Pregnant Stray Decided She Lives Here Now.

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Ceeedge

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Okay, now for some nuts and bolts questions.

I have been reading that kittens cannot use scented clumping litter because they will eat it. Our local market only had one option and that seems to be the bottom of the barrel clay type litter, should we go ahead and go to the pet store for kitten litter? I know this is a few weeks away, but I would like to be prepared.

She gave birth on an old robe and we are changing and washing it, I am assuming the unscented laundry soap we already use is okay?

I know we are looking for about a 10 g gain daily, but we have one that went up 18.. can they eat too much? He is the smallest so I am happy with the gain..but want to make sure.

Kitten weight update: we threw out the first measurements because it was pointed out to me that I was not consistent with using a paper towel and those also have weight. This is teaching me a great lesson in humility. We took the weights as the girlfriend helped me weigh them at 2:30 that morning as starting weights. feel free to check our math.. we are both suffering from a lack of eight hours a night.

8/29 @ 2:30 am
William: 121g
Hunter: 128g
Draco: 79g
Catnip: 110g

8/30 @ 10:30am
William: 133g 12g gain
Hunter: 136 8g gain
Draco: 97 18g gain!
Catnip 125 15g gain

William is clearly her favorite as he is the one that she moves onto my lap regularly. We are currently devising a way to move her and the babies into the living room for the day. She is okay if I am in the office with them, but when I leave she grabs William, brings him wherever I go and deposits him on me as soon as I sit down. Draco is the girlfriends favored kitten. He was #3 and was too cold when she was having kitten #4 so he spent some time in her bra and stole her heart in the process. I.. love them all. If I had to pick a favorite it would be PK or Dany as she has been officially dubbed. She is being a good mama and taking great care of the babies. She is a little suspicious if the girlfriend gets in with the babies, but seems to want to give them to me regularly. The only real problem we have had is the fact that she wants to climb IN the couch, but we had a large bag of donation clothes that have been repurposed to stuff in the space between the couch and the floor, sorry Goodwill, we'll get you next time we spring clean.

Also: the cutest thing I have seen in my life is two kittens fighting over the same nipple. Hunter and William both have an affinity for the same one and will bat at each other to get to it. It's adorable. Heart melting. Oh no.. these kittens have ruined me.
 

Sarthur2

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No, kittens can never eat too much. The more weight they can gain the better. The 6-10 grams a day is a minimum.

You should close the door to the office so she can't move the kittens.
 
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Ceeedge

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The office door is closed now, I was trying to get her some air. That room is tiny and can get a bit stuffy.. sadly she wants to bring William everywhere so she had to be shut in again.
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We also found a flea today (oh no!) So we went to petsmart for some advice and flea meds. They were the most helpful people we have found in this process, so that was a super productive trip!
 

ileen

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Is there a fan in the office or do you have one you can put in there for some air flow?
 

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Hahha it's mad how she always grabs william! Maybe the peeps on here who are experienced with queens and kittens may say they always have a favourite baby.. I'd be interested to know .

With regard to only eating when you're in with them, some cats (and dogs ) do that. Mine will frantically her breakfast before I leave the house - nearly chocked herself once. She won't eat again until I'm home even if food there ..
 
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Ceeedge

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Advantage 2 was recommended since she had just had the kittens. Sadly we lost Cantnip this morning. The little one was very cool with a hard bluish belly this morning, we think "she" was actually a boy. He faded away in my hands as I was frantically trying to figure out where to take him/what to do. It was a tough day. She had moved him out of the bedding so I suspect she knew something was wrong before we did. It makes sense for her to save her energy for the babies that have the best chance. We buried him in the garden under a tree that makes lovely white flowers in the spring. Everyone else gained between 15 and 20 grams in just over 25 hours so they seem to be thriving. I'll post more pics tomorrow.. Tonight I am heartsick.
 

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Oh so sorry, poor catnip . As you say she most have known / picked up something was wrong .. So upsetting . Xxx
 
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Ceeedge

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Babies are great! They are getting fatter and fatter by the day. I have been coming on with a new company so the week has been hectic and she has been showing me that the almost desperate need for attention is just her and not just hormones. I don't mind. She is such a sweet girl and she is getting better about staying off the laptop. I snapped some quick iPad pics, but they aren't the best.
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Mamas all ready for love.

Kittens are gaining at a crazy rate.

William is at 245
Hunter at 253
And our little Draco is coming in at 214. We had a little celebration when he was over 200 grams. :)
image.jpg
 

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Wonderful they are gaining so well! :)

Mom looks like my daughter's cat! Is she eating well? She looks skinny!
 
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She is eating her little head off. We give her all the dry food she wants and she gets a spoonful of wet about 6 times a day, more than that she won't finish in one sitting, so I just give her a bit every time she comes to visit me. She was very skinny when she came to us almost a month ago now, and it's hard to tell but she has put on a little weight. Her hip bones don't look quite so prominent these days. I suspect a good amount of that food is going straight into the milk bar for the babies. A friend once equated breast feeding to strapping a treadmill to her chest and she only had one! She eats a lot more when I am in there, the food levels don't change much overnight.. but she is in my office so she is with me a good part of the day (and sometimes night too!).

The only bothersome thing is the tendency to bring me a kitten and drop it on my feet. The first time this happened I just felt something furry on my toes and almost kicked. That would have been disastrous. It's not always the same kitten..so I don't understand the motivation, but I usually use the opportunity for a quick cuddle and then deposit said kitten back in the box. I suppose when they are larger this won't be an issue, I just have to be SUPER CAREFUL in the mean time.

Edit: Note on the food front. I don't know why we thought it was a good idea to get a 15 lb bag of kitten food. This is going to take forever to get through. Our perspective is a little skewed, the pups go through a 50 lb bag in just over three weeks so we were worried the cat food bag would be too small! Oh the lessons.
 

Alejandra Rico

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She is eating her little head off. We give her all the dry food she wants and she gets a spoonful of wet about 6 times a day, more than that she won't finish in one sitting, so I just give her a bit every time she comes to visit me. She was very skinny when she came to us almost a month ago now, and it's hard to tell but she has put on a little weight. Her hip bones don't look quite so prominent these days. I suspect a good amount of that food is going straight into the milk bar for the babies. A friend once equated breast feeding to strapping a treadmill to her chest and she only had one! She eats a lot more when I am in there, the food levels don't change much overnight.. but she is in my office so she is with me a good part of the day (and sometimes night too!).

The only bothersome thing is the tendency to bring me a kitten and drop it on my feet. The first time this happened I just felt something furry on my toes and almost kicked. That would have been disastrous. It's not always the same kitten..so I don't understand the motivation, but I usually use the opportunity for a quick cuddle and then deposit said kitten back in the box. I suppose when they are larger this won't be an issue, I just have to be SUPER CAREFUL in the mean time.

Edit: Note on the food front. I don't know why we thought it was a good idea to get a 15 lb bag of kitten food. This is going to take forever to get through. Our perspective is a little skewed, the pups go through a 50 lb bag in just over three weeks so we were worried the cat food bag would be too small! Oh the lessons.
It is not a bad thing, this way you can give the future owners of the kittens some of the food so they can easily make the transition to any dry or wet food they want;)
 
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Ceeedge

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Yes! That is exactly what I was intending the whole time! Or so I will tell people moving forward. :devilish:

In all seriousness that is a good idea, and one I intend to use now. Thanks!
 

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I assure you that when the kittens wean they will begin eating tons of dry kitten chow. You'll be glad you bought a big bag!
 

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Oh they are adorable ! I suspect she sees them as her gift to you hence why she brings a kitten to you !

It's mad, bet when you used to see her wondering the neighbourhood you never thought in a million years this would happen !
 

ileen

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I take the kitten gifts as a sign she wants the kittens to be familiar with your scent, and you. No idea if that's accurate, but I'm jealous.
 
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Ceeedge

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Oh they are adorable ! I suspect she sees them as her gift to you hence why she brings a kitten to you !

It's mad, bet when you used to see her wondering the neighbourhood you never thought in a million years this would happen !
I would have thought you were crazy if you told me I would be responsible for 4 cats after a lifetime of none. When I was a kid my sister had an angry white cat that lived in her room and hated everyone but her. Every time I tried to sneak a pet I would end up with a nasty scratch to show for it. I suppose that left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth until Dany showed up and stole my heart.

I never thought of the kittens as gifts! That is a really sweet way of looking at it. I'm just scared I will move the chair or shift my feet and hurt one of them, so I am very very careful before I move away from my desk.

Hunter seems to have developed a bit of an eye infection in his right eye. It was all the way closed this morning, I soaked a washcloth in some warm water and got the worst of the crusties off, but We are off to the pet store again this afternoon to get something to clear that up.

Draco also only has one eye open, and I am thinking she might have a touch of it too. She is fast catching up with the other two kittens in the weight category and has really started to look like a chubby kitten instead of just a tiny tiny cat. She is still the girlfriends favorite and is always cuddled just a touch longer than the others when we do weights. I foresee some tears, quite possibly from both of us, after kitties go to their new homes. It will be for the best though, three animals is quite enough for one household.
 

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What did you get to treat their eyes?

Terramycin works well, and is available at tractor supply stores, online, and vets.
 
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