Llj's Kitten Thread, The Rosebush One.

[lilfishie]

i'll second the nomination

but now i am in love with cleo and max and lucy is a cutie too

 

[lljdma06]

A mini-update. All kittens are now over a pound and eating like the little piggies they are. I swear I go through more KMR! They are beginning to play and explore a lot more. Max is with me now, sleeeping, snuggling as I try to type. I'm working on getting them to lap, as this is an important step in their development. Buckwheat has proven to be the class genius, as he's already mastered the skill. He did it in less than one feeding. The others are either really stupid, or more likely, super lazy. I've tried to make it a positive experience and all, and am doing what the literature suggests, letting them lap at my fingers and such, which they seem to do without a problem. Then when I introduce the spoon, they want nothing to do with it. Of course, they know that I won't not feed them, so they've got me wrapped around their little paws and I whip out the bottle. Some kittens take to it faster than the others.

Any tips or suggestions would be most welcome. I figured the best time to work on lapping is the first feeding of the day, they are the most hungry then. I'm thinking, since they've got teeth now, to introduce a teeny bit of wet solid food. Perhaps the extra smell will make the KMR more appealing for lapping.

The good news, is that they instinctively know how to use the litter box. They just don't make it all the time. At least they don't pee on their bed anymore. Though that did kill the fleas.

It's decided, we're keeping Max and Cleo. Cleo is my sister's cat and I've got Max. Max and I are already good buddies. I think he even knows his name, as he will sort of make an attempt to come when he hears it. He's even got a little tabby "M" on his forehead.

llj

 

[Miss Wiggle]

awwwwwwwwwwwww max just sounds adorable

more piccies please

 

[K.J.]

Just began being a foster kitty-parent yesterday to a tortie and her four kittens, so I have a similar situation to you. Except my 1 year old cat is a bit more cautious than Lucy, it seems! So I'll keep an eye on this thread. Wow, must be a lot of work! How old are they? You can start supplementing milk with high quality soft food at four weeks and hopefully wean them completely off by seven or eight weeks, though sometimes it can take longer for the more independent kittens.

 

[lljdma06]

Just began being a foster kitty-parent yesterday to a tortie and her four kittens, so I have a similar situation to you. Except my 1 year old cat is a bit more cautious than Lucy, it seems! So I'll keep an eye on this thread. Wow, must be a lot of work! How old are they? You can start supplementing milk with high quality soft food at four weeks and hopefully wean them completely off by seven or eight weeks, though sometimes it can take longer for the more independent kittens.

Mine are right at 4 weeks and really for the most part, a bunch of boneheads except for Buckwheat, the class genius. He's about ready for some good soft food to go in with his formula, which he laps like an expert now. The others are stubborn and lazy and just want the bottle. The good news is that I feel pretty good about reducing the feedings from 5 to 4 and just giving them more when I do feed them.

Well, Lucy is only 7 weeks, so she's basically a kitten herself. The nice thing is that she'll get along great with the two I'm keeping. They've been playing together all this time. My older cat, Lily, will be 7 in July, and she just avoids them. She's not mean, but she won't have anything to do with them and retreats calmly to the high kitchen cabinets.

 

[lljdma06]

Mini-update.

Belle, Buckwheat, and Cleo no longer use the bottle. Cleo is on mostly solid food now, so now she's the class genius. Max and Sonny still want a nipple. Boys will be Boys. Thank goodness, at least it is not mine! They've got sharp little teeth now. I'm going to try a different food for Max and Sonny, maybe that will help things along.

They also had their first bathes today. Got to get the fleas out. I used a weak solution of Dawn, yummy but it's the only thing I can use on kittens so young. I was impressed. I only found two, both on Max, but it wasn't the extreme infestation I was preparing for. Lucy had so many fleas, she was caked in their muck the first time I bathed her and was probably suffering terribly. It took three bathes to get them all out. Poor girl, but these kittens had nothing compared to her.

A few pictures for you to enjoy.

Group shot!

Buckwheat and Max

Sonny

Belle and Cleo

It is beginning to dawn on me that I only have about a month left with these little guys. I'm trying to secure homes now, but they're still way too young, but they are growing so fast. I hope I can find homes with people I know, it'll make it less difficult. I've grown attached to them all. How can you not? They are super cute and really starting to develop distinct personalities.

llj

 

[K.J.]

Aw precious, I'm in love with Cleo and the tortie, looks just like the only female from my litter. The orange one is adorable too, I is he a male?... every orange cat with no white or other colors is a male, just my luck, my favorite color and I can't get males.

 

[Synirr]

Cleo is SO goshdarn adorable, I swear.

...every orange cat with no white or other colors is a male, just my luck, my favorite color and I can't get males.

Not true, solid orange tabby females exist, they are just more rare. This is because the gene for orange exists on the X chromosome, and is codominant with other colours when heterozygous. Males cats only have one X chromosome, so they only get one copy of the gene... orange gene = orange cat, non-orange gene = not orange cat. Females have two copies of the X chromosome, so they can have two copies of non-orange, a non-orange and an orange, or both orange genes. Both orange is what you are looking for, and will produce an orange cat, but if genes for white splotches are present they will not be solid. However, solid is entirely possible. If a female cat has one copy of the orange gene and one copy of non-orange, you get a calico or tortie

 

[wendywc]

Great kitties.

Not true, solid orange tabby females exist, they are just more rare. This is because the gene for orange exists on the X chromosome, and is codominant with other colours when heterozygous. Males cats only have one X chromosome, so they only get one copy of the gene... orange gene = orange cat, non-orange gene = not orange cat. Females have two copies of the X chromosome, so they can have two copies of non-orange, a non-orange and an orange, or both orange genes. Both orange is what you are looking for, and will produce an orange cat, but if genes for white splotches are present they will not be solid. However, solid is entirely possible. If a female cat has one copy of the orange gene and one copy of non-orange, you get a calico or tortie

Hmmm, interesting... my hubby always said all calicos are females. Neat info.

 

[kewskills]

there getting cuter the more pics you post, how are you gonna bear to part with them

 

[Miss Wiggle]

awwwwww

they're just too cute, i couldn't part with them if it was me, i'd wanna keep them all (if i even lived in the same country as you i'd be begging Ian to let me have one!)

 

[lilfishie]

aw, now your really teasing me, you know how much i want Max glad there all growing well. Sonny is a lil cutie too, if you were in the UK i would of stole them by now

 

[lljdma06]

aw, now your really teasing me, you know how much i want Max glad there all growing well. Sonny is a lil cutie too, if you were in the UK i would of stole them by now

Well, good news. All of them ate solid food this morning, so now I get to sit back and relax during feeding. That is, until I have to wipe Buckwheat's face afterwards. He is a big pig. I swear, I think he gets more on him than in his mouth.

llj

 

[lilfishie]

now that would make a good photo

 

[K.J.]

Cleo is SO goshdarn adorable, I swear.

...every orange cat with no white or other colors is a male, just my luck, my favorite color and I can't get males.

Not true, solid orange tabby females exist, they are just more rare. This is because the gene for orange exists on the X chromosome, and is codominant with other colours when heterozygous. Males cats only have one X chromosome, so they only get one copy of the gene... orange gene = orange cat, non-orange gene = not orange cat. Females have two copies of the X chromosome, so they can have two copies of non-orange, a non-orange and an orange, or both orange genes. Both orange is what you are looking for, and will produce an orange cat, but if genes for white splotches are present they will not be solid. However, solid is entirely possible. If a female cat has one copy of the orange gene and one copy of non-orange, you get a calico or tortie

... wall of text.