My first mouse

I’m not sure what to do with it – the kittens are growing fast and getting more adventurous day by day.   Ginger girl cat is still the leader,Marmalade the biggest boy is getting more confident and the little ginger and white boy kit lets the others go first and tell him all about it later.   Once the kittens start eating and becoming a little less dependent on their mom, she can relax and start getting her life back.   Orangina left the babies and went outside today for the first time since they were born.    Just a quick run around to see her friends and have a gossip and then she was wowing at the door ‘let me in’. The majority of cats are good mothers and devotedly nurse their little ones.   Orangina grooms them and fusses them and purrs away when they nurse.   We have had other cats who couldn’t care less about their kittens though.   It might be to do with bad experiences in the past, if a cat is half starved herself (as so many are when they are brought in here) it’s difficult for her to survive herself, let alone feed several babies.

This little girl is quite a star.   All kittens eyes are blue, they eventually change colour and ginger cats usually have amber or green eyes.   Wait and see.

This is Marmalade who isn’t so interested in the mouse, even though it’s filled with catnip.   He wants his tea.   The kittens are eating well, kitten pouches and baby cat biscuits.  As well as mother’s milk they are lapping at kitten milk too.

As the kittens become more adventurous and spend longer periods outside the nest, they will nurse less frequently and Orangina will not produce so much milk.   This is a gradual weaning process.   We’ve had kittens who have still nursed once or twice a day for three or four months even though they have been eating full rations.   It’s a mommy thing though and if she will let them it’s a comfort zone for them.

We’ve just had several of the incoming cats vaccinated and all the babies will need to be vaccinated as soon as they are nine weeks old.   Donations towards cat and kitten care are much appreciated.  Even a small amount (paypal ) makes a huge difference.   Many thanks.   Don’t forget we can turn unwanted clothes into cat and dog food!  [donate]