Dear Steemit Friends:
First, I have good news to share, my cat Amber and Milky have had baby kittens!
Amber is a brown tabby Scottish fold cat and Milky is a white domestic cat. This is actually the second time Amber has had a litter of kittens.
This time, she's given birth to four kittens, three with folded ears, and one with straight ears. They want to say hi to all steemit friends!
10 facts for new-born kittens:
1. Going to the toilet:
Newborn kittens don't know how control their "toilet" organs when very young. Therefore, they could be suppressing urine or faeces and feel quite uncomfortable, particularly if the mother isn't stimulating them. Therefore, as responsible and caring owners, we have to help stimulate them to defecate in the absence of their mother until they are old enough to control this themselves.
2. Temperature:
Newborn kittens have a naturally lower body temperature of around 35 °c. They can easily become unwell or even die from being too cold so owners must make sure they in a suitably insulated warm place. After around 4 weeks, their temperature will become 37.7°c.
3. Weight, heartbeat and breathing:
Newborn kittens weigh around 90g when they are first delivered. In the first few weeks, their growth will be very rapid and should increase in weight by about 10g each day. Their heartbeat is also very fast, at around 200 beats per minute, breathing around 15-34 times per minute.
4. First milk:
It's important that newborn kittens get their first milk (colostrum) from their mother as it is rich in antibodies and help to protect the kittens from some diseases. Kittens can usually only absorb this colostrum within the first 24 hours of life and therefore it is important to get them feeding on mothers milk as soon as possible. Kittens should be kept warm throughout as a body temperature that is too low may be a sign that their stomachs or other internal organs are not working properly. Make sure they are warm before resuming feeding.
5. They can’t see or hear:
Newborn kittens are deaf and blind at birth. At around two weeks old, they will open their eyes and the colouring will be blue. At around twelve weeks, their eyes change to their "normal" colour. Even though they will open their eyes at around two weeks, their eyes will not be fully developed until much later. At around three weeks, their ear canals will open and they start to gain their sense of hearing.
6. Scottish Folds are born without folded ears:
The newborn Scottish fold kittens appear just like any other cats with normal ears. After three or four weeks, the kittens who have inherited the specific gene causing the ears to fold, will have ears that fold down. (Sometimes they fold and then go back to straight!)
7. Athletic ability:
Climbing: 16-20days. Walking: 21-25days. Running: 4-5 weeks.
8. Weaning:
From around 3 to 4 weeks, Kittens will begin to eat foods other than their mothers breast milk such as water and baby food. Owners will have to make sure that they feed the kittens at the same place, and same quantity at the same time every day. As most cats are lactose intolerant, do not feed them with cow milk as they lack the enzymes to break down the milk and can result in diarrhoea or indigestion. There are kitten milk replacement powders available if manual feeding is required.
9. The hospital check and inoculations:
When kittens are 4 weeks old, owners can bring them to the vet to do a health check as well as give them treatment for fleas and worms. At around 8 weeks old, they can be vaccinated to protect from other common cat illnesses.
10. Leaving the mom:
Although it's not an exact science, Kittens gradually become fully weaned at around 8-12 weeks old and can be rehomed away from their mother once they are socialised, eating on their own, and know how to use the toilet. Around 6 months old, they are able to live very independently.
If you buy a kitten, it may be quite a financial investment, exotic cats and rarer breeds can very quickly become quite expensive, add to this the cost of health care and quality food, they can quickly become as expensive as raising a child! However, having kittens is a wonderful thing in your life, the time, energy and money spent will be well worth it as they become treasures in your life.
I hope you will find or have found the Mr/Ms Right pet in your life. Thanks for checking out my post, and I hope you like my furry friends!
首先我有一个高兴得事情要和大家分享，我的猫Amber和Milky最近生下了四只小猫宝宝。 是一只棕色tabby的苏格兰折耳猫,Milky是一只全白的家猫,这是Amber第二次生产了 这次有四只小猫,三只折耳猫,一只直耳猫. 刚出生小猫的10个事实：1. 上厕所： 刚出生的猫不会自己上厕所，小猫可能因为憋大小便而痛苦，所以主人要尝试刺激帮助它排便，用绵签或者湿布擦拭2. 体温：刚出生的猫往往体温很低，35°c左右，可能会一直不停地哭叫，主人需要用自己的体温把小猫暖和过来。4周时上升到37.7°c。3. 重量，心跳和呼吸；刚出生的小猫，普遍只有90克,以后每天增长10克才是正常的。心跳每分钟200次以上，呼吸速率每分钟15-34次。4. 第一口奶：刚出生的小猫，第一口奶非常重要，一定要吃到妈妈的第一口奶，不然就会有死掉的风险。不要喂体温过低的小猫吃奶！因为它的肠胃可能停止工作了，喂它吃奶会让它胀气死亡。5. 看不见也听不见：刚出生的小猫，又聋又瞎。眼睛不能睁开。直到2周后才可以睁开眼睛，眼睛为蓝色，12周之后变成固定颜色。3周左右耳道打开，能听见声音。6. 刚出生的折耳猫耳朵折吗：刚出生的折耳猫耳朵不是折下来的，和其他直耳猫的耳朵一样，3到4周后，有折耳基因的小猫耳朵才慢慢折下来。7. 运动能力：爬：16～20天。走：21～25天。 跑：4～5周。8. 断奶：3到4周的时候，小猫开始可以吃除了母乳其他的东西，例如温水，婴儿食品等等，要定时定量定点的喂。千万不能喂小猫牛奶，它们身体缺少吸收牛奶的酶，容易拉肚子或消化不良。8周大的时候可以完全断奶。9. 医院检查和接种： 4周左右带小猫去医院做身体检查，进行驱虫，8周大的时候带小猫去医院接种疫苗，防止疾病。10.离开妈妈：8周左右小猫可以离开妈妈，完全适应独立生活则需要6个月。 不要抱怨买一只猫价格太贵，因为养一只猫，好好珍惜它所付出的无限的时间，精力和金钱更是无价的。希望你们都能找到人生中属于你们并陪伴你们的真命天使猫咪！
If you are interested in my other blogs related to my CATS please check out these other blogs below
Holding a new-born life in my hand.Do cats have logic? My cats top 3 cat logic explained!
5 Amazing human moments of a Scottish Fold！
💕Three reasons why I think my cat has given birth to 5 little tigers!
The internet was designed to disseminate pictures of cats... and I'm a cat woman！