Kittens ~ 4th Day ~

So they are 4 days old now and just too cute!!  We're missing the other two kittens, mostly Cupid :(  They were buried at my Mom's place.

Rex was 5.3 ounces today at 3 days old.  Sulley was 5oz and Boo is the new "runt" at 4.8oz.

Here are the pictures from today ...

Rex

Sulley

Boo

Autumn is such a good Momma ...

Of course the kittens crack us up with the way they pass out after their tummies get full ...

Rex is a Momma's boy ...  he's always curled up by her unless she has left to go do whatever she needs to do...

Boo is just like........ ugh... why did I eat so much!?!?

And Sulley is a bit more independent .. she doesn't need to be right next to mom, but close by is good!

My Sweet Autumn

I still can't believe the variety of colors and types of kittens she had...

Momma

(that's Autumn's paw)

Marnie still isn't sure what to think of it all ....

Three little kittens....

Late night feeding....

I took some pictures of Sulley meowing ....

Kittens ... 3rd Day .....

They are 2 days old now.   Junebug passed away last night ... but Cupid seems to be doing a lot better.  His cry which was really weak (to the point where I had to hold him up to my ear to hear him) is better - and a lot louder.  He's more active and he just seems to have perked up.  So we continue with the hand feedings.  He is suppose to drink about 1 1/2 tablespoons of milk replacer a day.  (It's two tablespoons per 4oz of weight, over a 24 hour period.)  ... monitor their temp and just keep trucking.......

 Today we decided to start weighing them all - so we catch if there are any problems sooner than later.  

So this morning ...  Mr. Rex weighed in at 4.8oz ...  by far the biggest of the bunch!

Boo weighed in at 4 oz even  (actually 3.97oz rounded up)

Cupid is definitely struggling at only 3.3oz.

And Sulley is the second biggest at 4.3 lbs (4.29 rounded up)

Momma likes to take breaks between feedings, so we make sure they keep warm with the sock warmers.

Marnie - at one point - thought they were cold.  She was covering them up.  You can see Autumn's nose in the top left corner of the picture.  This ....... is also the last picture taken of Cupid alive.  He is the one you can see good in the picture.  And Sulley's paw reaching out.

 So ....  at some point, the four kittens were laying together when Cupid started to meow loudly.  I watched Autumn, and she didn't react.  So after a little bit of him continuing to meow loudly, I picked him up and moved him next to her.  She immediately started to clean him and attack his butt, he started to quiet down.  So I looked back at my laptop, and saw her get up off the bed out of the corner of my eye.  So I looked, and he was laying there.  At first, I thought he had fallen asleep and was just laying there content.  But after a few seconds, my stomach sank and I reached over and picked him up - and his head fell back.  So I knew.  Dennis thought he may have had some issues with his heart maybe, a friend on facebook said that kidney issues are pretty common ... so ... we don't know.

So it was another sad day.....

Momma is just ... exhausted ...  not really, but isn't that what it looks like in this picture?

Regardless, we're down to three ....

Kittens .... Day 2 .......

Day 2 ....

Morning updates ....

Rex

 Rex

 Boo

 Cupid

 Sulley

 Sulley

 Marnie checking out the babies

 The four stronger ones........... but at this point, I realize that Cupid is in trouble too.  His meow is so weak I have to hold him up to my ear to hear him.  He's not nursing like the others and he's not as active as he was.  So it's time to start hand feedings and keeping him warm.

 Momma is ever so watchful. I'm so thankful she doesn't mind my meddling.  :)   She - infact - doesn't like being in the box with them.  She wants them on the bed during the day ... so I hang out and make sure everything goes right and they are left alone.

 Nathan came in to see ...  he knows not to touch the kittens.

 Kittens in a basket.

 Boo, Rex in the middle, and Sulley ... with Momma making sure they are all good...

 Cupid and Rex... you can see the size difference.   Other than Junebug - who's still hanging on at this point, Cupid is definitely the smallest, and Rex is the biggest.

 Momma feeding them.  See how Cupid is there, but not nursing?   So I start to hand feed him every two hours.

 Here are the little baby socks I made rice packs out of.  I filled them with rice, sewed them up, and we warm them up in the microwave for a couple of seconds every hour.

 Cupid is hugging Junebug .....

  Cupid is hugging Junebug .....

 This is the last picture taken of Junebug before she took her last breathes....  (you can see how her back legs are limp and non-functioning) ....

 Cupid's heart ... I love his heart!   And then there were 4 ........

 And then there were four.....

 the four kittens with the warming socks.......