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WELCOME TO THE KITTEN DIARY

Over the coming weeks we will be following a litter of kittens from birth to when they leave home. The kittens were born in May 2001. Mother and babies are all fine with the little ones putting on weight steadily. It will be fun to see how they progress and go through all the changes over the next three months. The website will be updated regularly with pictures and a progress report which we hope you will find interesting and informative.

Text taken from "Notes for Novice breeders" produced by the Norwegian Forest Cat Club - ring Mary-Rose Douglas on 07910 688539 if you would like to buy a copy.

Brown tabby & white girl	Silver tabby & white girl	Brown tabby & white boy

DAY ONE
Three kittens are born in the early hours. This is quite a small litter for Forest Cats as the mother is quite old with consequent decreased fertility and this is her final litter. In order of birth, they are: a brown tabby and white girl, a silver tabby and white girl and a brown tabby and white boy. Immediately after birth the breeder takes a picture of their profiles to check that they are straight, for once they start drinking milk and pressing against Mum their noses will get squashed out of shape. Other points to check on the newborns are: do their tails reach at least to the length of their back legs? Do they have tufts on top of their ears? Obvious defects such as umbilical hernia, extra toes etc are also searched for and fortunately all three of these kittens are perfectly formed.
The kittens' umibilical cords are attached and will dry up and drop off over the next few days.
Brown girl - birth weight 123g (4.25oz) Silver girl - birth weight 123g (4.25oz) Brown boy - birth weight 140g (5oz)
DAY FOUR
The boy now weighs 7.5oz (210g) and his eyes are beginning to open. The last kitten to be born usually has its eyes open first. All three kittens spend their whole lives drinking Mum's milk and sleeping. They are fat and contented so make no sound. Mum keeps them spotlessly clean by frequently washing them all over and eating their waste matter. At this stage they are kept in a quiet warm nest away from bright light and they are unable to maintain their own body temperatures.

Here is brown girl aged 1 week. Her weight on the seventh day was 232g and her eyes are just beginning to open. She continues to drink and sleep with little sound or movement except a tiny bit of crawling around the cosy nest.

 

The silver girl has overtaken the others in weight because she happens to have chosen one of the nipples nearest the tail, and those all have the most milk. However there is more than enough to go round with only three kittens. In the photo you can see that silver girl's umbilical cord is still attached.

 

Here is the boy aged 1 week. He now weighs 245g and his eyes are open. It is normal for the eyes of the lastborn of a litter to open first, as has happened in this case. He is the most talkative of the litter and tends to squeak when picked up, though he doesn't struggle. I wonder if this attribute will continue into adulthood?

 

TWO WEEKS OLD
All three kittens are beginning to crawl around the nest, with eyes long since open and beginning to focus. Their little faces are beginning to look like miniature Forest Cats although the ears are still in a much lower position than they will be in a few weeks time. The colours are becoming more distinct and the silver girl has a distinctly whiter undercoat than the other two. Their weights at two weeks are between 300g and 310g.
The kittens’ efforts to walk are wobbly with fat little tummies dragging the ground, but they are getting stronger and more agile as each day passes. They also have tiny teeth appearing which can be seen on the rare occasions when they squeak a baby version of "miaow". Meanwhile Mum is eating a plentiful and varied diet in order to continue producing rich milk to help the kittens continue to grow.

THREE WEEKS OLD

In between periods of handling, the kittens need peaceful uninterrupted sleep in a cosy, private place. Their temperaments depend hugely on the way they are treated in the first two months of their lives.

	Brown girl aged 3 weeks - all three kittens are now showing more interested in their surroundings and are beginning to wobble around the area next to their bed. Mum calls them back with a chirruping sound.
	This is the Silver tabby and white girl at three weeks old. She isn't the best type of the kittens at the moment, but she is becoming very pretty as you can see.
	Last but not least, here is the brown tabby and white boy at three weeks. He is very like his brown sister and sometimes the only way to tell them apart is to check their bottoms!

FOUR WEEKS OLD

The kittens are now being weaned, and are given frequent small meals. Their stomachs are tiny and fresh or canned food must not be left down too long, though their mother will continue to give them milk until they leave home.

FIVE WEEKS OLD

By five weeks of age the kittens are all eating solid kitten food and drinking water, using the litter tray and washing themselves. They are getting steadier on their feet and beginning to play games of chase and pounce.

Brown tabby and white girl	Silver tabby and white girl	Brown tabby and white boy

2 MONTHS OLD

At 2 months of age the kittens are beginning to look less like furry blobs and more like mini Forest Cats. They weigh around 2lbs (1kg) and in a week's time they will be due for their first inoculations.

It is vital that kittens should be handled a lot and meet a variety of people and household noises in order to become well adjusted, socialised adults. The period between 2 and 7 weeks is especially important in this regard though socialisation will continue up to the kittens leaving home at 13 weeks and for many months after.

THREE MONTHS OLD

The kittens are now ready to embark on their new lives which isn't a problem for them as they have been well socialised. They will still be suckling from mum right up until the day of going to their new homes. The kittens will be leaving on different days, as it would be distressing for mum to take them all away at once. They have all been fully innoculated and a week has gone by now to make sure that there are no reactions to the vaccinations. Another good reason for keeping the kittens until at least 13 wks of age is that it is very important for cats and kittens not to experience stress within 7 days of inoculations, otherwise the vaccine may be less effective. Here they are at 13 weeks old, ready to take on the world.

Hopefully we will be able to get some pictures of the kittens from their new owners when they are older, so that we can see how they have progressed.