefully its just a little shyness - which is normal. She will just need a calmer milieu in the future.
 
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purrfect mom

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Hello! Thanks for all great advice on this site.

Except now I have to do toilet training. Everyone says don't get clumping litter, so I got this natural stuff: like ground walnut shells in little capsules. They just don't seem to be using it; I am taking them, putting them on it, using their little paws to show them how to scoop.

But the littermates are enjoying themselves so much! Do kittens naturally go their own way after a certain amt. of time? Will they get depressed when removed from their litter? When does mom not miss them?

Thanks!
 

cataholic07

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Kittens should stay with mom until 12 weeks old so they get the most socialization :) Mom usually is sick of them way before then lol. And can be spayed anytime now. I use wood pine pellets for my kittens, they all seem to like it, okocats is also good.
 
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purrfect mom

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You all have been so so helpful on this site! In part bc of that, kittens are happy, healthy, socialized -- but bouncing off of walls! Literally! This a.m. I literally watched one try to figure out how to climb up to the ceiling! I thought to myself, o.k., these kitties are ready to spring the coop (it's been 8.5 weeks and some are 1/3 - 1/2 size of queen). I have them sequestered on upper floor via a barrier, but pretty soon they're going to get over it.
So, I'm due to deliver a few to new homes tomorrow. Do I sneak them out? Present them to queen, then let her see me put them in carriers? I just don't want her to be heartbroken. She has spent less and less time with them but they still prevail upon her to nurse even though I've been feeding them soft and solid food for over a month.
And, if I'm transporting 2 at once, should I put them in the same carrier (soft with mesh on top, one has solid bottom, one doesn't) or different carriers? Which would be more comforting?
What is the lowdown? Do some queens never recover from having their kittens taken from them? And isn't it true that the males would always leave anyway? Any advice helpful. I know some people on this site have said 10-12 weeks; but, seriously, I would literally get nothing done all day if I waited that long bc they'd be all over the house getting into everything constantly.And I really think they are socialized, happy, healthy.

Thanks!
 

Sarthur2

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Ten to twelve weeks is more ideal, but if you can’t do it, then definitely let her see you load them up and leave with them. The kittens and mom will go through a period of adjustment, especially the kittens who will no longer have mom or each other, but they will forget and adapt in a week or so. Mom sometimes acts down until her milk dries up. This takes a good couple of weeks.

It is best if you can stagger rehoming the kittens over a week’s time or more. Take one; then two days later take another; then a couple of days later another, etc. This is less stressful on mom, kittens, and you.

Be sure you have commitments from adopters to keep the kittens indoors only until they are vaccinated and spayed or neutered at 12 weeks old.

Do you have mom set for a spay now? It’s time. :)
 

gilmargl

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If you wait till the kittens are 12 weeks old, there will be no problems at all! The sooner you remove kittens from mama, the more upset she will be. However, if the queen is sick or weak, she will not miss one or two of the stronger kittens even if they are removed at 6 weeks (but this is not ideal for the kittens!)
If you really have to let them go early, then please not all at once.

If they are going to new homes in pairs, then put them both in the same carrier. It really doesn*t matter what type of carrier you use - I imagine their journey will not be longer than at most an hour. If possible leave them in the carrier at their new home until they come out on their own accord and, if possible, let them out in a relatively small room where they'll find everything they need. It they are allowed to run about all over the house before they know where the litterbox is, you'll be asking for trouble. And if they are shy in their new home, they may decide to hide behind the cooker, under the bath or just disappear!

I'm speaking from many years of experience with strays and their kittens!
 
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purrfect mom

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Hello, thank you so much; just wanted to add that there are 5 kittens - 2 I'm planning to remove tomorrow are biggest and probably boldest - it's a 20 mile 1 way trip so i dont' really want to do 1, then another.
Have been told by a dog/cat rescue place -- and another potential new owner was told this as well - that kittens imprint 6-12 weeks. Another potential new owner was told by his cat expert friends that you don't want to wait beyond 10 wks.for this reason.
So there does seem to be a bit of play in the advice! But that's why I'm asking the experts here.
So tomorrow it will be 2 days shy of 9 weeks.
The other night I had just finished cleaning litter boxes @ 2:30 a.m. and couldn't find one kitten. It took 1.5 hrs of searching until somehow it reappeared on its own from who knows where. It was then, at 4 a.m., that I said to myself, ok, I've got potential homes for all - time to get them there! (we might keep one; still haven't decided)
I'm really not worried re the 2 kittens going tomorrow: as I said they are the biggest and probably most exploratory. Also they're going to a nice family adn there's already 1 20-yr old cat.
I'm more worried re queen's reaction - esp. as she's gone into heat again.
She's now sleeping downstairs instead of upstairs w kittens - she started sleeping downstairs (where she usually slept pre—birth) about 1.5 wks ago.


Any other thoughts welcome.
 

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I think the kittens should be confined to one room at this age rather than have the run of the house. They play hard but still sleep a lot at this age, so as long as they have play mice and balls, and things to climb, and food and water, you should not be looking for them in the middle of the night.

As soon as mom’s heat cycle concludes, she needs her spay. It’s normal for mother cats to pull away from the kittens as they mature. I have a cat I took in as a stray five years ago who had 4 kittens. I kept everyone. They all get along great as adults, and the only female kitten is to this day, at 5 years old, still very close with her mother.

If two kittens are going to one family, that is ideal. They will have each other. Naturally, the more people you ask, the more varied the opinions you will get in response. It sounds like you have a plan in mind, so trust your own judgement.

Best of luck tomorrow. :)
 
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purrfect mom

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Hello, thanks to all advice. Out of 5 perfect kittens, due to good advice rec'd on this site I waited a week to adopt out the biggest and ones that had rec'd the most attn from prospective parents.
3 adopted 9-9.5 weeks; 1 to work colleague of a friend of friend; 2 to 1 family have known long time from church w a 20-yr old cat.
The thing is the 2 that went to the family, they put their "dibs" in before anyone, and @ a time when I had been told kittens were impossible to find homes for and we weren't even contemplating keeping any.
But now the "nursery" is so quiet! My boyfriend and I feeling loss. The family who rec'd kittens needed this: matriarch is not doing so well. But still, what if you do change your mind and want to keep cat(s) yet have already promised them? Somehow it seems as if the orig parents (us) should get to keep the cats they want, even if those feelings develop over weeks. I even put a proviso in the email that we had 1st dibs, but then we weren't really sure which we wanted bc all were delightful.
Compounding issue was that cats adopted out early on appeared to be special buds; also, I kinda felt that it wldn't be approp for us to keep bc one is particularly aggressive and just seems like an outdoor cat, and I just don't want to deal with the cat disappearing and never knowing whether it was a coyote.Although I think they're going to end up as indoor cats.
We are going to keep 1 and that leaves another which has been promised to someone who is a sis of a friend and out of state, though she is visiting in a mo. and could take cat home. She keeps wanting more pics and videos to see about markings, etc. My boyfriend just says that they're all good cats, which is true. I guess we could keep 2??
And, also, I want to follow up but dont' want to appear to be over-involved.It's just that there's this ongoing mantra, spay, neuter, spay neuter @ 1st oppty and it's not always good for the animal. I don't know if everyone knows this.
How have others dealt w these issues?
 

gilmargl

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Sounds good!
Yes, of course spaying is, and will always be an issue! But I am involved with a small cat charity which rehomes many kittens - we give the new owners a token allowing them to get a small rebate when the kitten is neutered. Some of the local vets accept these tokens and claim the rebate directly from us - but when the vets are too far away to know our system the new owner pays fullprice then sends us the token and receipt and we refund them directly. In this way, when we get the tokens back, we know which cats have been neutered and which we should follow up on. (A similar system is applied for first vaccinations and transponders)

The problem is that our directors want all cats spayed or castrated by the time they are 5 months old. Some people (myself included) still prefer to wait till 9 or 10 months. Some vets won't try to spay very young female cats, which is a problem with young ferals. As a private person, and without drawing up a formal contract with the new owners, you will have difficulty controlling what happens to the kittens. My suggestion would be to ask them to keep in touch and send you photos and videos to show you how well the kittens are developing. In this way you will have contact and can easily ask about spaying etc. without appearing too involved. I still receive photos of kittens I rehomed many years ago - particularly at Christmas time. You won't be able to control them but you can ask questions like "When does your vet suggest spaying?"

Here it is an offence to allow cats out who have not neen neutered or have no transponder or tatoo. The local authorities now have the right to enter land where it is believed these cats are to be found, have them neutered and charge the owners. I'm not sure if this will help to reduce the number of unwanted kittens, strays and feral colonies. We can but hope!
 

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There have been no issues identified involving early spay/neuter in cats. If anyone wants to see the studies I'll try to rustle them up.

I'm rather uncomfortable allowing female kittens to go to a new home unspayed, because I know that probably half the adopters will not spay on time and she'll end up having a litter. Most people do spay after the first litter. . .but that's still 4-6 more cats needing homes. Shelters that allow unspayed cats to leave the building have miserable compliance rates.

Did you have the adopters sign any kind of contract/agreement?
 

cataholic07

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I fostered quite a lot of kittens (36 total temp and longer term) and I understand how hard it is to let them go. But I found getting updates really helped me feel better. So I always email adopters just to see how their babies are doing, not like an annoying amount but every so often lol.

I do hope you plan on getting your female cat spayed as soon as her heat is over and spay or neuter whichever kitten you end up keeping. If you miss having kittens, you can always foster for rescues. They always have a constant slew of moms with babies or pregnant cats that need foster homes. And sadly many are only wanting kittens or adult cats so there is never enough foster homes for all the preggers and young moms with wee babies. :)

What you can also do is require that if in the future they must be rehomed, that they come back to you. :)

In regards to early spay/neuter, there has been zero studies that show that early spaying/neutering in cats causes major health issues. Cats arent like dogs in that they can have the really long legs because of the growth spurts. And kittens I haven't seen have incontinence issues like dogs. Any peeing problems was because of a UTI, and it prevented alot of spraying which is a major issue for unfixed cats. Female kittens can get pregnant at 4 months of age, so if their body says they are sexually mature enough to have kittens, obviously, they are mature enough to be spayed lol. I volunteer with a rescue that spays and neuters thousands of young kittens and none have had any issues. It is actually easier on their bodies to spay/neuter when the are young, they will bounce back much faster. All my fosters who were fixed were playing hardcore that same day they were fixed. While I had a one year old momma cat who took 3 days to recover. And we find that the older kittens take at least a day to recover as well. There has been no studies of it increasing the chances of urinary issues, or obesity if fixed at a younger age.
 

Sarthur2

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There is always a feeling of loss when rehoming kittens, but time usually heals this. If you wish to keep the remaining two kittens, simply let the prospective adopters know this. It is kitten season around the country for the next several months and it should be easy for them to find another kitten at a shelter.

It is perfectly fine to inquire as to how the kittens are doing a couple of weeks after you’ve rehomed them.

Hopefully you discussed the fact that they need spaying and neutering in the very near future, but as mentioned, you cannot force anyone once they have the kitten. Although some vets will not de-sex until six months, many vets and most shelters do it at 8-12 weeks. I am a proponent of early spaying and neutering before kittens are adopted out, then you know that they will not be breeding.
 
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