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... and it's quite fascinating. She starting having her kittens on my sister's bed this morning, which was strange. I've had cats before and they always find a place to hide for a few days. But Lucy is unashamed enough to want us to ba around, I guess. So we moved her to the bathroom, which is her favorite spot in the house (because it's cool, I think) and since 6:00 this morning she has had 5 little kittens and I think more could be coming. She lets us pet her and keep her calm even during really hard pushes.
I've never witnessed catbirth before. And let me tell you, it makes me everlastingly grateful that I'll never have to deliver anything with claws, or anything that comes in groups of 5.
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Yes, we wanted one litter and then we'll have her spayed.
By the way, the total is now six. Three with black & white spots, two black & gray striped and one black. Posts: 8504 | Registered: Aug 1999
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I'm still squicked out by anything birth-related, but having a new litter of little kittens around makes me very jealous, Annie.
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I thought this was going to be a cautionary tale about not leaving the Xerox machine turned on when the cat is loose.
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There are now seven, but the last one doesn't look to be doing so well. He was laying on the cold tile floor, away from mom and the others on the towels. He was still alive, though, so I put him under the others hoping he'll warm up and she'll lick him so he can dry off Posts: 8504 | Registered: Aug 1999
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He's donig well... we warmed him up and brushed him with a toothbrush, and the little girls got him to nurse. They named him Siete for being number seven
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She's only a year? Practically a teenage mother?!
I don't know TONS about kittens and cats but I have a friend who looks after pregnant cats on a regular basis (until they have their kittens and about two months after). For the first few days (about a week?) my friend leaves the mother and babies alone as much as possible- so they get a proper relationship or something.
As I said, I don't know exactly, but you might want to look into it...
Kittens are so cute, and you have seven, that's amazing (wait until they start exploring...) O.o
Posts: 8473 | Registered: Apr 2003
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That is a huge litter! Both my litters were only four! Be specially careful of the runt of the litter, to be sure he/she gets enough to eat. Supplement with KMR (kitten milk replacement) given from a doll's bottle if necessary. I think actually the pet stores now carry kitten nursing bottles. Make sure the nipple hole (you have to cut them) is big enough to allow drops to come out one at a time, but not too big so that the kitten will be choked by too much fluid. Also, their little tummies have to be massaged with a warm damp paper towel after each feeding, for their digestive systems to work. Mama licks them from chin to tail on the abdomen, and you should mimic that. I hope they all make it!
They are super adorable, Annie. I think the darkness is important the first few days to proper development of their vision. At least that's what I have read. Not sure how scientific that is. There is lots of "lore" in kitten raising. Of course, there is lots of good experience contained therein as well, and not too much hard science is done (thank goodness), so I would not ignore it too lightly.
Remember that the kittens are babies, and don't let the little ones treat them as toys. Teach them to respect their feelings and wellbeing, and it will be a beautiful experience for both the children and the kittens.
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They are very cute! They will be even cuter in a few weeks when they are running around!
Remember at 6 weeks or so, most kittens need to be wormed . It is kind of a chronic problem in most newborn kittens, unless the mom was wormed just before she got pregnant. We just wormed all of ours.
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He was laying on the cold tile floor, away from mom and the others on the towels. He was still alive, though, so I put him under the others hoping he'll warm up and she'll lick him so he can dry off ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
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