The kitten mind meld is working. They squeak, I pick them up. They stop squeaking

[Siwsan]

Well, until I put them back down in the crate. This is BRAND NEW behavior. I probably brought it on myself. My niece told me that I should 'stimulate' their little bottoms so they can pee and poop. Well, someone's doing that, already, but I gave it a go and got peed on, 4 times. Now I've been 'marked' and must obey.

Admittedly, I'm having FAR too much fun with these fur balls. I even forgive them for being the likely cause of my anxiety attack, headache and lack of sleep. But I think all is good, now.

[Bayard]

1. You are a good mom!

[calimary]

6. Indeed yes!!!

And doing a good, caring, and vigilant job!

[Duppers]

9. She is! And...Happy Birthday to You, Bayard.

🎂🎈🎉

[Bayard]

10. {{Hugs!}}

[Duppers]

11. And back at ya!

[Ocelot II]

2. We need more photos!

The kittens have learned that squeaking gets them what they want, which is attention and comfort from you. They are already on their way to becoming happy house cats!

Meanwhile, Mr. Cat is still living on my porch. He spent most of yesterday sleeping on the comfy porch chair. He hisses at me in a perfunctory way when I bring his breakfast but he doesn't seem all that afraid of me. I've tried to hand-feed him rotisserie chicken, which he loves and will eat vast amounts of, but though he still won't take it from me with his teeth, yesterday he briefly grabbed my finger with a claw to get a piece. I guess that's progress.

[Siwsan]

4. I'll work on some photos this afternoon

We just 'felled' and disassembled a tree and I am EXHAUSTED. Then I had to butt rub the kittens, again, after their lunch. They seem to be a bit indignant. I read you don't have to do that after 4 weeks but since we are just assuming these kittens are 5 to 6 weeks old, I'll just put up with being peed and pooped on, for their health.

We let them wander around the den, today. It's amazing how you can actually see their coordination improving, from one minute to the next. I'm going to make this an every day activity for them, although that might involve herding kittens and we all know what kind of trouble that can be.

Maybe I'll see if Aldi still has that pet playpen in stock.

[TFRD]

3. Yep

Sounds like the kitten mind meld worked just as the kitties plan it to work. 😊

[StarryNite]

5. Kitty up!

[KT2000]

7. That's great!

they are so adorable

[2naSalit]

8. There's a little trick that calms them down too...

If you just use your finger or thumb to mimic the tongue strokes to their forehead that their mom uses, they will calm down and help them be more comfortable with the person(s) who do that.

I'm kind of envious, I love baby kitties and haven't been around any for years so I'm enjoying this through your experience.

[MichaelSoE]

12. Here are some helpful links for you

My spouse and I have raised bottle baby kittens for over 15 years. Over 150 of them. When we first started we had no real knowledge as to the in's and out's of what was expected.

First of all .. try to determine what age they are and what stage of development they are currently in.
https://www.alleycat.org/resources/how-old-is-that-kitten-guide/
If they are at the 4 to 5 week stage you can introduce them to kitty litter. They will pick it up quickly.

Then you can continue with this wonderful guide
https://kittenrescue.org/2017/03/raising-orphaned-kittens/

If they are at the 4 to 5 week stage they can be weaned off the bottle. Once they are weaned and litter trained the hardest part is over. Not that it's hard ... it's just time consuming.

Here are some clips
This kindle is a group we fostered about 5 months ago ... they are about 7 - 8 weeks old

This is our latest who came to us at about 4 weeks of age. She is now weaned and litter trained. I shot this video about a week ago. She is about 5 weeks old.

Any questions or concerns, feel free to message me.

[Siwsan]

13. Wow! Thanks!!

From what I've researched, these cuties look to be right at about 4 weeks. They WON'T take the bottle, but little *Squeaky, who is the runt of the litter, will take kitten milk from an eye dropper. I'm just being VERY careful. However, he lapping it up from a shallow dish, this morning. And I'm making a weak slurry with the kitten milk and wet food, for kittens. They LOVE that - chow right down. They've got a litter box and SOMETIMES use it for something other than a resting place.

They are all getting really vocal and compete for attention from me. So sweet.

I'm still being very cautious to keep an eye on Sophie but she seems more frightened by them, than intrigued.

They are almost big enough to escape the smaller container I'm using so today I'm heading to Aldi with the hope they still have that 'pet play pen' in stock. It looks like the perfect thing for containing these wanderers, and I'm tired of shifting that big box around. I'm also going to pick up a kitten comb and some kitten wipes. I know it's way too early to bathe them, but they wear almost as much food as they eat.

I'm definitely going to check out those links and videos. Again, thanks. I'll message any questions your way.

*After the loss of Skittish's little tuxedo, who was also the runt of her litter, I'm wracked with guilt for not trying to trap him/her. So, I'm extra determined to see that Squeaky will grow to be a little panther.