Hi Everyone
I'm new here, just looking for the answers to two questions that have come up, that I can't find info on anywhere. I've never had kittens born before so I'm kind of working blind.
My 7mo black cat(kitten) (who was pregnant when I got her - no-one realised) had a litter of 4 black kits on the 3rd Nov, so they're probably about 3 or 4 weeks old now (my math is atrocious). They're all girls, all healthy, been to the vet for a checkup, everything's just dandy.
Now the two questions I have:
1. Mumcat seems to have developed a ring of short, very fine and dark hair around each nipple... It stands out because her fur fades and thins out towards the nipples, and then there's this thick, dark ring around each one. People have suggested that it could be bruising, but it appears to be the colour of the hair, not the skin, that is so dark. I was wondering if this is normal, and what causes it, and basically if I should be worried about it.
2. The mum is quite kittenish still and while she's a very good mum in that she takes care of them really well, they're all clean and perfectly healthy and well-fed, she also plays with them and to me it looks almost painfully boisterous. The kits don't seem to be fussed by it, they don't cry or suffer any apparent harm, it just looks really worrying... She intersperses the wrestling and gnawing with licks so I'm wondering if this is just standard bathtime grooming practice? I'm really not sure... as I said they seem fine, it just looks like it must be too rough, and I can't quite believe that it's all usual. I keep wanting to tell her off, and then don't because I'm worried that I'm interfering with some natural thing between them.
Please could I get some advice from you more experienced folks!?
I'm new here, just looking for the answers to two questions that have come up, that I can't find info on anywhere. I've never had kittens born before so I'm kind of working blind.
My 7mo black cat(kitten) (who was pregnant when I got her - no-one realised) had a litter of 4 black kits on the 3rd Nov, so they're probably about 3 or 4 weeks old now (my math is atrocious). They're all girls, all healthy, been to the vet for a checkup, everything's just dandy.
Now the two questions I have:
1. Mumcat seems to have developed a ring of short, very fine and dark hair around each nipple... It stands out because her fur fades and thins out towards the nipples, and then there's this thick, dark ring around each one. People have suggested that it could be bruising, but it appears to be the colour of the hair, not the skin, that is so dark. I was wondering if this is normal, and what causes it, and basically if I should be worried about it.
2. The mum is quite kittenish still and while she's a very good mum in that she takes care of them really well, they're all clean and perfectly healthy and well-fed, she also plays with them and to me it looks almost painfully boisterous. The kits don't seem to be fussed by it, they don't cry or suffer any apparent harm, it just looks really worrying... She intersperses the wrestling and gnawing with licks so I'm wondering if this is just standard bathtime grooming practice? I'm really not sure... as I said they seem fine, it just looks like it must be too rough, and I can't quite believe that it's all usual. I keep wanting to tell her off, and then don't because I'm worried that I'm interfering with some natural thing between them.
Please could I get some advice from you more experienced folks!?