Three Placed Now

In addition to Harry and Scruffy, George has now been adopted. :) It sounds like he will be going to a very loving home, and we are happy about that. I love George and his sweet little face, and I'm sure he's going to be a terrific little cat. That leaves Fred and Neville, and I can't imagine that the two people who are still interested wouldn't want to adopt these little guys. They are a couple of snuggly little kitties!

Solid Food

On a hunch, I offered Scruffy some wet food on a plate today. He went right for it and gobbled some down! Fred and Neville gave it a try too, though Harry and George didn't show any interest...this time. I'll offer it again at the next feeding and see what happens.

Fred and Harry have also been peeing spontaneously on their own, so I got a small litter "box" prepared for them. I can't put it in the tub with them, but I can start showing it to them when they're out and encouraging them to use it.

Between wet food on plates and litter box training, the messy days are now upon us.

Videos to come soon - I took a few, and we'll get them online within the next day or so. The one of Scruffy eating off the plate is very cool.

Starting to Play

The kittens have definitely started playing with each other, rolling around and grabbing at each other. They bite and lick each other, too. Their vision is improving as well, and I think they are seeing me now when I walk into the room. Scruffy is the closest to being able to get out of the tub, though he's not there just yet. He gives it a valiant effort, though!

We bought some kitten wet food today and kitten-safe cat litter, in preparation for beginning those processes with them. I'm not sure when we'll try the wet food, but I think it will be soon. Same with the litter box training.

5 Sleepy Kitties

The kittens just ate and are all curled up together. I weighed each one. It was after they ate and on my not-so-precise scale but here are the results:

Harry 7 oz.
Neville 9 oz.
Fred 9 oz.
Ron (Scruffy) 12 oz.
George 10 oz.

George Eating

Scruffy on the Floor

Neville, Fred and Harry

Home Again

The kittens traveled well, sleeping all the way there and all the way home. It helps that they still stay contained in their clear plastic tub and aren't big enough yet to climb out of it. It appears that Harry and Ron (though I still almost always call him Scruffy) will be going to live with my parents. :) We have someone coming to look at the kittens next Monday as well, so that would leave two more kittens to place.

This weekend Scruffy started licking himself and his siblings, and he played with me a little bit while he was lying on his back. Neville finally pooped again, for those that want to know - it had been a few days, and I get worried when they don't go. Harry didn't eat very well late last night but seems back on track now, and I wonder if his teeth are hurting him. Fred and George are just the same - they're often good eaters and little snugglers, too.

More pictures and movies to come this week - they are getting bigger and bigger. I think they are beginning to track thing a little bit with their eyes now, so it won't be long before they're playing! I'm not sure when to try and offer them solid food, but it doesn't seem like it's quite time yet. Maybe in a week or so.

Road Trip

The kittens are almost three weeks old now and getting noticeably bigger. Harry is still the smallest and looks incredibly small next to Ron, but they're all growing. They have eaten better the last couple of feedings, though you can tell some of them still want to chew on the bottle (Harry in particular this morning).

We are heading out of town for a weekend getaway, and the kittens are coming with us, as is the dog. Should be interesting in the car! We'll manage.

Grace has been cutting out little squares of fleece to serve as blankies for the kittens. Maybe if she makes five of them each kitty can take home his own blankie on his adoption day. :)

Teething

The kittens are definitely teething, and I think it's affecting their ability to nurse. They want to chew on the nipple instead. Two of the kittens have cut teeth already, and it's hard to tell if the other three have or not. You can tell when they try to nurse on your finger, but I could only get two of them to do that this afternoon. The last couple of feeds have been less than normal, but I think it's because their gums hurt and their feeling a bit anxious and frantic. The last feeding was only one tablespoon total, so I'll try again in another hour or two.

Video - George Eating

I'm pretty sure this is George - this was last night.

Video - Loud Kittens

Here is a short movie of the five kittens just before feeding time.

Short Update

It's Wednesday evening, and the kittens are doing well. They eat, they meow, they sleep, they grow. They're awfully cute and getting cuter and friskier each day! We think a few of them have started teething - when they try to nurse on our fingers we can feel some sharp little kitty teeth in there. I think in another week or two I'd like for potential adoptive parents to start coming to see the kitties in person and start putting dibs on their kitten. I'll wait until the kittens are out and about a bit more.

New Tricks

Quick update - after their feeding tonight, Neville scratched at one of his ears with a hind leg, and Fred stretched out and rolled around in my hands while I was petting him. Seeing Neville work his hind leg was so fun, and a first that we've seen for any of the kittens!

Scruffy and George Photo

Awwwww.... Isn't this sweet? This was after a 1:30 pm feeding and bath.

We set Harry down on the floor for a moment and he took off. He is getting pretty fast, relatively speaking. He surprised me! George licked his own leg and paw this afternoon, and Neville licked my finger earlier today. Scruffy showed glimpses of playing - he was on his back and I was lightly combing his belly when he started grabbing for the comb. Cute!

Trying to Walk

The kittens were testing out their leg strength this evening and a few of them showed us that they can take a few wobbly steps up on their legs now! It was very exciting. They kind of creep around for the most part, but it looks like actual walking isn't too far off. And after that comes running! A couple of them were also letting us rub their bellies, and one of them was kind of rolling around while I held him in my two cupped hands. They are getting cuter and sweeter by the day. :)

Bathing the Kittens

Everyone's eyes are open now, and everyone has had a nice bath. And then everyone had another scrub after Harry pooped in the bed! Messy kitties. They're doing well and growing stronger, and their latest feeds have been about three tablespoons at a time. Some of them are trying to stand up more on their legs, though they are still very wobbly and wind up on their backs as often as not. Still, they are testing their strength and building up their little kitten legs. Grace wanted to buy them toys while we were out buying more kitten formula this morning, but we will hold off until they are actually ready for toys. The last batch that we had would play with just about anything anyway, and one of their favorites was a baby sock of Grace's! A couple of them loved to carry it around and growl at the other kittens to come and play chase. We'll see what these guys like to do once they are at the stage of being able to run and play. Right now, they still seem pretty small and helpless.

Happy Two Week Birthday

All five kittens have pooped in the last 24 hours. That is great news. Poor George was the last to go, and boy did he have to go! He was howling and screaming and really unhappy with the whole process. I gave him some extra snuggle time after the ordeal was over, and he settled down.

Scruffy and Neville seem to be the fluffiest of the litter thus far, and I wonder if they will have longer fur when they're adult kitties. They are very soft and cuddly, and Neville in particular seems to like to curl up on his side and be snuggled.

I'm guessing that the kittens are two weeks old today. Time flies - I feel like my life is now measured in three to five hour chunks, as I figure out how to get things done among scheduled feedings. The kittens have made for a good summer project.

Miscellaneous Updates

Scruffy's eyes have started to open a bit, and either George or Fred had one eye wide open so he looked like he was winking at me. Neville is the last kitty to show signs of his eyes opening, but he can't be too far behind. Two kitties pooped this afternoon, which is good news. That isn't the most pleasant thing to think about, but I have to keep track of who's going and make sure that they're all keeping things moving along fairly regularly. I was looking back at older posts and saw that one of their earliest feedings came out to about one tablespoon total. Now they're averaging about 2.5 tablespoons at each feeding, so they are definitely growing!

They are getting cuter by the day. I had George curled up in my hands, sleeping, this morning after he'd eaten. I think Grace likes Harry the most at this point - she always goes for him first. For such a little guy he has a very loud and strong meow. he means business when he's yowling for food!

Morning Nap

Here are the kittens after a 7:30 a.m. feeding. Harry is on top of the pile. The feeding at 2:30 a.m. went very quickly; I was back in bed in about 25 minutes. It would be nice if they could all go that easily. Fred and George's eyes are still opening though they are not wide-eyed like Harry yet.

Fred's Eyes

I think Fred's eyes are going to be the next to open. They were showing a hint of opening at the inner corners, just like Harry's, so I think within the next twelve hours or so Fred's eyes will be open, too. Exciting! The kittens are growing, and while my scale isn't terribly accurate, they all seem to be heavier now compared to when I first weighed them. They look bigger too, although Harry is still pretty small compared to the others. He doesn't have much fur at all on his belly yet, while Scruffy is getting quite furry. Harry reminds me more of a baby rat than a baby kitten. ;) But he's still cute; they all are.

Editing to add that George's eyes are beginning to open too. As of about 1:00 p.m., Ron and Neville's eyes are still shut.

Another Video

Here is a video where you can see just how much they move around, trying to navigate who will go where! It was feeding time - I had one of the kittens and Drew was filming the other four.

Harry's Eyes are Open

It is hard to get a good photo, but his eyes are definitely open now! They seem very large on his tiny frame when they are wide open. I called him an alien kitty when I first saw him, but I'm sure he'll grow into them.

Tiger's/Harry's Eyes

Tiger/Harry is beginning to show the tiniest hint of opening. Last night, I thought they looked like they were a tiny bit open, and they looked like that this morning as well. I don't know how long it will take him to get them fully open, but I'm guessing by the end of the weekend they'll all have their eyes open. That will be a treat to see. :)

Three of them seem to be pooping again, so the adjustment to the new food appears to be going alright. I'm sure the other two will follow suit, and in fact one of them may have been the one who pooped in the bed but I don't know for sure. These kittens are much easier to get to go to the bathroom than the last batch. It seems like they just step on each other and it gets things moving!

I'm used to calling the kittens by the first nicknames that we gave them, although Fred and George are names that are growing on me for those two. I find myself thinking of George/CC as Ginger for some reason - I think it's his coloring and the fact that Grace and I have been reading a book about a ginger-colored dog called Ginger Pye. I always talk to Scruffy as Scruffy, though Grace calls him Ron.

4 of the 5 Kitties

Harry/Tiger was off roaming the bed when I took this one. You can see him joining the huddle in the other photo I posted today.

From top to bottom: T/Neville, White Feet/Fred, CC/George and Scruffy/Ron.

All Huddled Together

9 Days

This is the kittens' ninth day with us, which I'm guessing makes them ten or eleven days old. Their eyes are still closed, though I dreamed last night that they had all opened their eyes and that their eye color was already turning to their permanent color. I felt like I had missed it all. But their little eyes are still securely shut as of their feeding at 7:30 this morning.

They are eating more now. When I first started recording how much they were eating altogether at each feeding, they were averaging a bit less than 1.5 T. Now, they're eating an average of 2 T. at each feeding, and I'm taking that as a good sign that they're growing. I changed their formula last weekend and they are still adjusting to the new food, I think, as they aren't pooping regularly anymore. But they will - three of them have started again, and one of them pooped in the bed though I don't know for sure which one it was. Harry/Tiger is a likely culprit as I had to clean him up a bit!

I think Drew will be uploading a new video, so I'll post a link to that once he's had a chance to put it online.

Video - Kitty Feeding

Drew shot a video this evening as I was feeding the kittens. You can see one being fed here, at YouTube. Enjoy!

Possible New Harry Potter Names

Grace has been reading the first Harry Potter this summer and is down to the last couple of chapters. Inspired by this, she has decided to give the kittens new names. So for now, here is the run-down:

• Tiger = Harry


• T = Neville


• White Feet = Fred


• CC = George


• Scruffy = Ron

We thought that Tiger, being the littlest guy, deserved a strong name. :) Scruffy kind of whines and complains a lot, so he got Ron. T can be pretty quiet, so he got Neville. White Feet and CC sort of resemble each other and can both be somewhat impish, so they got the twins' names.

7 Days Already

Today is the seventh day the kittens have been living with us. Their eyes are still closed, and I'm guessing that they couldn't have been more than about a day old when we got them.

This morning I watched them sleeping for a bit before waking them up to feed them. T was lying on his side, stretched out a little bit next to his litter mates. His little mouth was kind of opening and closing, as though he was nursing in his dreams. Very cute. :)

The middle of the night feedings are catching up with me, and I'm starting to feel rather tired. it's still frustrating when the kittens take a long time to latch on, but once they do and I feel their little bodies just melt and relax, it makes up for it. Sometimes they'll stretch their front two legs straight out as they nurse, while the rest of their body goes very slack. And their ears sometimes wiggle when they nurse. I remember that from the last litter of kittens we fostered.

Who's Who

You can kind of make out which kitty is which in this photo. On the far right is T (see the markings on his back?). At the lower left is Scruffy. He is the biggest so far. The two resting their heads on Scruffy are White Feet and CC, though it is hard to tell one from the other in the picture. I think CC is on the left. The last little guy in motion and hence blurry is Tiger, the smallest of the litter.

They are in their new home - a clear Sterilite-type tub. After a couple of escapes from the box they needed their home upgraded!

Sleeping Kittens

I took this photo a day or so ago. The one in the front is the one we're calling CC for now, and he kept climbing on top of everyone else. He looks like he's settled down here, but it was probably just a split second shot that I captured! They wiggle and climb and try to get situated next to, under, on and around each other, and it takes a good long while before all five have their spots figured out without disturbing each other.

Eating More?

When I got up early this morning to feed the kitties, the five of them managed to eat a little more than 1.5 tablespoons of their kitty formula. They have been eating about a tablespoon at a time, so I'll be curious to see if they eat more at their next couple of feedings as well. If so, I will take that as a good sign! I've started writing down how much they eat in total after each feeding, to try and track it.

The one we're calling Scruffy is often the toughest one to get to nurse. He's big and feisty and has a hard time settling down to latch on and nurse. I often have to try more than once with him, feeding his siblings in between. A couple of them latched on more quickly this morning, but it still isn't easy and they still need to be convinced that they do want that bottle. They're clearly hungry but haven't made the connection between rubber nipple and full kitty belly.

Dinner Party

We had some friends over for a dinner party tonight, and one of our friends managed to feed CC a little bit. She's a sweet person and a kitty lover, and I'm glad she was able to visit with the kitties this evening. They woke up each time more people arrived and went to the back room to see them.

I'll feed them again before I go to bed around 11 or so, and then get up around 3 a.m. to feed them again. It's hard to tell if they're gaining weight or not, given my food scale isn't very accurate, but they seem to be doing OK. They need wash cloth baths at every feeding - they are messy little kitties in their nest! And they love to "christen" new bedding each time I change out the towel or t-shirt they sleep on. ;)

The Kittens' (temporary) Names

The kittens just had another feeding, and all five of them ate fairly well. They still need persuading, but eventually they won't and then the feeding will go faster! Plus, Grace will be able to help me feed them once they don't need quite so much coaxing. A couple of them lost their umbilical cords today, but at least one still has a bit of a stubby one left. One of them had a really long one, but now it's off. We can tell them all apart now and have given them little nicknames so that we can refer to them and so I can keep track of their feeding, pooping and weights on a chart. Right now they are getting called Tiger, T (sometimes Mr. T), White Feet, Scruffy and CC. And I still think they are all male. Tiger is the smallest by far but has a strong, loud meow. T is one of the more striking looking kittens, and one of the bigger ones too, but he has a tiny little mew. Scruffy is the other bigger kitten and he is really loud sometimes! CC and White Feet look kind of similar, but White Feet has feet that are half white (such a creative name, I know).

More pictures to come soon. I'll take some this weekend.

Getting the Hang of Bottle Feeding

The kittens still haven't figured out what the bottle is all about. Once I persuade them to eat, they nurse well, but getting them to that point is still a bit of a struggle. They are hungry but don't realize that what's being offered is their milk. They'll get there, and once they feed easily I can have Grace help in the process and speed things along. Right now the feeding process can easily take 45 minutes at a time. I got up last around 1:30 a.m. to feed them, and four of the five ate well. The littlest one ate a little bit, but not as eagerly as his litter mates. All five ate this morning. The grand total for milk consumption this morning was about 1 tablespoon!

Weighing the Kittens

I only have a kitchen scale, so it isn't terribly accurate, but the kittens all appear to weigh approximately 2.5-4 ounces each, with most of them being right around three ounces. Tiny little kitties!

I had three of them purring this afternoon after their last feeding. One kept on purring even after I put him back in the box, and I think it may have been comforting to his siblings.

They're getting better with the bottle feeding, but it's still a struggle with me having to convince the that they really do want what's in that bottle. It will be easier when they go right for it and I'm having to fight them off of each other as they try to get to the bottle first. Or maybe not easier, but at least it will be less stressful, as right now it's easy to worry that each kitty isn't getting enough to eat.

Purring

I got up last night at 3:30 a.m. to check on the kittens and try another feeding. So far, they still don't really have the hang of the bottle, but they'll get there. One of the kitties started purring last night while I was feeding it! It was the kitty who has feet that are half white. They're still pretty hard to tell apart but another day or so and I think we'll be able to just from seeing them so much. One has a very loud meow. I think he was just in there meowing while the other four had finally quieted back down. I take it back - I just heard him again. ;)

We Have Kittens Again!

We brought home five tabby/striped kittens today. Their eyes are still closed and three have umbilical cords, so they're very, very young. We'll be bottle-feeding them and giving them lots of love so that they can grow up to be happy kittens in new homes.

The kittens were found without their mother, but they seem strong and healthy. We'll have a vet take a look at them in the next day or so. For now, we have them sequestered in the back room so that our other pets aren't exposed to them yet.

They are quite loud for such tiny little guys! They look like they're all male, but it's pretty early to try and tell for sure.

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