Kitten size

[Dawn (DiddyDawn)]

How are mum and kittens doing Walter?  Have you had any luck with your other babe turning up?

[Millys Mum]

http://www.chaptanservices.com/purrs/index.php?topic=2427.0
The above link is also a good read, Karen has spent a small fortune getting Jasmine through her pregnancy.

Kittens eyes open at 7-10 days and a runt is very common. You do need to weigh regularly as a small kitten will be pushed out and spend less time nursing.

If the tom is hanging around you need to keep your windows shut as he wont mind breaking in to get to her. If she gets pregnant straight after this litter then i urge you to get her spayed regardless.
I hope these blue kittens will be sold to responsible owners who wont use them as money making machines due to their colouring 

[Ela]

The real question I needed answering was, is it unusual to have such a gross difference in sizes, and with one opening her eyes so early?

Rather than to have an exercise in cat ownership ethics.

You will have to excuse us, it is that we are so passionate about cats and their welfare and we know the implications of allowing a cat to have even one litter. So many of the posters are in rescue and have to deal with the consequences.

A female can get pregnant as early as two weeks after giving  birth, so it is wise to keep mum in until the kittens have been homed. No earlier than 8 weeks. Then I would suggest you have her spayed. Perhaps you will read
http://www.chaptanservices.com/purrs/index.php?topic=4392.0 to give you an idea of our concerns.

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

Hi Walter 

You might find this article about raising newborn kittens helpful.

http://cats.suite101.com/article.cfm/caring_for_newborn_kittens

I think your question re kitten size has been answered - yes it's normal to have kittens of different sizes - as has your question about how soon she can become pregnant again - very soon!  You don't say whether your cat has been seen by a vet during her pregnancy, but if not it would be a good idea to take her and her kittens along for a visit soon to check their progress and also disucss worm and flea treatment as well as spaying mum.

I'm sorry you feel lectured to - this is primarily a cat rescue site, although we discuss all aspects of cat care and ownership on here.  There is a huge problem with cat overpopulation in this country and rescues are bursting at the seams.  For that reason, all the major cat charities and rescues support the neutering of all cats not used part of a reputable breeding programme.  There are many on here who are active in cat rescue and pick up the pieces of those who haven't neutered their cats, often at great financial and emotional cost to themselves.  So I'm sure you can understand how frustrating it is to read about yet another litter of kittens being brought into the world.  Today's kittens tend to be tomorrow's stray and abandoned cats.

In addition to the overpopulation problem there are many health risks associated with un- neutered cats, as someone mentioned earlier.  So please do get mum spayed asap and urge your neighbour to neuter his russian blue. 

Having said that, if you stick around you'll get some good advice on raising the kittens from those who have had experience with pregnant mums and kittens.  Our bark is worse than our bite!  We just all care passionately about cats and cat welfare and don't mean to sound unwelcoming.

[forever_missing_my_boys(Lisa)]

  michelle

[CurlyCatz]

spot on michelle.

[Christine (Blip)]

I think the advice you have been given, Walter, is nothing to do with ethics and everything to do with Katya, her health and well-being. To give her the best chance of a long and happy life, you do need to have her spayed in due course.

[Michelle (furbabystar)]

The real question I needed answering was, is it unusual to have such a gross difference in sizes, and with one opening her eyes so early?

Rather than to have an exercise in cat ownership ethics.

Well arnt you lucky then as you got your answer and also some free good advice 

[Walter349]

The real question I needed answering was, is it unusual to have such a gross difference in sizes, and with one opening her eyes so early?

Rather than to have an exercise in cat ownership ethics.

[CurlyCatz]

so long as you make sure the little one is thriving and feeding well then it should be fine.  Cats sometimes do have odd sized kittens and some of them do open their eyes this early.
Keep and eye on the little one though and under NO circumstances must you let mum out until she has been spayed.  You only have to look at some of the rescues and fosterers on this forum to see how hard it is to find homes for all the unwanted kittens or in worse situations the neglected or injured strays.
Also perhaps a vet visit would be appropriate if you havent already done so for mum and babies where the vet can give you all the appropriate advice and dispense the correct type of wormers etc for them.
Mum cats can do well being fed a high quality kitten food themselves whilst feeding babies.

Can you suggest to your neighbour they get their tom neutered aswell, He obviously cant be a "pedigree stud" as any reputable breeder would never allow their stud out to free roam as they have to be strictly blood tested etc.

[Michelle (furbabystar)]

Lets hope the "Randy Russian Blue" doesnt have FIV or FeLV !!!

Your missing cat i take it is also un-spayed ?

[Team Svartalfheims]

PLEASE have her spayed asap. Don't let her have any more litters. Thinking your cat is beautiful is not a valid reason to let them have kittens. Even indoor cats should be spayed as they are at risk of mammary cancer and pyometra amongst other things if they remain unspayed not to mention the diseases they can pick up whislt mating. You'd be heartbroken if your cat died of pyometra that she would never have got if she had been spayed.

Just because she came home with the Russian Blue doesn't mean he's the dad. She could have mated with a red cat, a black cat and a tabby cat and not with the Russian Blue! A female can mate with several cats. What colour is your female out of interest?

I suggest you start weighing them at the same time each day. If for some reason it's not possible for you to weigh them every day at least weigh them every 3 days or so so you can check they are feeding ok and gaining weight.

Put up lots of posters around your area and ring around vets and rescue centres giving the description of her sister. I really hope you get her back soon.

Modified to say: Has Katya been wormed recently? If not then please worm her with something like Drontal or Milbemax.

[Walter349]

We have not been weighing them, but the difference in size is readily observable. She is one year old and her kittens arrived the day after her birthday. This is her first litter, and she seems to be enjoying it, although a quiet snooze for an hour or so on our bed away from the new demands is always welcome. She was going to be an indoor cat, but escaped one day, and came home with the Russian blue, the Hussy, after which it seemed pointless keeping her in. They hung around together for a couple of weeks, she, shy and demure, he ardent and passionate. Then he legged it.

We had always wanted her to have kittens as she is so beautiful. her name by the Way is Katya. Named by my wife, Who as it happens is Russian. Her sister disappeared last Friday around mid-day and has not been since which is sad as we don't know what happened to her, she just vanished around mid-day. Which is strange as she doesn't like to be too far away from her food bowl normally.

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

I think it's normal to have one kitten that's smaller than the rest - the runt of the litter.  If your cat has had free outdoor access and not been mated once only she may have kittens of different ages and/or by different fathers.  It's best to weigh the kittens regularly to monitor their weight gain but if you're worried about the smaller one a vet visit might be a good idea.  I think the age at which they open their eyes can vary, but I've no experience myself of kittens so can't give you much advise there.

Nursing mothers can get pregant very soon after giving birth and while they're still nursing so you need to keep a very close eye on her to make sure she doesn't get outside until she can be spayed.

[Christine (Blip)]

I cannot answer your questions about kittens or feline pregnancy, although I am sure someone better equipped will be along in a minute.  But I imagine you are planning on having your cat (what is her name, by the way?) spayed as soon as practicable?  Again, others will be able to advise you better as to the appropriate time to do this.

[Team Svartalfheims]

Are you weighing them each day? What weight are they?

How old is Mum cat? Is this her first litter? Are you going to take her to be spayed as soon as the kittens are about 7-8weeks old? Cats can come into call very quickly after having kittens so make sure you keep all doors and windows shut in the meantime.

Are you going to keep the kittens?

Did you see the Russian Blue mate your cat? If not then you don't know for definate that he is the dad.

[Walter349]

My Cat has just had three kittens last Monday. The first was a tiny ginger, slightly undersized I thought. Then several hours later (Midnight) had two more who are monsters. Easily the size that a two week old kitten would be. Now one week later, one of the 'Teddy-bears' as my wife calls them, has opened her eyes this morning, although the other two have not done so yet.

So my question is... Is this size unusual and is it normal for a week old kitten to open its eyes.

Oh! one other thing. How soon can a cat become pregnant again after giving birth? We are keeping a firm eye on her, and the randy Tom from two doors down is back again. I forgot to mention, the dad is a Russian blue and the 'Teddy-Bears' are blues as well, so no doubts there then.