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Posted by Jane
Could you save an orphaned kitten’s life?
It is a sad fact that many newborn kittens face life without their mother, either through abandonment or by being orphaned. And as tragic as this fact is, it also means that you may be presented with a pressing problem.
So what should you do if you find yourself needing to be a surrogate mother to a small and fragile orphaned kitten?
Firstly, you need to know that, with a little guidance, it is fairly straightforward to care for your orphaned or abandoned kitten successfully. The most burdensome aspect of the whole process is the amount of time you will need to invest in the care of this newborn bundle of fur.
‘Hey Mom! Fat Fred’s Having Kittens!’ shows you all you’ll need to know if you find yourself faced with such a desperate situation.
Next, you will need to equip yourself with seven essential pieces of kit that will be required to help you with your task.
• A suitably sized cardboard box.
• A hot water bottle.
• Nesting material.
• An eye dropper.
• 2ml hypodermic syringe fitted with 5cm plastic tubing.
• Baby bottle sterilizing solution.
• An old towel
These seven essentials will enable you to provide your orphaned kitten with the basics of life — warmth and nourishment.
Newborn kittens will usually get all the warmth they need from their mother’s body and it is vitally important to ensure that your orphan doesn’t become chilled. If you are not careful, this can happen easily and the best way of maintaining the necessary temperature required is to place a suitably sized cardboard box close to a heat source.
When selecting a suitable a nursery box, make sure that your kitten is unable to climb out of it unaided. If your kitten manages to escape its warm home it will rapidly become chilled once outside its secure environment.
Be certain to check that the box is big enough for the kitten to move around in freely with enough room to play in, whilst remaining enclosed enough to provide security and retain sufficient warmth. Partially covering the box with an old towel will help retain heat.
Once you have made sure that your kitten’s warmth and security have been adequately provided for you will need to address the problem of feeding.
Here, patience and persistence are what is required as you learn to effectively administer each milk feed via an eye dropper or, as your kitten grows, a hypodermic syringe fitted with an appropriately sized tube attached in place of a needle.
Your vet will be able to supply you with the kitten formula milk that you will need and will also have the equipment necessary to feed it with.
Alternatively, good pet stores will sell specialist feeding bottles for use with orphaned or abandoned kittens. Always make sure that the feeding equipment is sterilized after each use, just as you would for a baby’s feeding bottle.
Follow your vet’s advice on the amount of formula to feed your kitten and always remain alert to the general health of your small orphan. If you are at all worried or concerned about any aspect of your kitten’s health don’t hesitate to call in the professionals and consult your vet without delay.
Each year many cat owners find themselves faced with being responsible for the life (or death) of an orphaned, newborn kitten and the majority manage to raise them successfully.
Tragically, that still means that far too many kittens die needlessly.
So to be certain of the best chance of success, you need to be prepared with all the step-by-step details of what you need to know about the essentials required to save your kitten’s life.
‘Hey Mom! Fat Fred’s Having Kittens!’ contains all the essential steps you need to take - from the most effective way of feeding a newborn kitten, to how best to construct a nursery that will provide just the right environment to help your kitten thrive.
And don’t forget, becuase you will have to take the place of a Mother Cat, you’ll even need to know what you need to teach him as he grows.
It’s a mammoth but very rewarding undertaking. But to make this task so much easier I’ve put all the essential information in one handy guide.
In ‘Hey Mom! Fat Fred’s Having Kittens!’ you’ll find everything you need to know in order to take the place of a Mother Cat successfully, easily and confidently - no worrying required!
To get your copy, follow the link below:
www.HowToDeliverKittens.com
Posted by Jane
As you know, one of my cats is called Charm. It’s a silly name but one that she came with from the rescue centre. I was overruled by my husband and daughter, when I suggested changing it.
(I wanted Flossie….)
However, four years later, I can see that it suits her beautifully, as she is one of the most ‘charming’ and good-natured cats I have ever known.
And why?
Well, she is the eternal kitten and very endearing in her wide-eyed innocence.
But there is a downside to all this kitten-like lovliness. The reason that she has never grown up is that we strongly suspect that she was brain-damaged at birth - probably due to oxygen starvation.
Our vet has confirmed that she is ‘not quite right’ - she has an odd, barrel shape to her body and her legs and tail are definitely shorter and stubbier than you would normally expect to see in a cat. However, she has a beautifully symmetrical face and big, trusting eyes to compensate.
We very quickly learned that poor Charm has double vision, as she will consistently try to catch any toy or ball by pouncing two inches to its left and simply cannot following a moving object with any accuracy at all. It is quite obvious that Charm needs minutes (yes, minutes, not seconds…) to process data as it enters her not-frightfully-efficient brain and if something hasn’t ‘clicked’ in the first 60 seconds or so, she simply forgets what she was trying to do and wanders off to find somewhere soft to settle down and sleep.
Another side effect of poor Charm’s brain damage is that she doesn’t seem to have much of a sense of smell.
Now, smell is vitally important to a cat and their sense is much more highly developed than ours, but Charm seems to have missed out there too.
As a consequence, Minnie will eat all her own food and then pinch Charms as Charms simply hasn’t ‘computed’ the information that her meal is in front of her and needs eating. Poor cat!
Life with an intellectually challenged cat is both a frustration and a joy - just like having a kitten to care for but without ever getting to the time when, as an adult cat, independence and aloofness set in.
Is anyone else blessed with a brain damaged cat? Leave a comment letting me know what the best and worst things are about dealing with this particular affliction - I’d love to know that Charm isn’t alone in her less-than-perfect world.
Posted by Jane
As you approach the end of your cat’s pregnancy, you need to be fully aware of the cat labor signs to watch out for. These will signal the beginning of the birth of your new kittens and will enable you to swing into action with your prepared cat birth plan!
You will have seen your lovely cat getting rounder and rounder over the last three or four weeks of her pregnancy and the excitement of the approaching birth of her kittens will be mounting.
Fortunately, there are a number of cat labor signs that will alert you to the fact that the big day has arrived.
The earliest indication that you will see is in the week immediately prior to the birth. Your cat will begin searching for a warm and secure place in which to deliver her kittens. Now, if you have taken the opportunity to learn all about what to expect during your cat’s pregnancy beforehand, you will already have prepared a suitable nesting box for her to use. This also enables you to steer her away from an inappropriate choice - inappropriate for you, that is - such as in the middle of your bed!
In the 24 hours immediately before going into labor, your cat may go off her food completely and become very clingy - following you around and calling to you repeatedly. These classic cat labor signs will probably be accompanied by her going in and out of her nesting box again and again and treading on the bedding, seemingly trying to arrange it to her liking.
The final cat labor sign to watch for is often that of your cat appearing to be uneasy whilst purring loudly at the same time. These are not conflicting signs, as many owners think, but just part of the overall preparations for labor that any female cat will normally go through.
When the first stage of cat labor is about to begin, your cat will have settled in her chosen birthing place and will be experiencing her first contractions. Her apparant unease will give way to rapid breathing or panting and you will know by these cat labor signs that the delivery will have begun.
Now will be the time that you have to be at your most vigilant. Cats giving birth in the wild generally do so during the hours of darkness and your domestic cat will probably do the same. You may lose some sleep but the end result of having a healthy litter of newborn kittens will be well worth the sacrifice!
Posted by Jane
Cat pregnancy signs can be easy to spot - if you know what you are looking for.
The trouble is, your female cat might just want to make the task a little more difficult for you than it might otherwise be.
Unless you are looking to breed from your female cat, it is likely that your cat’s pregnancy will be unplanned and will come as a complete surprise to you.
Your lovely pet will have made her own arrangements with the local tom cats when she came into season and will have played her flirtacious games with them without you even knowing.
But at some point, you will doubtless begin to think that there is something ‘not quite right’ with her and it is at this point, your knowledge of cat pregnancy signs will stand you in good stead.
Maybe the earliest cat pregnancy sign is a pinking up of her nipples. This generally occurs around week three of her nine week pregnancy. Most owners won’t notice this and probably wouldn’t immediately suspect pregnancy at all.
Naturally, you will expect to see a gradual weight gain of between 1-2kgs, depending on how many kittens your cat is carrying but this pregnancy sign will only become apparant in the last third of her kitten’s gestation.
Your cat may become fussy about her food during weeks three - four and this is another cat pregnancy sign that many owners miss. After all, whose cat isn’t picky about their food from time to time?
Maybe your cat experiences morning sickness, just as we do!
Things go quiet for for awhile now as the kittens continue to grow and it is not unitl week five or six that things start to change noticeably.
As you reach week six life begins to become more interesting. You will certainly begin to see your cat’s tummy becoming rounder and her milk glands will start to become enlarged in readyness for feeding her newborn kittens.
Cat pregnancy signs appear in droves during weeks seven, eight and nine as you will be left in no doubt at all that your lovely cat is expecting a litter of kittens! Her increasing size will make grooming physically difficult and you will be able to see the kittens moving around inide her when she is lying, relaxed.
Your soon-to-be mother cat will be eating around double the amount of food she normally does at this stage, as she supports her growing litter.
Finally, in the last week of pregnancy, the last cat pregnancy sign is really a sign of impending labor. Your cat will be looking for a suitable place in which to give birth and it is at this point that you need to take a little control. Being aware of each stage of your cat’s pregnancy, you will be able to prepare in such a way as to retain contol of the whole process. This will enable you to remain calm because you know what to expect and how to deal with any unexpected turns and your cat will be given the very best care by her owner - that’s you!
Posted by Jane
This has to be the number one question owners ask. After all, you need to know how long it’s going to be before you need to start panicking!
Do you have any idea at all? Maybe you’ve done this before and your cat has already had a litter of kittens.
One thing is for certain, knowing how long a cat’s pregnancy lasts from start to finish won’t be of much use to you unless you know the approximate date when she conceived her kittens.
Generally speaking, your cat keeps that information to herself.
Just when you think that your life is running smoothly, your pet cat comes home with more than she went out with…..
All that affectionate behavior and cute rolling around she’s been doing for the past week or so hasn’t been for your benefit after all – she’s been in season and has been anxious to get outside and call for any Tom, Dick or fur-covered Harry to mate with.
And now, out of the blue, you strongly suspect that you’re going to be a grandparent to a litter of kittens and you have no idea when that might be.
So, how long will you have to wait to see your newly born, cute and fluffy kittens?
On average, feline pregnancy lasts for 63-65 days but can be anywhere from 58 days to 70 days long - about nine weeks.
But as a midwife-in-waiting, it’s up to you to make the best guess at the delivery date that you can and unless you happened to see (or hear) your promiscuous puss-cat in action with the local toms, you’re likely to be a day or two out.
It’s more likely that you won’t have any idea that your lovely, pregnant cat is ‘with kittens’ until she is five or six weeks into her pregnancy and starts to show certain signs.
By the time you begin to suspect that you need to know how long feline pregnancy lasts, more than half of it will have passed by.
At the fifth or sixth week of your cat’s pregnancy you will be able to see that her belly is becoming larger and more rounded as she takes on the distinctive pregnant shape. At this point you will begin to be certain that your beautiful pet is carrying kittens and you will only have 21-28 days to go before her kittens are born.
This isn’t a long time to gather all the information that you’ll need to make sure that everything goes smoothly during the birth. You’ll need to be able to recognise when your cat’s labor is about to start and you will have had to put all the necessary preparations in place, ready to go at a moments notice.
Subtle changes in behavior will signal the last phase of pregnancy and at this point, correct nutrition will be of great importance, as will the choice of birthing place.
Will you be prepared?
Your cat and kitten’s lives may depend on you should problems arise. Fortunately, the better informed and prepared you are, the less the liklihood is that a developing problem will become a crisis - or even a tragedy.
That’s why I’ve put together all the information you’ll need to see your cat safely through the birth of her kittens in ‘Hey Mom! Fat Fred’s Having Kittens!’
Written in an easy to follow style, ‘Hey Mom! Fat Fred’s Having Kittens!’ contains all you need to know about caring for your pregnant cat, how to recognise the signs that labor is starting, step-by-step instruction on the best way to prepare for the birth, what to expect and what to watch out for during delivery and how to give the best care to your newborn kittens - right up until they are weaned.
You won’t have to worry at all as you will have all the details of what to expect at each stage of your cat’s pregnancy, labor, birth and beyond - all in one place. So no rushing around trying to search for a particular answer in the heat of the moment and when you are under high stress.
And as many cat owners are likely to be experiencing the home birth of kittens for the very first time, at each stage you’ll find a yes/no troubleshooting section specifically designed to let you know if a certain worry is something that you need to act fast on or whether things are really ok.
Follow the link to www.HowToDeliverKittens.com for more information and make sure that you are the one who could make the difference between a successful birth for your cat or a tragic one.
Posted by Jane
Over the many years that I have been a cat owner, I have been amazed at the things I have learned about these fascinating animals.
But the number one thing that I have learned is that you can never take for granted that you have the Upper Hand (or Paw…).
Cats may well not be able to read blogs…… but they can certainly read minds!
My family and I took the opportunity to have a few days away just after Easter and we needed to book Charm and Minnie into the c-a-t-t-e-r-y.
I’m sorry, I’ve got to spell the ‘you-know-what’ word - just in case cats really can read blogs - I’ve been caught out before.
From bitter experience, I have learned that if our cats hear us discussing their (and our) holiday arrangements, they understand, note the dates in their mental diaries and on the appropriate day scarper straight after breakfast and hide outside until they judge the danger of being transported to a puss-cat bed and breakfast establishment to have passed.
Unbelievable?
No!
Believe it or not, I have had to delay departure plans before now (very inconvenient) and do a lot of phoning and grovelling to c-a-t-t-e-r-y owners and hotel owners as I explained that I was unable to find my own pets.
How embarrassing.
I’ve also learned that the same effect comes into play when a trip to the v-e-t is in order, too. In the past, I have had to cancel vaccination appointments when careless talk had reached furry ears.
My daughter, who is 13 years old, is firmly convinced that I am making all this up. Poor innocent child, she hasn’t had the benefit of experience yet. She’ll learn.
But I am certain that just about every cat owner reading this will have had a similar experience.
Can your cat understand the you-know-what word? Are they able to tell when a visit to the v-e-t is in the offing?
Leave a comment letting me know how you get around the problem. Do you resort to spelling the words out, like me? Or have you some other method of keeping the little fur-covered angels oblivious to what is awaiting them……?
All I know is, that until I have been shown otherwise, I shall assume that cats can read blogs and I won’t be posting the dates of any trips that they might not approve of!
Posted by Jane
Hi,
Do you suffer from that awful cat problem - spraying indoors?
So many cat owners endure a smelly house simply because thay are unable to find a permanent answer to how to stop their lovely pet spraying indoors.
I’ve had the same problem over the many years I’ve owned cats and I’ve struggled with my embarrassment each time I’ve had to invite people into my home.
But now, I’ve found the answer - and, you know what? It doesn’t mean going out and buying yet another ‘Stop Your Cat Spraying’ product that ultimately doesn’t work! In fact, you’ve probably got the only two things that you need sitting in your store cupboards right now.
And what’s worse, I’ve actually learned that in using these commercial products you are actually forcing your cat to spray in the home again and again - and they can’t help themselves doing it. It’s absolutely scandalous!
I’m so angry about this situation that I’ve written a 26 page report telling exactly why using commercial products won’t work and why, what you have to do to change your cat’s behavior, the household remedy that will clean the smell from your home and won’t cast more than a few pennies and the steps you can take to make sure your cat never feels the need to spray in your home ever again. In fact, all the information you’ll ever need is in the report and won’t cost you any more than a single ‘Stop Spraying’ product - so it will actually save you more money than you’d ever think possible!
Follow the blogroll link on the left marked Special Report - and you’ll find out what made me so angry.
Posted by Jane
Hello to all cat owners!
Over the coming days and weeks, this new site will begin to take shape. If you have any comments on what you would like to see included in relation to cat ownership, please leave a suggestion (polite ones please!) and we’ll see if we can include it.
Please bookmark this site and keep watching:)