The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Pets & Working Animals => Cats => Topic started by: gingercloverbramble on July 01, 2010, 10:54:32 am

Title: week old kittens
Post by: gingercloverbramble on July 01, 2010, 10:54:32 am

My cat gave birth to two kittens last Thursday.  The second kitten came out legs first , was smaller than the first and seemed to find it more difficult to latch on.
S/he is definitely feeding - I can hear sucking noises!!- but the size difference between the two kittens is major.  I realise that it's probably worse because we only have the two kittens to compare, whereas in a litter of four or five they would probably range in size?!  Just wondering if there is more I should be doing?! :-[

Title: Re: week old kittens
Post by: doganjo on July 01, 2010, 01:47:00 pm

No, if she only has two they will be fine - just make sure the little one has definitely latched on properly and doesn't have milk coming back down its nostrils(indication of cleft palate)

Title: Re: week old kittens
Post by: Roxy on July 02, 2010, 04:12:15 pm

Don't worry about the little one - we regularly have a tiny one in our farm litters. I too have had just two kittens in a little, one looking extra large and the other diddy.  The diddy one caught up after a few weeks.  In fact we have one here waiting to go to a new home, with its sister, and there is a marked difference in size even at 10 weeks.

Title: Re: week old kittens
Post by: gingercloverbramble on July 02, 2010, 06:24:00 pm

Thank you so much doganjo and roxy.  You have totally put my mind at rest.  Was really beginning to worry because the difference was so huge!  Had a good look and it certainly seems to be feeding and I don't see any milk coming down the nose.  They do seem to both go for the same nipple all the time though and the bigger one usually wins.  But I did peek in earlier today to see the wee one feeding away and the big one just snoozing and having a cuddle.
Thanks again - so appreciated.

Title: Re: week old kittens
Post by: Roxy on July 03, 2010, 12:44:32 pm

I do wonder if its because one is bigger in the cats womb - and the other cannot grow.  I have had it with a litter of pups too.  One of the male pups was absolutely enormous, and the other was completely the opposite, so small.  The two female pups were normal sized.  When they grew up, the bigger pup was always taller than his brother, but not abnormally so!!  Will try and find the pic of our big and small kitten later.