fosters almost four weeks old
Update: they still are on the bottle, but I'm introducing wet food mixed with a little formula a few times a day. A couple of them will lick the food off a spoon. Meanwhile, feeding has gotten downright dangerous! While I am feeding one on my lap, the other ones will climb up my pants leg and start fighting with the eating one--tooth and nail, literally, with my hand in the middle of the fight. Even though I've worn a cotton glove for these feedings, this will not do! I've started removing each kitten to another room to feed them alone. Hopefully soon they will be eating out of a dish exclusively.
Litter box training is complete! That saves a lot of time! With kittens it is so simple: put out a tray with litter in it and they will use it. Prime it with a used urine soaked cotton ball and that's all they need!
Getting very cute! But hard to take their pictures because they move so fast!
= new reply since forum marked as read
I had 6 bottle babies at one time a few years ago. The mother cat still had milk, but 2 of the kittens were orphans that she had accepted. Her poor belly was so raw from the kittens kneading and nursing, that I started supplementing with bottle feeding. They probably would have been fine with soupy wet food, but I didn't know any better at the time. I wish I had thought of your solution to take them one at a time into another room. As it was, I learned to feed 2 at a time and sometimes I got help from my niece and her children.
I tried using the wading pool to contain them, but that didn't last very long. There is almost no way to keep kittens corralled except for a crate!
I put a window screen in the doorway using velcro to secure it. I'm getting a little misty just looking at these pictures. Those kittens and their mama were the sweetest, most loving little beasties I've ever fostered.
I'm getting some better pictures now (and figuring out how to edit--just switched from PC to Mac)
