- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #61
One has open their eyes completely. Two almost have, they are open a little bit.
Actually, if all is normal and the mother will let you do it, it is a good idea to start handling the kittens as early as possible. You have to handle them to weigh them, which should be done within 24 hours of birth, and daily thereafter and even blind newborns quickly get used to the idea of being on a hand. Just a few seconds for weighing to start, and then gradually increase the time. The earlier they are handled the better they are socialised. Obviously, if the mother is distressed at seeing you do it then leave off, but if the mother trusts you then there is usually no problem. Do not let young children handle kittens - they do not understand how fragile a tiny creature is.Around Two to three weeks you can Socialize(handle) them expose them to everything hair dryers, washer machine, people, kids (supervised them) cars rides anything you can think of but don't scared them to death (keep it short at first around 5 to 15 minutes as they get older you can handle them more)
Around three or four weeks they will start walking
I was going to say, you can actually begin handling kittens immediately at birth and should usually do so to weigh them at a minimum, even if mom is a tiny bit distressed, because seeing if they are gaining weight is really important. It is usually really not a problem though as long as you do everything very gently and slowly where mom can see you- most problems emerge when mom can't see what you are doing.Actually, if all is normal and the mother will let you do it, it is a good idea to start handling the kittens as early as possible. You have to handle them to weigh them, which should be done within 24 hours of birth, and daily thereafter and even blind newborns quickly get used to the idea of being on a hand. The earlier they are handled the better they are socialised. Obviously, if the mother is distressed at seeing you do it then leave off, but if the mother trusts you then there is usually no problem. Do not let young children handle kittens - they do not understand how fragile a tiny creature is.
Can you post a picture or describe what this looks like. The safe thing to do when unsure is have the vet take a look.I noticed the little dark grey one, has been opening his eyes, but this morning there was like eye boogers covering its eye and she couldn't open it. Does anyone have an idea about what this could be??
Yes, I agree. Do this and see if it comes back.Take a warm, damp wash cloth or cotton ball and very gently wipe its eyes to allow them to open. Possibly an eye infection that would require a topical antibiotic ointment applied, which would need to come from a vet.