2AM feedings

You know.. there is a reason I didn't have kids... *grumble grumble grumble*

actually it really wasn't their fault. I woke up in the middle of the night and my cats realized I was awake and came and stepped on my bladder. I heard the peepers start up (not quite sure why they were quiet to begin with as they never shut up) and I thought the first one was a kitten cry. When I realized no one was in distress, I wanted to roll back over and go to sleep, but I was awake, and I realized that it was probably better to get up now, and sleep later.

The kits were surprised to see me. They were also quite covered in goop. Pee? Poop? hard to tell, as it didn't smell like anything in particular, but they looked goopy, so it was bath time. I got a small bucket, put the kits in a holding pen, changed out the bedding, and proceeded with feedings, then washings, then put them back in the cage. Jordan was VERY confused by the whole process. When I put Lily in the cage after her bath, she was torn between comforting Lil and going and "rescuing" the other kittens - which fortunately at this point is just putting a nose to them to make sure they are OK. Nigel and Lily were a little more gooey then Bug, which makes sense as she is the only one who is so ready to eat solid food.

I did remember one aspect of kitten growth which might shed some light on this. It is that mother cat's clean the kittens and stimulate them to go when they are nursing, but when they are weaning they stop. It is theorized (or decided on, I'm not sure) that they don't like the taste of the meat once it is digested. digested milk: OK, digested meat: gross.

What was quite amusing is that when they hit the water, they all went pee. :) Guess kids are all the same.

This afternoon before going to work I gave them another feeding, and found a kitten poop in the cage. solid and well formed if not a little squished from being laid on, which is another good developmental sign.

Nigel is still behind weight on Bug, which saddens me, but he's a happy boy now that he's got milk straight up no chaser, and I'm sure he'll be a big boy any week now.