One of the complications that can arise with bottle babies is their instinct to suckle. I've read that most kittens spend an average of four hours per day on mom's nipple, much of that time not really nursing, but using it as a pacifier. The advantage of bottle feeding over tube feeding is that it helps serve that instinct. What often happens, regardless of the method used, is that if there is more than one kitten, they will start using each other as pacifiers. While they can suckle anywhere, the most common (and problematic) area is the genitalia of each other. This can lead to all sorts of problems. The suckling will eventually stimulate the bladder and bowels to evacuate, resulting in yet another kitten mess. I thought naively that once or twice of this happening to each kitten would teach them that this is a poor idea. I was very wrong. It kept happening, over, and over. All six kittens were now needing multiple baths daily. And even if it happened only to one or two kittens, all the rest would manage to drag their little bodies through whatever liquid or semi-solid waste remained. If it was there, they would find it.
I couldn't really separate the kittens from each other completely; they needed the warmth and comfort of each other at this stage. I used two microwavable pet heating pads in their nest constantly as it was. I was also concerned about their getting sick from ingesting even small amounts of urine or feces, although this fortunately never seemed to happen.
The even more serious repercussion of the suckling became quickly apparent. Some of the kittens, particularly the two males, were beginning to have swollen genitalia, and even a visible penis. At this age, it's usually pretty hard to even sex the kittens, but it was pretty obvious with these guys who was who. I had taken to sitting over their pen, scruffing and moving each offending kitten with an accompanying little hiss in a never-ending chess match. If a kitten was relentless, I gave them a little timeout in a separate pen.
I tried all kinds of make shift surrogate moms for them, none of which really worked. I made a simple nipple in a stuffed sock; they liked it, but not enough to use it.
I made a more elaborate version with a faux fur cover with nipple insert, filled with a removable rice bag which can be heated in the microwave. They laid on it, but ignored the nipple. There are a couple of commercial carriers of the same idea;
here is a link to one. I'd love to hear if anyone has any experience with these, or has any other useful ideas on the subject...
The shelter gave me a vet appointment to examine all six kittens for potential damage, so off we went. The verdict? One of the girls, and one of the boys had to have a cycle of antibiotics, and they said that both boys needed to be isolated indefinitely, from each other as well as the girls. So, now I needed three pens instead of one.
I was pleased with myself for having just come
up with seemed like a cheap, versatile,
yet effective kitten enclosure system.
I used 4' x 8' sheets of hardboard at the hardware store, cut down to my specifications. It comes in 1/8" and 3/16" inch thicknesses, and has a variety of finishes from plain brown, to white, pegboard, and even paneled finishes. I had two panels cut into a variety of sizes, from 24" x 24", to 36" x 48".
I then drilled 1/2" holes along each side, and fastened them together with cable ties. I used a new tarp on the floor for the base.
The system allows a huge variety of configurations and sizes, and allowed me to add the two new compartments I would now need for the boys. I left one end open so that I could easily clean inside.
The entire system can be separated, or folded down flat and just slides under a sofa for storage when not in use. Pretty effective, and cheap!
The kittens are growing fast now, and it's time to begin weaning and using the litterbox. This part becomes yet another opportunity for a really big mess. Four of the kittens dig right in to their first real meal of KMR formula mixed heavily with Babycat canned kitten pate, but two still won't have anything to do with it for a couple of days. More tube feeding. Those two finally see the virtues of eating on their own, and join the feeding frenzy.
I like to use these corn dishes which act as feeding troughs; the kittens like them, too. They seemed to delight in using them as kitten surfboards, laying in them with all four paws while chowing down. Makes an even better mess, and allows them complete dominance over that food source. It is astounding just how covered with food they can become in seconds...
Fortunately, I had another good solution for this.
Egg Nog.
No, not the drink, although that can help the surrogate mom. No, my other foster kitten of about four months, whose name is Egg Nog. He was a feral kitten that had had several different foster homes, including mine, and one failed adoption. He is the absolute sweetest kitten, but he was very skittish, and would always hiss at you if you made a move toward him. If you picked him up, he would immediately start purring, so I was confident he could be placed in a great home if he just had the right adopters. I kept him enclosed in a separate room, because I wasn't sure what he would do with the kittens, so I started by taking in one kitten at a time.
Egg Nog absolutely loved the kittens. I wasn't sure if it was just because they were often covered in food, but he would go crazy giving them baths. I did have some fear of him confusing the food-covered kittens as some sort of cat treat for him, but he never showed any sign of aggression toward them, only extreme enthusiasm!
The kittens adored Egg Nog too. You could see how hard it was to restrain himself trying to play with the kittens; he really wanted to romp and go all out with them, but they were just too small for him. So, I was thrilled when Tiffany and Bobby stepped up and adopted him; now he has a loving home, and two cat playmates that are more his size!
The litterbox training was virtually instant; as soon as it was placed in their pen, it was diligently used. Sometimes too diligently, as five kittens cannot use one litterbox at once:
As soon as one gets in, everybody wants in, regardless whether they need to use it or not.
