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#1
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mother and six kittens - update
This is about the cat and kittens in the threads,
fearful mother-to-be is cat really pregnant? 3 kittens born - help The six kittens are a week and a day old now. It has been an uneventful week, with me only looking in on the kittens, sometimes with a not very bright flashlight. I took two pictures of 2-day-old kittens with a flash, but wont use a flash again anytime soon. I've never approached the kittens or tried to touch them. The mother continues to stay clear of me, and comes out to eat what I leave for her only after I have left the room. A few times she has looked out of the closet at me, but never with more than her head in view. Often in the last two or three days she has been under the bed while the kittens are sleeping in the closet. But when I look in again she will be back in there with them. I would like to be able to replace the bedding in the closet, but I dont dare disturb the kittens. Tomorrow I will try preparing a box for them, with an easy step-over entrance, and placed in what might look like a safe secure place. Maybe the mother will move the kittens to the new place of her own accord; but if she doesn't, then I might try disturbing the kittens just enough to replace their bedding, and if the mother reacts by moving the kittens, maybe she will move them to the new place. Today I took two of my other cats for rabies shots, and asked my vet about when to separate the mother from the kittens and let the 'owners' take her to be spayed and then back home. He said I should start giving the kittens food after four weeks, and if they are eating well within two weeks to separate the mother from them after a total of six weeks from birth. I told him that people on the Internet have said that the kittens and mother should stay together for from eight to twelve weeks, but he said that nursing six kittens would 'weigh her down' if continued beyond six weeks. So that's how things stand. I'm going to start using a brighter flashlight to try to tell when the kittens eyes start to open, and how their eyes look. The mother continues to eat very well, and I've been giving her the equivalent of a package of Sheba or a can of Fancy feast four times a day, as well as having dry kitten chow and water there around the clock. Originally I said there were three black kittens, but actually there are three dark grey kittens instead, and the other three are black and white striped, two of them tabby-like. -cr |
#2
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On Mon 15 Aug 2005 08:15:02p, Calvin Rice wrote in
rec.pets.cats.health+behav (news:1124151302.336432.7780 @g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com): [...] He said I should start giving the kittens food after four weeks, and if they are eating well within two weeks to separate the mother from them after a total of six weeks from birth. I told him that people on the Internet have said that the kittens and mother should stay together for from eight to twelve weeks, but he said that nursing six kittens would 'weigh her down' if continued beyond six weeks. [...] All said, it sounds like things are going well! I know you don't want to upset the mama, but I would go ahead and do the cleaning up stuff. You need to get the kittens used to human interaction and even if mama moves them, it won't be out of your reach. I don't understand the vet's opinion and "weighing her down" but the kittens need human touch. Someone please chime in here with an opinion on how soon, k? My original thought was that if mama is so feral, she will teach that behavior to the babies and maybe it is better to remove her when the kittens are eating on their own. If she doesn't let you get close to them, especially, it isn't good for her to be there. Too soon to tell yet of course! -- Cheryl "The clever cat eats cheese and breathes down rat holes with baited breath." - W.C. Fields |
#3
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Honestly, the vet sounds like an old-fashioned out of touch sort of guy.
And, Calvin, you REALLY need to start interacting with the kittens and mom as soon as possible. Like yesterday. If you don't the mom will get more scared, not less, and the kittens will adopt her attitude. There is absolutely no need to separate them. I have pictures of "kittens" trying to suckle when they are almost as big as mama. If she doesn't like it she tells them! That is nature. Sounds like this vet would be the sort to recommend bottle over breast for a human mother. "Cheryl" wrote in message ... On Mon 15 Aug 2005 08:15:02p, Calvin Rice wrote in rec.pets.cats.health+behav (news:1124151302.336432.7780 @g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com): [...] He said I should start giving the kittens food after four weeks, and if they are eating well within two weeks to separate the mother from them after a total of six weeks from birth. I told him that people on the Internet have said that the kittens and mother should stay together for from eight to twelve weeks, but he said that nursing six kittens would 'weigh her down' if continued beyond six weeks. [...] All said, it sounds like things are going well! I know you don't want to upset the mama, but I would go ahead and do the cleaning up stuff. You need to get the kittens used to human interaction and even if mama moves them, it won't be out of your reach. I don't understand the vet's opinion and "weighing her down" but the kittens need human touch. Someone please chime in here with an opinion on how soon, k? My original thought was that if mama is so feral, she will teach that behavior to the babies and maybe it is better to remove her when the kittens are eating on their own. If she doesn't let you get close to them, especially, it isn't good for her to be there. Too soon to tell yet of course! -- Cheryl "The clever cat eats cheese and breathes down rat holes with baited breath." - W.C. Fields |
#4
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p.s. I have kept many kittens and their mothers both over the years.
Separating them has never been necessary. One such critter is helping me to type as we speak. Her mom was feral, yet I assisted in her birth, and had to bottle feed the kits when mom took critically ill. Mom is still with me, still feral (although I can capture her when I need to) but the kitties are sweet as can be. And they haven't got a clue that they are related, either. "Betsy" wrote in message ... Honestly, the vet sounds like an old-fashioned out of touch sort of guy. And, Calvin, you REALLY need to start interacting with the kittens and mom as soon as possible. Like yesterday. If you don't the mom will get more scared, not less, and the kittens will adopt her attitude. There is absolutely no need to separate them. I have pictures of "kittens" trying to suckle when they are almost as big as mama. If she doesn't like it she tells them! That is nature. Sounds like this vet would be the sort to recommend bottle over breast for a human mother. "Cheryl" wrote in message ... On Mon 15 Aug 2005 08:15:02p, Calvin Rice wrote in rec.pets.cats.health+behav (news:1124151302.336432.7780 @g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com): [...] He said I should start giving the kittens food after four weeks, and if they are eating well within two weeks to separate the mother from them after a total of six weeks from birth. I told him that people on the Internet have said that the kittens and mother should stay together for from eight to twelve weeks, but he said that nursing six kittens would 'weigh her down' if continued beyond six weeks. [...] All said, it sounds like things are going well! I know you don't want to upset the mama, but I would go ahead and do the cleaning up stuff. You need to get the kittens used to human interaction and even if mama moves them, it won't be out of your reach. I don't understand the vet's opinion and "weighing her down" but the kittens need human touch. Someone please chime in here with an opinion on how soon, k? My original thought was that if mama is so feral, she will teach that behavior to the babies and maybe it is better to remove her when the kittens are eating on their own. If she doesn't let you get close to them, especially, it isn't good for her to be there. Too soon to tell yet of course! -- Cheryl "The clever cat eats cheese and breathes down rat holes with baited breath." - W.C. Fields |
#5
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to Cheryl and Betsy:
The vet is a young guy that I have been taking my cats to for four years. He is a good communicator and has always done everything exactly right, as near as I can tell. At least my cats have always been cured of what was ailing them. The place is a two-vet animal hospital, with multiple other technicians and helpers. I don't don't think race should be relevant, but in case there are cultural issues, my vet is an African American. The other vet is a middle-aged white guy. I thought that what he meant by 'weigh her down' was that nursing six kittens after age six weeks would be physically demanding because of the milk production required, but of course I'm only guessing. The mother has to be separated from the kittens because the mother is not 'mine'. She has to go back to her 'owners', who will have her spayed before taking her home. If the vet sounds out of touch or old-fashioned, it's probably more because of the way I told about him than about him as he really is. Obviously I'm a novice, but I've been so satisfied for the past four years that I continue to drive 21 miles to this vet instead of seeing other vets that are only 3 or 4 miles away. I will start making contact with the kittens now that the eye-opening time is near, or maybe already started. I thought it was desirable for the mother and kittens to have a stress-free time of it for at least the first week, for the health of the kittens. I saw tiny kittens die when I was a child, never knowing the reasons. Luckily all six of these have survived a week and a day, and I can't help but think that a stress-free first week helped. -cr |
#6
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Calvin, you're doing great.
I'm happy that all the kittens are healthy. Even though the mom is not used to you, you have provided her a safe place for the babies, and I'm sure she knows it by now. Take care, Rhonda Calvin Rice wrote: I will start making contact with the kittens now that the eye-opening time is near, or maybe already started. I thought it was desirable for the mother and kittens to have a stress-free time of it for at least the first week, for the health of the kittens. I saw tiny kittens die when I was a child, never knowing the reasons. Luckily all six of these have survived a week and a day, and I can't help but think that a stress-free first week helped. -cr |
#7
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Sorry to sound so stern, Calvin. I go to a lovely vet, too, and chose him
over many others despite the driving distance, like you. But even though he's very experienced, he owns no cats, and never has. He is great with dogs. He is great with my cats, too. But I still know them, and cat behavior, much better than he does, so even though I respect him a lot, I always carefully weigh his advice. If it wasn't "right" for me most of the time, of course I wouldn't still be going there. But vets, and doctors, can and are often wrong. I lived through quite a trauma when my mother was dying of lung cancer and wasn't willing to take her treatment into her own hands. She glorified doctors, put them on a pedestal, instead of thinking for herself. She might have lived longer and happier if she'd done some research, or let us do it for her as we begged. So anyway, take care, and I'm sorry for the guilt trip. I'd still, however, let them be with mom longer if at all possible, because it is better for them "Calvin Rice" wrote in message ps.com... to Cheryl and Betsy: The vet is a young guy that I have been taking my cats to for four years. He is a good communicator and has always done everything exactly right, as near as I can tell. At least my cats have always been cured of what was ailing them. The place is a two-vet animal hospital, with multiple other technicians and helpers. I don't don't think race should be relevant, but in case there are cultural issues, my vet is an African American. The other vet is a middle-aged white guy. I thought that what he meant by 'weigh her down' was that nursing six kittens after age six weeks would be physically demanding because of the milk production required, but of course I'm only guessing. The mother has to be separated from the kittens because the mother is not 'mine'. She has to go back to her 'owners', who will have her spayed before taking her home. If the vet sounds out of touch or old-fashioned, it's probably more because of the way I told about him than about him as he really is. Obviously I'm a novice, but I've been so satisfied for the past four years that I continue to drive 21 miles to this vet instead of seeing other vets that are only 3 or 4 miles away. I will start making contact with the kittens now that the eye-opening time is near, or maybe already started. I thought it was desirable for the mother and kittens to have a stress-free time of it for at least the first week, for the health of the kittens. I saw tiny kittens die when I was a child, never knowing the reasons. Luckily all six of these have survived a week and a day, and I can't help but think that a stress-free first week helped. -cr |
#8
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Cheryl wrote:
... I know you don't want to upset the mama, but I would go ahead and do the cleaning up stuff. You need to get the kittens used to human interaction and even if mama moves them, it won't be out of your reach. As if she read our minds, she moved the kittens out of the closet last night, to under the bed. So I cleaned out the closet corner and put in new bedding, just a clean folded fresh towel.. Whether she will move back to the closet I don't know, but I will start trying to reach for the kittens under the bed, something I never have done in the closet, so maybe she will decide that the closet is better after all. I could do something drastic like move the bed around, but I don't want to terrify the cat, so I'm just go to try to make natural timid moves in the vicinity of the kittens. I suppose that once the kittens start to become mobile on their own it wont really matter where they consider their nest to be. But at this point they're just 9 days old. -cr |
#9
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Betsy wrote:
... I'd still, however, let them be with mom longer if at all possible, because it is better for them Don't worry, I wont rigidly plan a separation exactly at six weeks, but will watch how the kittens are coming along, how well they are eating other food besides mother's milk, and how healthy and lively they seem to be. Still, I'm curious how people who disagree with this vet will argue against his statement that the cat nursing as many as six kittens after six weeks will 'weigh her down'. He seemed to feel strongly about this when he said it. Today I finally picked up a couple of the kittens, two that I could reach under the bed. The mother didn't seem to get excited about it. They have started to crawl around somewhat, though they still gravitate toward her. The mother continues to avoid me though. It will be a real breakthrough if she ever lets me touch her. -cr |
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