Just Kitty : Raising kittens from birth - The joys of being a "Crazy Cat Lady"

Dear Steemit Friends:

As a frequent traveller, one of the challenges I face on a regular basis is having to leave my family and friends behind for extended periods of time. Of course, my very large family of cats count as family too!

You can imagine the joy I experienced when I came back to greet my family of cats, least not the new members of the family which are still only 6 weeks old!

Most cat owners will bring home their kitten at around the age of 8-12 weeks, the age where they are fully weaned and ready to leave their mother and find their new forever homes. I'm lucky to see my little kittens as they grow from the moment they enter this world, all the way to when they're old enough to leave their mother.

Somethings you may miss out on are their drunken walks, blue eyes and extreme hyper activity. It's truly a challenge to capture them in this early stage of their lives, but what a joy it is!

Say hello to Amber's (my Scottish fold) 6 week old Kittens! Before I left for Bahamas, they were still sleeping in their nest most of the day, and now coming back, they're jumping around full of energy!

Before showing you the little Kittens, Furby requested an appearance. She get's a little insecure about other's stealing her limelight so here she is!

Long time no see Steemit friends, salutations to all! Make sure you follow my mummy Sweetsssj for my next exclusive appearance! Meow Meow!

So, today i'd like to share some stories and information about the Kittens before they leave their mother!
New born Kittens are deaf and blind
It's hard to believe with their big round eyes, and flappy ears that Kittens are actually born deaf and blind. Around 2 weeks old, the kittens begin to open their eyes, but still have limited vision until a few weeks later. It's important at around 2 weeks to check to see if their eyes are opening as expected. In my experience, sometimes kittens will get eye infections which lead to some difficulty opening their eyes. If left untreated, the kittens may become permanently blind.

To treat these infections, I use Isathal Eye Drops. Obviously it is also advisable to treat the underlying source of infection, which can be the unhygienic environment of the nest, and / or bacteria and viruses carried by the queen.

All kittens are born with blue eyes!
When the kittens first open their eyes, you will be amazed to find that they have a beautiful blue eyes. But this is not their natural eye colour. In fact, over the next month or two, as the eyes continue to develop the kittens' eyes will gradually change to the colour it will be throughout their adult life. For some breeds like thee Siamese, blue eyes will be their permanent colour! Otherwise, the eyes usually change from Blue to a shade of Green / Yellow / Orange and Copper brown.

So what is it that gives these Kittens their beautiful yet temporary blue eyes?
It's all down to the pigments in the iris and the effect of light refracted off the cornea. As the eyes continue to develop, the melanocytes in the iris begin producing melanin, the pigment which determine's the eyes adult coloration. The final colour of the eyes are determined by how much melanocytes there are, and how much melanin they produce.

If the colours are a shade of green, then that means the iris has produced the least amount of melanin. In the case of brown, it means the most amount of melanin is produced!

The importance of de-worming
Although I like to think I live in a very clean and hygienic home, it doesn't mean that Kittens can't come into contact with parasites. Actually, these can be picked up through drinking their mothers milk. The most common worms are roundworms and tapeworms. These are dangerous for the kittens because they live in the gut of the kitten and steal all the nutrients from the food they eat!

This means, regular de-worming for both the mother and the kittens!

Regular de-worming should occur every month for the kittens until they are 6 months old, and then every 3 months after that.

I use Panacur which is a wormer prescribed by the vets to treat my all my cats!

Vaccinations
Finally, it's important to protect kittens against common diseases, so a visit to the Vets for vaccination is really important. The first vaccinations should happen around the age of 8-9 weeks. These are split into two injections, around 4 weeks apart. After that, the Kittens will require a yearly booster injection. During this time, it's best to keep the kittens indoors to avoid catching other diseases from cats outside.

Although raising kittens can be a challenging task, the joy and happiness they bring is priceless and I am so lucky to have the opportunity to help introduce kittens into the world, making sure they are healthy and happy along the way!

Below are some pictures of me and the little angels!





Hope you enjoyed my post about my experiences raising kittens from birth, giving you an insight to what it's like to see kittens at an age before they leave their mother!

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