Kitten Watch Part 8: Countdown to 8 weeks!

Daisy’s kittens fast approaching 8 weeks old and are almost ready to begin the next chapter of their lives. Soon the kittens will be ready for their first vaccinations and final health checks. Vaccinations are very important as they will help protect the kittens against cat flu, enteritis and feline leukaemia. They will need a second vaccination three weeks after the first to ensure that they are fully protected.

Today is also a big day for Daisy as she is currently at the vets being spayed. Daisy can now enjoy her future without having to worry about raising anymore kittens!  Now she is neutered she will be at a much lower risk of contracting the feline aids virus and the risk of some cancers will also be reduced.


Daisy has been neutered and is recovering well from her operation

Daisy and her kittens are now split permanently and spend all day and night apart. Daisy does not mind and seems to be enjoying the peace and quiet. Her kittens are getting along great too. They are all fully litter trained and eating meat and biscuits independently. They are really enjoying playing in their outside pen together, spending the majority of the day playing with balls, boxes and furry toy mice! The kittens will zoom around and then fall asleep exhausted in a moment. As tempting as it is to pick up or cuddle a sleeping kitten it is important to leave them when they are asleep as sleep is highly important for growth and development. Just like a baby a kitten will need lots of sleep!

Emma and Dewi relaxing after breakfast

A common reason for play aggression in cats towards people is due to learning at a young age that hands or feet are toys! We encourage everybody who adopts a kitten to never use fingers or toes to play with kittens. Instead we would recommend toys on strings or feathers to discourage your kitten from attacking your hands in play. These toys also help develop a kitten’s balance and eye-paw co-ordination and are lots of fun!

Play Time!

We cannot believe how quickly the last 8 weeks have flown by!  We wish Daisy and her kittens the best of luck for the future and hope they will all be very happy in their new homes.

Daisy and her kittens are likely to be available for adoption next week, if you are interested in adopting Daisy or one of her kittens, please call the centre on 01656 724396 or email bridgend@cats.org.uk the week beginning 30 April. If you would like more information about our adoption process, please visit our website www.bridgend.cats.org.uk Unfortunately cats cannot be reserved over the phone and anyone interested must come to meet the cat in person, and only when the cat / kittens have been declared fit to home by our vets.

Daisy's kittens 8 weeks old

Daisy's kittens - new born

Daisy is currently our sponsor cat and you can help contribute towards the cost of caring for Daisy, her kittens and other unwanted cats by becoming a Cats Protection sponsor, to get started, please visit here 
Alternatively you can make a one off donation to our kitten appeal at http://bit.ly/2GDxM7P or by texting BRKW48 followed by £1, £2, £3, £4, £5 or £10 to 70070.

Daisy is one of the lucky cats who has found her way into our care, sadly every year many cats give birth out doors with no proper shelter and care. Although we all love seeing mums with kittens at the centre, we would always advocate getting cats neutered as this is the only effective way to reduce unwanted cats in the UK. A fact which surprises everyone is that one female cat can be responsible for a staggering 20,000 descendants in just five years! For help with neutering your cat, please click here

Kitten Watch Part 7: Socialisation

Our sponsor cat Daisy and her kittens are now weaned to be split for the whole day now! That means the kittens are eating mashed up kitten meat and biscuits independently and are only with Daisy over night now.

Here at CP Bridgend we have a socialisation chart which we start when the kittens are from 2 weeks old. It starts off with just handling the kittens and week by week progresses to more advanced steps such as playing with specific toys, feeling different textures underfoot and using different types of litter. All of this is to get them ready for the big wide world that is ahead of them once they leave the centre.



This week Daisy's kittens have been exploring their outside pen, we have provided them with lots of different toys and textures to get them interested in their surroundings. The floor in the back run of the pen is concrete and a little bit of a shock to the kittens when they first touch the cool floor (a big difference from their cosy under floor heated pen!) so they don't like to spend too much time out there to begin with however, as with most litters of kittens, once they start going out to play they cannot get enough of it!

We put down several disposable carpet samples to get the kittens used to the feel of carpet, we also use small cardboard boxes with shapes cut into them for some fun enrichment - we often put a Ping-Pong ball inside and the kittens love it!




We also continue handling the kittens individually. We hold them away from their litter mates so they get some one on one human contact and we do little tasks such as checking in their ears, smoothing their heads and touching their paws and tail. This sets them up for being handled in their new homes and also helps with vet checks.




We also have a CD that we play into the corridor which contains household noises such as the hoover, the television and laughter. This gets the kittens used to the sounds that go on around everyday homes.

Another task is getting the kittens to use their cat flap! As you can see below these 4 are having no trouble popping in and out as they please now :)



Daisy is currently our sponsor cat and you can help contribute towards the cost of caring for Daisy, her kittens and other unwanted cats by becoming a Cats Protection sponsor, to get started, please visit here

Alternatively you can make a one off donation to our kitten appeal at http://bit.ly/2GDxM7P or by texting BRKW48 followed by £1, £2, £3, £4, £5 or £10 to 70070.

Daisy is one of the lucky cats who has found her way into our care, sadly every year many cats give birth out doors with no proper shelter and care. Although we all love seeing mums with kittens at the centre, we would always advocate getting cats neutered as this is the only effective way to reduce unwanted cats in the UK. A fact which surprises everyone is that one female cat can be responsible for a staggering 20,000 descendants in just five years! For help with neutering your cat, please click here







Kitten Watch Part 6, Daisy and kittens have a busy week!

Daisy’s kittens are 5 weeks now!  They have turned into little bundles of energy and fun, Daisy is glad to be having regular breaks away from them to rest and have some quality time alone. She particularly enjoys have some fuss and attention during these times and loves having behind her ears scratched.

The kittens are walking around freely and  playing with their siblings and toys. They are continuing to develop their independence although they don’t wander far from their mum or litter mates.  They spend a lot of time play fighting and pouncing on each other, this allows them to learn boundaries and to develop their hunting skills.  

The kittens are now eating well, they particularly enjoy eating kitten meat but have started crunching on biscuits too.  They are grooming themselves and each other and have started to use their litter tray.

The kittens are all eating well

Daisy having her second vaccination.

This week mum Daisy had her second vaccination and is now covered for cat flu, enteritis and feline leukaemia for a year.  She was given a quick check by our vet at the same time and is fit and healthy.  She is maintaining her body condition extremely well considering she has 4 hungry mouths to feed.

 The kitten has also had their 5 week old vet check, they have had their eyes, ears, nose, mouth, heart, and general body condition checked and have been given the all clear by our vet.  They have also had their first worming treatment, this is an important part of kitten care and will need to be carried out regularly through their life.  We always use worming and flea treatment products prescribed by our vets and advise everyone to do the same as it is safer to use prescribed products and they are much more effective.

Dewi having his 5 week vet check.

It is amazing how much the kittens have grown and developed in just 5 weeks, they have grown from helpless little bundles to independent bundles of fund and energy.

Daisy's kittens - new born

Daisy' kittens - 5 weeks old

The kitten’s personalities continue to develop and it’s amazing how different they are from each other, Daffodil and Dewi are super confident, they are always up to mischief and are particularly playful, Daffodil’s favourite toy at the moment is Daisy’s tail!  Emma & Eira are quieter and more reserved, but they are growing in confidence every day and learning at trick or two from their siblings. 

 

Being a mum is exhausting and even kittens have to stop some time to rest, and sleep.  The kittens spend between 16 – 20 hours a day sleeping, even though they are peacefully nodding, their bodies are hard at work!  Their brain and nervous system develops whilst they are catnapping, their bones and muscles strengthen and tone allowing them to move with grace and athleticism.  Sleep also keeps the kitten’s immune system in good shape allowing them to fight off disease and infections.

Daisy and kittens having a well earned rest

Daisy is currently our sponsor cat and you can help contribute towards the cost of caring for Daisy, her kittens and other unwanted cats by becoming a Cats Protection sponsor, to get started, please visit here

Alternatively you can make a one off donation to our kitten appeal at http://bit.ly/2GDxM7P or by texting BRKW48 followed by £1, £2, £3, £4, £5 or £10 to 70070. 

 Daisy is one of the lucky cats who has found her way into our care, sadly every year many cats give birth out doors with no proper shelter and care.  Although we all love seeing mums with kittens at the centre, we would always advocate getting cats neutered as this is the only effective way to reduce unwanted cats in the UK.  A fact which surprises everyone is that one female cat can be responsible for a staggering 20,000 descendants in just five years!   For help with neutering your cat, please click here