Kitten Lovers: Cuteness Overload

[DennisN]

 

[DennisN]

The journey to the throne...
(what an adventurous cat)

 

[skyshrimp]

 

[berkeman]

Pretty artistic cat photo in my FB feed today...

 

[JT Smith]

Based on my calculations and backward extrapolation, Sprinkles popped into existence on May 5.
View attachment 361448

Cat gestation is about two months. Typical birth weight is 100g and a standard growth curve is linear at 100g/week for the first couple of months. Of course it varies with health and food quality but it's a pretty good predictor. So a 16oz/450g kitten is usually about 3 ½ weeks old, or 12 ½ weeks if you go back to conception.

Here's graph of a litter of 7 black kittens that I took care of. They were 4 days old when I received them. Their mom nursed the whole brood very well and they all stayed healthy. I couldn't tell them apart (or even reliably sex them) at first. It wasn't until they were almost three weeks old that I attached tiny collars so I could ID them.

The runt was small but proof that neutrinos do indeed have mass.

 

[DaveC426913]

Cat gestation is about two months. Typical birth weight is 100g and a standard growth curve is linear at 100g/week for the first couple of months. Of course it varies with health and food quality but it's a pretty good predictor. So a 16oz/450g kitten is usually about 3 ½ weeks old, or 12 ½ weeks if you go back to conception.

Oh my goodness. I'v had this wrong all this time.

I had stuck a pin in her birthdate as April 24th. I've been going with that all this time. I don't know where that came from but obviously I didn't always think that was the case.

According to that chart I'd made, Sprinkles was (extrapolated to be) 100g (3.5oz) around May 9! That's 2 weeks younger than I thought!

It was the vet that made the final assessment of her predicted age at time of acquisition (May 19).
4 weeks back from May 19 would be April 24.

So which is more trustworthy? Weight? Or vet's exam?

Here is my take: weight could easily be under, since they were feral. It is not beyond the realm of plausibility that they were bornt on or about April 24, as the vet assessed, and yet only achieved 13 ounces after 4 weeks.

 

[JT Smith]

You can only estimate. You can consider weight, teeth, eyes, motor development, and behavior. But each of these indicators comes with a lot of leeway. With experience you can often guess pretty well just by how they look and act. There's a certain progression of physical and behavioral development. Like at a certain age they couldn't care less about a wiggling string and they can't really run. But a few weeks later they run and ALL they care about is a wiggling string. A few weeks after that and they can just about fly. But still, it's just a guess.

Here's a pretty good description of kitten age determination from "Kitten Lady". She's a very reliable source of information. I notice that she has a more optimistic estimate of weight gain than I had read elsewhere (and experienced). She probably takes great care of her foster kittens.

Anyways, the vet said 3 ½ weeks when the kitten weighed about 300g. It's a decent guess since she could have been having a hard time. Maybe the teeth were a clue that the vet took into consideration as well.

You'll never know. So just pick a day.

How about April 25th? That's the date that National Hairball Awareness Day falls on this year.

 

[DennisN]

Ballade pour feline...

 

[DennisN]

 

[DennisN]

A lovely cat singing the blues :

Cat Singing Blues

 

[Ibix]

A lovely cat singing the blues :

Cat Singing Blues

Oh, ma' hooman got me neutered,
An' I cain't catch tha' red dot.
I got the blues!
I got the blues real bad...

 

[BillTre]

 

[DennisN]

 

[Averagesupernova]

I have several female cats and this year each had a litter of kittens. One early and one later. The later mama decided she didn't mind nursing the other's well grown used-to-be-kittens which are now cats. They all have been eating dry food for quite a while.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

17 years ago I started a thread introducing our new orange-tabby, Domestic shorthair kitten, Little Tyke.

Thread 'Introducing Little Tyke: A Tribute to Einstein'

Apr 27, 2008

As some of you know, we lost our very special 17 year old cat, Einstein, about a month ago. And even though we still have two more cats and a stray that visits daily, Tsu came home with this the other night.

He is three weeks old. Einstein's nickname was Little Tyke, so we named this little one in his honor.

I was watching Tsu yesterday and clocked almost five whole minutes that she wasn't looking at the new kitty.

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/4986/tyke1wt8.jpg
http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/161/tyke2za2.jpg...

• Ivan Seeking
• Introducing
• Replies: 208
• Forum: Fun, Photos and Games

Little Tyke ended up being female but the name stuck officially. Generally she was called Little Baby. Little Tike was the nickname of the orange-tabby domestic shorthair we had just lost named Einstein, who lived to be 17.

I just had to have Little Tyke put down, at age 17. And it never gets easier. It tears my heart out every time. We had many other cats and three dogs, but it is hard to imagine that just those two cats account for 34 years.

I wondered if I might want to go without any animals. But it didn't take long to realize I hate it. I've only gone three years of my life without at least one pet; up to a dozen pets when I was still married and we had the farm. I don't want to get married again and I didn't realize how alone I would feel without at least one pet.

One bonded pair of kittens coming up.

 

[DennisN]

I just had to have Little Tyke put down, at age 17. And it never gets easier. It tears my heart out every time.

My condolences.

I know how it feels. I had to put down one of my cats last year, this one.
I really, really didn't want to, but I had to. She was an absolutely amazing cat, extremely social and friendly.

One bonded pair of kittens coming up.

I look forward to seeing them!

 

[skyshrimp]

 

[Ivan Seeking]

New kitties. This was taken during their first moments in their new home. They immediately found a comfortable place to hide. But they have been playing and we are slowly getting acquainted.

 

[DennisN]

 

[Ivan Seeking]

View attachment 366927

I've always known that's who is behind the mask.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

New kitties. This was taken during their first moments in their new home. They immediately found a comfortable place to hide. But they have been playing and we are slowly getting acquainted.

View attachment 366864

They hadn't been socialized with humans yet (from a rescue) so they were very timid for the first couple of days. They would just sit and stare at me trying to decide what to make of this huge, intimidating animal. But now I have dangerous stampedes, sneak attacks, and frequent demands for attention.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

The male - black and white - just completely accepted me. His sister was lying next to me on the couch and exposing her belly to me, which requires trust. He had been a bit tentative yet and would often stay at arm's length. But he saw his sister and finally realized I am completely safe. It was like I hit a switch. He came over, licked my hand, which is a big deal for a cat, and crawled up on my lap. It only took a week.

 

[DennisN]

 

[DennisN]

 

[berkeman]

 

[DennisN]

Explanation: Some cats have a tendency to follow their owners into the bathrooms, or sit outside the bathroom while it is occupied. All of the four cats I've had did this.

 

[Averagesupernova]

There's one in every bunch.

 

[berkeman]

 

[DennisN]

 

[sbrothy]

She's getting embarrassed about me bragging about her too much...just ran up and deleted everything I had just typed. We just spent the last hour in the kitchen while she was playing with pieces of onion and garlic that fell on the floor while I was cooking. Definitely an oddball.

And yes, she's really smart. Maybe I shouldn't have gotten her the good kitten food that's supposed to be better for brain development. She knows how to show up for just enough cuddling that I forgive her for all the rest of the trouble she gets into. She hasn't destroyed anything in the house...yet. And despite all her biting attempts and attempts to climb my legs, she hasn't broken the skin yet, so I can tolerate it.

Oops...I think she just learned that trying to bite my fingers after I've been playing with hot peppers in the kitchen isn't a good idea. She just made an awful face after going after my fingers just now...I must still have had a little hot pepper on my hands! Poor thing. Maybe that'll put an end to the biting though.

Caliente gatito refuerzo! (No Spanish isn't my thing)

That's the most positive negative reinforcement I've ever heard about!