Embracing Exhaustion

The first night was the hardest night. 

I had no idea how much work goes into keeping these little ones healthy!

Neonatal kittens can fall subject to a host of different viruses, parasites, bacterial or fungal infections, and other diseases, particularly if not cared for properly and/or separated from their mother too soon. It’s difficult to tell if they’re experiencing symptoms from such illnesses and their health can go downhill fast. Even if they appear outwardly healthy one day, the next day can be an entirely different story.

Due to their fragility, newborn kittens require around-the-clock care and attention. They must be fed every two to three hours throughout the day, or as their hunger demands; they must be kept at a certain temperature (85 to 90 degrees in their first few weeks of life, since they cannot yet thermoregulate), and they must be stimulated to go to the bathroom (since they can’t poop or pee on their own). Typically, a mother cat (the queen) does all the work: cleaning them, feeding them, and keeping them warm—until they’re approximately four to five weeks of age, when they can begin to be weaned off the mother’s milk and taught to use a litter box.  

But if the mother cat is no longer around, these responsibilities fall to whoever is willing to take care of them. In this case, that happens to be me. 

And let me tell you—it is not easy! 

I spent the entire first night trying to get the kittens to eat. They’d grown used to their mother’s nipples, so warm kitten formula out of a plastic baby bottle wasn’t cutting it. They had warmed up at that point, snuggling together in the box with a fleecy blanket draped over a heating pad. 

Slowly, I was able to pique their interest in the food, but woke up every half hour to hour that night to their incessant meows and hunger. The orange one refused to eat, but cried continuously out of hunger. At one point, I tried getting him to lick the kitten formula off my chest and my fingers. I did everything I could just to get a few drops in his system. 

Early in the morning before the rest of the house was awake, I began to sob. 

I felt like I’d messed up by taking the kittens inside; I worried the mother cat was looking for them and knew she could take better care of them. Everything I read online said kittens have the best chance of survival if they’re left with their mother for at least the first four weeks. But I also read that if she’s been away from them for more than three or four hours and there is no sign of her return (particularly if the kittens are in some sort of danger due to predators or the elements), a human should intervene. 

I felt conflicted, frustrated, and confused. All I wanted was to help these kitties by keeping them warm and safe, but now they weren’t eating much and it seemed like I would never be able to provide for them what their own mother could. Had I made a drastic mistake? How could I possibly have the energy and resources to bottle feed them and stimulate them to go to the bathroom another four weeks? What if none of them survived? 

When most people think of kittens, they think of bouncing, lively bundles of fun, with a lot of energy and playfulness. That’s what I look forward to seeing in four to six more weeks. But right now, the kittens are so young that they are just beginning to open their eyes, and their hearing won’t begin to develop for another week or so. Their umbilical cords just fell off naturally within the past few days, and they haven’t grown any teeth. They can’t walk—they basically crawl on their bellies and use their claws to climb up the side of their box. 

Though they’re beginning to sleep more and for longer periods of time, they also eat more and more every day, and when they’re hungry, they’ll let me know. It’s pretty overwhelming when all four kittens wake up at once and start screaming at me to feed them—crying and meowing in a shrill, never-ending cacophony until I can satisfy each one. 

Luckily, they’ve developed a bit more of a routine, with feedings every few hours throughout the day and only once or twice throughout the night. They’re starting to sleep anywhere from six to seven hours at night, so I can at least get a solid four to five hours of sleep before they wake me up in the morning.

Even though that first night was rough, I’ve grown accustomed to these cuties and settled in to my new role as a mother. I know I shouldn’t get too attached. After all, they were so fragile when I first found them that I honestly didn’t imagine that they would all survive. I thought I shouldn’t even name them because it would make saying goodbye that much harder, whether they survived and went off to new homes or didn’t make it through the first week. But it’s hard to see such growth and progress in baby animals without developing an attachment, particularly when you spend every moment observing and feeding and caring for them. 

So, we’ve given names to the kittens! And their personalities have completely won me over. 

This guy here is Queso. He is the largest of the litter and weighs in close to 10 ounces at the moment. (For reference, he was about 4.8 ounces when we weighed him two days after we brought him inside). Queso has an energetic, feisty personality and LOVES to eat. He’s grown well accustomed to the baby bottle and frantically reaches for it when he knows it’s near. (P.S. The brown marks on the blanket in these photos are not poop…it’s a tortilla blanket!)

This one here is Turtle. She is the second largest, with a tortoiseshell coat like her mama. She has big, blue eyes and loves to look around. She’s very curious and calm, with a little bit of a sassy side, especially when you don’t feed her first before the others. She loves to clamber over her siblings to get to the top of the pile, whether she’s sleeping or eating.

This is Bandit, the runt of the litter. He’s grown a bit slower than the others and was very skinny when we first found him, but he’s gaining weight nicely. He’s very shy and sleepy, with a special desire to groom his fellow litter mates…this has of course resulted in a face covered in pee on various occasions. Thus Bandit now has a small eye infection—but he is also getting very accustomed to washcloth baths.

And last but not least is Calypso (Callie for short). Callie is sweet and shy, with curious eyes and a cute button nose. She loves to be held and enjoys pets behind the ears, and is the best eater of the whole group. As soon as she latches on to the bottle, she suckles away until her little belly is round and her eyes begin to droop. Feeding Callie is the best!

Make sure to check back in to hear about the kitten’s third week. Many milestones are coming up and I, for one, am excited for when they can have a bit more independence with the litter box!