......but we did have a little scare 2 1/2 weeks back. While we were having our bathroom remodeled, there was a lot of commotion and loud noises in the bedroom for about a week. I think this stressed Oreo out, and she stopped eating, drinking, and going potty for a little over two days. As a result, her milk was diminishing and the kittens weren't being fed well. She was still present and caring for them, there was just not enough milk to feed them all like they needed to be fed. We had some pretty hungry 2 week old kittens on our hands.
Ugh. I freaked. We headed to the pet store to buy some KMR (kitten milk replacement) and some kitten bottles to hand feed them. That did not go well at all! Those things are so incredibly hard to use on a kitten who has no flippin' idea what is going on.
We talked to the vet and they suggested putting the milk in a shallow bowl and dipping the kittens' faces in the milk so that they will lick it all off their lips - which we did. We purchased wet kitten food and they said we could try making a gruel for them too - which we did as well. We were also told that if they really started to act lethargic to put a smear of maple syrup on their lips and it would perk them up - we totally did this too.
While the kittens were curious about the milk and licked everything we put on their mouths, they didn't really drink the milk or eat the gruel, 2 weeks is so little! But you know who did? Oreo. Finally, she was eating!! And so I started to make her a KMR gruel with wet kitten food 3x a day. We also started letting her back outside for short periods of time to get some fresh air and time away from the kittens. I was scared she would run off or would quit caring for the kittens, but after a while she would sit on top of the AC unit, staring in the window, and would gladly come running in to her kittens when we opened the door. Thank goodness!
I think the break from the kittens, along with feeding her the KMR gruel helped her to relax and bounce back. She started drinking her water and eating her hard cat food withing a day. Within 4-5 days her milk was back fuller than ever and the kittens were once again eating to capacity.
Sammy and I weighed them morning and night for a little over a week to make sure they were gaining and doing well. They were, yay! All was well again!
The kittens started slowly coming out from under the bed and exploring their immediate area at about 2 1/2 - 3 weeks. By 3 1/2 - 4 weeks, they were exploring the whole bedroom! I LOVE that they come running out from under the bed when you walk in the room and talk to them! Sometimes they'll follow you around and climb up on you when you sit down. They play super well together and at 4 weeks started to play with us as well. Eeek! I love it! They are soooo adorable. We are all loving spending time with them. It truly has been such a fun and wonderful experience for us all!
We finally have names for the kittens! It was a hard choice, but we narrowed our list of 10 male and 10 female names down to our top 4 for each, and then from there the kittens received their names!
Meet Chloe, Daphne, Bear, and Ace (in that order)!
Daphne - gray female, the only gray one in the bunch! Daphne is bold in the fact that she'll be the first female out from under the bed to greet you, but then she gets shy and doesn't play and explore as much as the others. She is quite content to just nestle down next to you on the floor. She's also got a loud meow and isn't afraid to use it if you pick her up and hold her for too long, lol.
Bear - black and white male who has an all black face with one black heel. Bear is my personal favorite. I Love, love, love Bear! He is the first to come running when you walk into the room and say "Hi babies!" He will follow you around the room and try to escape over the kitten gate at the door if you leave the room. He also loves to crawl up on you and just sit on you, haha! He's the best snuggler out of all of them.
Ace - black and white male who has a beautiful white stripe on his face. Ace is our hefty boy. When first born, he was the runt, but soon after he became the one who gained weight in leaps and bounds! He is more shy, and doesn't always come running out from under the bed when someone walks into the room. But once out, he's a great player and I love watching him play with the other kittens!
Oreo, despite that rough week and a half, you are a wonderful Mama and we are all loving your babies!! We are excited to continue to watch them grow and play with them as much as possible!
Happy 1 month old, kitties! Next up? Litter training!
Mama Hauck
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