New Kittens

New Kittens,

A few weeks ago I noticed the next door neighbours cat had a bigger than normal belly once again.
She was walking along the paling fence near my carport.
I asumed she is pregnant again and went about doing what I was doing in my carport.
I rang and told my son that I saw her and she looked pregnant again and to be prepared for kittens again.
This was within the week up to the 8th march 2008
The following few days later I was under the carport taking the pine needles off the branches that was cut down off my pine trees and I noticed the mother cat come out from the carport, from under the boxes and she didn’t have a big belly anymore.
So I had asumed she had given birth to kittens once again. By this time they could have been a few days old My little dog was barking, sniffing towards the carport where he thought the kittens were. I told him to leave them be. I didn’t want to disturb them at this time as they were new born and needed there mother more than me finding them.
I would see her pop out of the carport each day at approx 6pm and come back at approx 6-30pm.
My son and his girlfriend had a look under the carport on Saturday the 8th March 2008 but they couldn’t find them.
So I kept watching the carport, my little dog knew they were all in there somewhere and wanted to find them too, but I was worried if anything was moved the kittens could be under it and maybe something will fall on them and hurt them.

Then I hadn’t noticed her for a few days, I started to hear the kittens crying.
I thought the mother cat was with them feeding them or she went to get feed for herself.

23rd March 2008 approx time was from 7pm my little dog was crying at the laundry door, he was trying to get my attention, so I thought it must be the kittens, so I went to go and have a look at what he was trying to tell me once again.

I went down to the carport and was looking around and I saw a little kitten wandering around and it was crying, then I heard more cries and I could barely see more kittens, I couldn’t get to them and my little dog was jittery and wanted to get them out, so I went inside to get a torch and I grabbed the cat carrier as well to put the kittens in and when I went back outside he ( my little dog) had one of the kittens out from where they were, the kitten was wet from where he pulled it out, I don’t think the kitten was hurt just all slobbery.
I was having trouble getting to the other ones so I went inside and rang my son to come and help me but that was pointless as it was getting darker and the kittens were crying more.
I lifted the heavy stuff out of the way so I could get to the kittens; they needed to get inside to get nice and warm and to give them some warm milk.
I finally found four kittens and then my son arrived, so I got him to check the carport to make sure there weren’t anymore kittens, like last time.
My son and his girlfriend held the kittens while I heated up some milk for them.

I heated up some warm milk and I had syringes here, so I used them to feed the kittens the warm milk.
My son and his girlfriend gave the kittens some milk.
They seemed really hungry and I think they enjoyed the warm milk.
My sons’ girlfriend got all girly I guess you call it, maybe clucky it the right word, as there were new babies again.
My son said he would take the kittens for the rest of the long weekend as he was house minding his girlfriends’ bothers house.
The next morning I rang vets, chemists and pet supplies to try and get kittens milk, being the long weekend and most businesses are closed, however I found a pet supply business called Pet Barn, they had the milk I needed as well as the bottle and teats.
My son and his girlfriend went to the petbarn store to buy the items needed and they started feeding the kittens the special animal milk.
Monday night they (my son and his girlfriend) brought the kittens back here so I can care for them now.
I got a box to put the kittens in for sleeping in.
I had some boxes from when a lady gave me her Crisco foam boxes.
I got a plastic bag to line the base of the box first, just in case of any accidents, then I added a whole newspaper opened up, and added some old rags, socks etc to keep the kittens warm and cosy.

I fed them and cleaned there bottoms, cuddled them like their mother would and put them to sleep.

The next day after I fed them, I rang around to as many animal organisations I could find, to see if anything or anyone can or would do something for this mother cat that keeps getting pregnant.
The Cat Rescue returned my phone call and they offered to desex the mother cat free of charge.
You see this was the mother cats 3rd litter that I Knew of.

So I let the neighbour know that the cat rescue offered to desex the mother cat and the neighbour said they would try and catch her.

The kittens seem to be doing well, they are gaining weight, playing as kittens do, I heard one of them hissing, sometimes I see the smallest ones sitting quietly or on there own.
They are tackling each other and playing. They purr so prettily, one of the kittens sounds like it’s got a motor attached to its voice box, but it still sounds so calming and pretty.

I changed there box a little; I had noticed one of the kittens instinctively want to use a litter tray.
The kitten would scratch the newspaper I had in the cat carry basket I was putting the kittens when I had started out feeding them.
After I gave a kitten some milk and it had enough for the moment, I would put them in the open carry basket that I had beside me, to use the toilet if they needed to.

Now also, I had these black trays from when I would buy my meat and chicken in my groceries, they were clean of course, the trays are large enough to hold them (kittens) for sleeping in and one I used as there litter tray with cut up newspaper for the kitty litter.
I would get an unwanted newspaper and I would fold a few layers of the newspaper, cut the newspaper into long strips approx half an inch, and then cut the strips into squares of about half an inch, you end up with safe kitty litter material and they actually use it.
I changed the litter material after every feed, every day
I will take some photos if I can


I did a lot of research and ringing around at vets and animal organisations on how to care for 3 week old kittens, like exactly what I should do, everything I read or was told, kinda worried me and in the end I didn’t do what I read or was told, I did it my way and the way of the kittens.
I realised today these kittens are individuals and what has been told to me or what I read is from text book cases. I decided not to do it the same way but to do it our way (meaning my way and the kittens’ ways)
These kittens are not the same as every other kitten, they are individuals and should be treated the same way.

This is how I started and it didn’t work for me,
I was giving them there feeds in a little syringe and I was also trying the kittens bottle, trying to master this kittens bottle and the teat, but I really had no idea if they was getting the amount of required milk and if I was even doing it right, it seemed, the sequence I was doing it, was wrong or not suitable or I was getting myself confused as which kitten had the right amount of milk and who didn’t.
I also tried to feed them one at a time, clean and massage there bottoms and put them back in there box.
After I did that they seemed still hungry so that didn’t work out right.

Then I tried this way, that didn’t work either
I used the kitten bottle and large syringe that didn’t seem to work either as I was concentrating on giving them the required amount as recommended on the kitten formula container and they didn’t want it
I was feeding them one at a time and I had another box, so as I fed one I would put the one I just fed in the empty box until I was done, then I would clean and massage there bottoms and dry them, then put them back to bed.
They played as I was attending to the other kittens or when I was cleaning there bed and litter tray.

Then I did it my way and that was
This explanation is from start to finish.
There are further explanations below as to why I did things a certain way.

I would make up the kitten milk as per the animal milk instructions, and put it in a clean sterilized bottle and put it in the fridge, then when I need it, all I would do is boil my electric jug filled with water and when it had boiled I would get an empty 1 litre jug and I would get a clean sterilized tin can (from dog food or whatever you have on hand), put the can inside of the empty jug, fill the tin can with the boiling water and drop the baby bottle filled with kitten milk to warm up.
I would shake the baby bottle a little with the milk in it, to mix the milk and to also test the milk to see if it is warm enough.


Then when the milk was warm enough to give the kittens I would then add the warmed milk to the kittens’ bottle and take the jug filled with water and the baby bottle of kitten milk and the kittens’ bottle into the room to then start feeding them one by one.
I would feed one at a time until they tell me they had enough, they would stop suckling and pull away, then I would get another kitten and do that until all four kittens had a drink, then I would do what a mother cat would do, clean and massage there bottoms, pat them, touch them, and cuddle them, then I worked out how to get them to drink more as what they were drinking first off, to me wasn’t enough and the kittens wanted to play after there first drink, and that was have them all on my chest and having them all there will make them want to drink more and it did.

They would fight over the bottle, just like they would over a mother cat’s teat, so I would offer the bottle to them and feed them, if they didn’t want it they would tell me.
I would let them play with each other while I cleaned there litter tray and bedding.
I kept watch on them, if I saw they was concentrating I would pop them in the litter tray and most times they used the tray in time.
I would offer them the kitten bottled milk and if they wanted it they got it, if not they go about playing.
Then they would also climb up on me as they was ready for some cuddles and it was also letting me know it was back to bed time again.

I didn’t make sure they had the recommended feed /mls as if the kittens didn’t want it, you don’t force feed babies.
I will keep weighing them to make sure they are gaining weight; so far they are definitely gaining weight.
Tonight I sat in my lounge room with them and had the bottle just in case they got hungry, they snuggled into me and then I put them back to bed.

When I was cleaning there bottoms, I was using warm water with a drop of baby shampoo.
When I rang the vet surgery to check on something, I spoke to the nurse and she mentioned to be careful their bottoms don’t get red or a rash from the water, so I reminded myself of my children and what is good just in case of this happening, so I remembered baby oil and now I am using baby oil on a cotton ball and I wipe there bottoms clean and it also massages there bottoms to make them go to the toilet just like a mother cat would do.
I think this way is much softer on there little behinds.

I had taken some photos of the new kittens; however because they are dark colours you cannot really see there identifying marks and colours. I will try to take some other clear photos of the new kittens.
I shake a lot now when I take photos.





Some explanations as to why I did things the way I did.
Boil the electric jug…I have no microwave

Used a tin can….I didn’t have a thermos flask to keep the milk warm

What did I use to weigh the kittens…..
Kitchen scales and a plastic container
You set the scales first with the empty container on top of the scales, and then put the kitten in the scales to weigh each kitten.

Sterilized bottle…
Was an empty clean sterilized soft drink bottle
I had baby sterilizing tablets here..
Milton but that didn’t work as the measurement labels on the kittens’ bottle came off.

Baby bottle…
I kept an old baby bottle from my children to use for the measurements when I was cooking, and it came in handy for these kittens to heat the milk in and to do the required measuring from that baby bottle into the kittens baby bottle..

Kittens weight
My description of the kittens as best I can see

Spotty.Cheetah
220 Sunday 23rd March
300 Thursday 27th March
330 Saturday 29th March

Spotty Black stripe
260 Sunday 23rd March
300 Thursday 27th March
340 Saturday 29th March


Stripe Black patch either side of back
220 Sunday 23rd March
280 Thursday 27th March
320 Saturday 29th March

Stripe-runt
180 Sunday 23rd March
240 Thursday 27th March
265 Saturday 29th March

I can only asume they are up to 4 weeks now, gaining weight, using there bowels and sometimes the litter tray, playing and getting lots of attention, kisses and cuddles.
Yeah I know I heard your not suppose to kiss kittens/cats but oh well, I like to kiss them.

I tried something different with the kitty litter tray tonight just to see if it would work as cutting the newspaper takes a while to do, so I got a roll of toilet paper and I took off squares sheets and spread the sheets in the tray, I overlapped them of course, it sort of worked, and one of the kittens used it after I did it.
I guess it was easy because I could put the soiled toilet paper in the toilet.
I have been reading about a different brand of kitty litter, a much safer and friendlier kitty litter so I will also give that a try, its called breeder’s choice.

The kittens are sleeping now.
I wanted to make sure I had typed everything correctly.
I feel that these kittens have been brought into my life once again for a reason.
I may have to re read and research cat totems once again, Maybe I am missing something.

I will update this as best I can and soon.