Three Day Old Kittens?

Question

My cat Baby just had a litter of 6 kittens. One of them has one eyes open and has since yesturday. Is this normal? How long does it take for a kitten to open it's eyes? How long does it take for them to walk around? How long til I can tell the sex of the kittens... and how can I tell? They are the cutest things and I just want whats best for them. Is it normal for the baby to one eye open so soon? Thank you so much if you can answer any or all of my questions (:

Just want it to be said... Kittens are having to have good homes WHEN they are ready. And The mother only gets the best food. They are also ALL indoor cats. And I DO know who the father is. My Cats are spoiled and get more than they need.

Another thing. Do YOU want to get "fixed"? I think it's wrong. There are many unwanted people in the world. But do you see everyone getting "fixed". I plan on getting him and her both fixed, but MY morals are different than others. I wanted to let her have one litter because I believe that she should have atleast had the chance. And once Again... All of the kittens are going to have good homes. With my family. I plan on keeping two myself.

Answer 1

Hi there...here are a photo and illusration on how to tell the gender of each kitten:
Illustration: http://www.pawsonline.info/sexinga.htm
Photo: http://www.mystic-tree.com/kitten_sexing_guide.htm

Kittens open their eyes around on average around 7-8 days so 3 days is early, but not necessarily uncommon.

More about newborn kittens and kitten care guidelines: http://www.rescueguide.com/orphkits.html

Answer 2

First off, six kittens is a bad thing. The more the mother cat has, the less healthy the kittens are. Change her diet over to a higher quality cat food after the kittens are off of her milk.

As for the perma-winking kitten, that is odd. Usually a week before they open their eyes. I'd watch the other one for infection. If it's other eye is open, there's no reason why only one besides infection.

They'll be walking around between two to three weeks. Slowly crawling around at first and slowly getting the strength to acually get up and move. It's a very cute thing to watch kittens learn to walk around. The sex of the kitten can be found at birth. It's a little hard when their so small but it is possible. Females are easier to tell. Just look for something that males have. If there's no sign, it's a girl. Male's will have everything they should have at birth, it's just really really small.

Important note. Keep a very close eye on the kittens. At this age they have to eat every two hours. If the queen isn't strong enough to feed them or even produce milk, they will die. You will need to go to the Vet or Pet store and ask for Kitten Milk Replacement. KMR. Bottle feed slowly the required amount. For the first week, 5-10 CC's, after that 10-15 CC's and finally 20-25 CC's when they get larger. As they get larger, add and blend wet kitten food in the KMR. Young kittens need to be eliminated after eating. With a warm moist tissue, gently massage the genitals until the kitten urinates. Amount will vary with kittens. Some will have a few drops and others will have a constant flow. This is VERY IMPORTANT. If you don't, their kidney's will fail and the kitten will die very shortly.

Raising kittens is allot of work that requries constant attention. Most Humane Societies have around the clock staff to hand raise kittens. If you can't handle them, I ask you to please give them up to those who are trained to.

Good Luck.

Answer 3

I started fostering a pregnant cat last month, she had her litter of 4 (2 males and 2 females) on the 11th of December. The kittens eyes opened within a week, as well as opening their ears. They start walking around and being extra active the next week. During the 4th week they learn to poop and pee without much help from the mom cat. Right now they are at 5 weeks of age and they are eating kitten food with the mother and drinking water, however they still get milk from her. They will be ready to leave her within the next wekk or so.

You should be able to tell the sex of the kittens right away. Girls are easy because they have 2 holes close together under the tail, about the same size, and the males have one hole right under the tail and a smaller one a little further away...you'll be able to tell that there is a space for the testes. It gets easier to tell when they are a little bigger, but I was too curious right away. There are plently of websites about sexing kittens as well.

If she isn't already, the mom cat should be eating kitten food, so that she is getting the proper amount of nutrients to pass on to the kittens. Right now she basically is their immune system. Also, she will lick them after feeding and whenever she knows they need it to stimulate them to go to the bathroom, so don't stop her from doing that.

The only problem that I had with one of the kittens is conjunctivitis. One of them had it in one of his eyes, and none of the others developed it, so we didn't know evactly how he got it. We got ointment from the vet right away and it cleared right up and now there are no problems. I figured I'd mention that since I was told that it is fairly common for kittens to develop eye problems.

I hope this helps.

Answer 4

You can tell the sex now if you know what to look for. Below the anus the boys will have a little circle, which is the penis,and the girls will have a little slit, which is the vagina. The boys' testicles will not descend until they are about 10-12 weeks old.

Kittens' eyes and ears normally open 10-14 days after birth, but sometimes sooner. They'll start to crawl around pretty soon and will do some wobbly walking in about three weeks. You should talk to your vet about deworming them (and Mom)--this can be done when they are 10 days old, and repeated 10-14 days later. They can have their first vaccines at six weeks but should NOT be adopted until they are about three months old and weaned.

Please do not adopt them out through ads in newspapers. "Free to good home" ads often attract nasty people who do not treat animals well. You should screen all applications very carefully; local animal shelters or rescues might have a list of questions you can ask people who are interested in your kittens.

Good luck!

Answer 5

Kittens often DO have fleas, but no they are not technically SUPPOSED to. Fleas can literally bleed a kitten dry and kill it, so yes you need to get rid of them. Ignore any suggestions to use dish soap, it will not work. Buy a flea spray (like Adam's Flea and Tick) and spray it onto a hand towel. Wrap the kitten in the towel like a loose burrito (head exposed to the air so it can breathe) and hold it wrapped like this for 2-3 minutes twice a day. Sanitation is also very important, wash all the bedding the kitten sleeps in, and vacuum the whole house very well. Do this EVERY day until the kitten is 8 weeks old, and then please start using Frontline once monthly to kill the fleas as they jump on. If you keep Frontline or Advantage on all your pets, eventually your home and yard will be totally flea-free.

Answer 6

Yes this is quite normal. One eye at a time and some kittens eyes will open before others But all eyes should be open in a week. They will start to wobble around in a few more days. Within two or three weeks they will be climbing out of the box and be running all over the place and Mommy cat will try to hide them but it won't work because they will get out of their hiding place and run all over the house. They are so much fun to watch!. Don't worry they are fine. I love kittens they are just so cute! Enjoy your babies.

Answer 7

ok you probably already have the right answers so I will just add some stuff you didnt ask about
1 mom cat should be fed KITTEN food until the kittens are gone
2 mom cat should be spayed ASAP for 2 reasons, first unspayed cats have a higher risk of some cancers.. and mainly becuase with 2 million kittens euthanized every year due to overpopulation of kittens, she is adding to the problem - even IF your kitttens find homes it means 6 other kittens did not.
3 DO NOT try to give them away on your own - its estimated only 1 in 10 "free to good home" kittens actually finds a good home.. many are given away to people who "look" like good homes but are going to sell them for research, use them for snake food, or they simply let them out one day and dont look for them when they get lost - they just go get another "free" one
4 they should be with mom until 7 or 8 weeks.. IF you are going to sell them, make sure you vaccinate them BEFORE they leave your home (2-3 days before) otherwise they could go to a new home and be infected within days...
5 take them to the SPCA to be rehomed... they have a much better chance of finding homes for the kittens than you do.. unless you are prepared to go to EVERY home and check it BEFORE and AFTER you give them your kittens

main thing - spay your cat please.. end the cycle of sadness

Answer 8

Kittens, like babies, do their own thing. The Mom knows how to take care of them. Leave them alone. They'll grow like weeds and their mom will eventually start taking time off out of the box. A male kitten has two dots :, a female kitten has a dot with a slit underneath. That should become visible in 6-8 wks.

Answer 9

Take a deep breath: your kittens are just fine! Kittens will begin to walk after about 3 weeks; that will give them enough time to open their eyes fully, and grow some fur. As to the sex of the kittens, I would ask your vet. From what I know, you can tell the sex of the kitten if you know what you are looking for. Their gender can be determined as soon as they are born. Back to the eyes question, it will take up to a week at the most, for them to start attempting to open their eyes. Congrats on the new kittens!

Answer 10

Let the mother take care of her kittens. She knows what they need.

You feed the mother and teach the kittens about human contact and support.

Everything will work out.

In 6 to 8 weeks the kittens can be adopted.

Answer 11

Kittens should not open their eyes until about 10 days, they should be moving around a little bit, mostly feeding and sleeping,to sex them females have (under tail) on top anus and a little slit and males have 2 round holes. Also to have them spayed is not cruel, it is unfortunely more cruel to not have them done, if they go into season even just a couple of times without being mated they can get all sorts of uterus infection and cancer.