Darlene Cheek's Blog
Posted by Darlene Cheek
Most kittens open their eyes somewhere between a week and ten days old. Some wait as long as a couple of weeks, especially with breeds that are slow to mature, but anything longer than ten days should be closely monitored. For most kittens, their eyes will simply begin to peek at you at around a week old. Within a day or two of that, their eyes will open completely.
There are times when a kitten’s eyes aren’t opening properly, and you will need to intervene. If the kitten’s eyes aren’t open by ten days old, simply take a warm, wet rag and place it on the kitten’s eyes for a moment, but be very gentle. Do this three or four times a day. If the kitten doesn’t have some type of infection, this will normally allow their eyes to open within a couple of days.
If, however, you see signs of crustiness, oozing, puss, or swelling, you should contact your veterinarian right away. Or, if it takes longer than 2 weeks and the kitten’s eyes simply haven’t opened. It is very important to never try to force the kitten’s eyes open, as you can do a lot of damage. Also, never apply ointment or any type of antibiotic to the eye of a young kitten without veterinarian consent.
If you have any questions about your kitten, please feel free to stop by Kitten Question and Answer!
Posted by Darlene Cheek
The latest email in my inbox appears to be a cry for help. The writer’s poor, dear mother has passed away, leaving the only thing she loved in the world behind – her cats. These cats also have kittens, and all need to be found homes, as in the writer’s grief, they simply can’t care for the cats. The only thing that will heal their heart is finding the perfect homes for the kitties that their mother devoted her life to. So please, if you can help, all of these cats and kittens are being sold very cheaply, at a steal really. Won’t you help?
And of course, all of this is a lie. There were a dozen of these fraudulent emails in my inbox, sent from a variety of different email addresses. Correspondence with this lady again requests that perhaps I could just pay shipping for the kittens, in advance of course, and they’d be shipped straight to my door.
Reputable people do not send unsolicited emails requesting that you buy their kittens. Responsible people screen ALL perspective adoptive kitten parents and do not need to beg folks to take their kittens. Please beware and be safe! Identity theft stems from things like this, and you can never be too careful. Not to mention having your heart broken because you are waiting for a kitten that will never come.
Posted by Darlene Cheek
I was forwarded a copy of an email that was supposedly a letter written by a woman who says that her cat perished due to a cat litter container accident. I’ve done some research and can’t find any information on this but thought that it was important to pass along. The lady says that her cats were playing around the litter container, which was still partly full. The cats managed to get the lid open. One cat jumped inside, the other cat jumped on top of the container closing the lid, and the cat inside suffocated.
If I were one of the Myth Busters, I’d say this story is plausible. I thought it was also interesting that as I was shopping for my kitty litter last week, which normally comes in just such a plastic container with a flip top lid, that the container design has changed. The lid on my regular cat litter is now completely removable. This lends more truth the story, I think!
So if you do have any of the old style flip top containers around your house, you should get rid of them right away! And remember to take them to the recycling center, and help your kitty do their part to help the environment.
Posted by Darlene Cheek
The Animal Rescue Site states that, “…some 27 million animals are given to shelters in the U.S. every year. Over 10 million animals are put to death every year in the U.S.” Their website is dedicated to helping provide food and care to animals in the care of rescue workers. You can help feed hungry animals by visiting the website once each day and clicking on the purple “Click Here to Give – It’s Free!” button.
They also have an online store with quite an array of fun pet related items, and part of the proceeds goes to help animals. Another special they had going was that every order over $20 would vaccinate one cat or dog, so it is helpful to check the site from time to time for special programs that help in different ways.
Every little bit we can do makes a difference! In the site’s first year alone, they provided over 22.9 million bowls of food to needy animals. Make sure you check out other free ways to help, and spread the word about this program to everyone you know!
Posted by Darlene Cheek
No doubt we are all aware of and concerned about the pet population. Cats in particular are at high risk due to their ability to reproduce rapidly. It is heartbreaking to look at the numbers of felines put to death every day. Rescue workers put amazing amounts of time and effort into saving as many cats as they can, and though the work is appreciated, in all honestly, it will never be enough to save every cat born into our world.
So am I encouraging others to get into breeding? Absolutely not! I have a twofold purpose behind the series of articles on breeding. First, I hope that those looking for a quick way to make a buck while working from home will see that breeding cats is not a business, and in all probability, will never clear a profit. I hope to show how much time, work, and money is involved in breeding so that those who don’t have a true passion for their breed will choose not begin breeding.
On the other hand, there are those who will begin breeding regardless, and I believe it is best that they are knowledgeable of the entire breeding process so that they can do the best job possible. An uninformed new breeder causes problems not only for their cats, but also for the families that adopt their kittens, which ultimately puts cats in shelters. Teaching new breeders can save lives!
Feel free to stop by the forum and share your thoughts!
Posted by Darlene Cheek
There may come a time, whether you are a breeder, a rescue worker, or simply have a pregnant cat, that you need to tube feed a litter of kittens. This is a tricky technique but may be the only hope for saving kittens if their mother has passed away or is sick, or if she didn’t make milk or just won’t feed her kittens. It is also a good procedure to know if you ever need to supplemental feed an at-risk kitten or one that is struggling to gain weight.
Purrinlot Cattery has posted a complete step-by-step instruction guide on tube feeding kittens. There are also two video clips of an adorable kitten being tube fed. Watching an experienced breeder try a couple of times to get it just right shows why she recommends getting a vet to show you first hand if it is your first time.
I hope I never have to tube feed a kitten, but it eases my mind tremendously that I know how to do it! Emergencies happen, and it is best to be prepared. If you have or are expecting a litter of kittens, you might also enjoy “Caring for Newborn Kittens,” which will teach you everything you need to know about raising a litter from birth to four weeks old.
If any of you have questions, please feel free to drop our forum. You will find “Pregnant Cat Question and Answer” and “Kitten Question and Answer” very helpful!