Sigh

And still not able to upload any pics. Sorry all!


I weigh the kittens every day, and I absolutely hate this stage of their development, weight wise.


For one thing, they are now so active, that their weight gains are small. Its a stage they all go through, but from fat little sausages packing on maybe 15 or more grams per day, they are putting on roughly half that. Sometimes less.


Sometimes, the scales can even register a drop. Mama is still toileting the babies, and a newly fed or toileted kitten can weigh perhaps ten grams or more in either direction. Combine this with a small weight gain in real terms, and the scales will show the kitten has 'lost' weight.


Of course you can't take this for granted, and a kitten who has shown a decrease in weight must be observed very carefully indeed to make sure she isn't sick. This is where records come in handy because sometimes you see a kitten making a small gain or even a loss, actually showed an unexpectedly big gain the day before.


Jewel worried me yesterday with a 5g 'loss', meaning I annoyed her thoroughly weighing her every few hours to check she was gaining and the loss wasn't down to dehydration or sickness. It wasn't, she was her normal charming self and put 9g on in the past 24 hours which isn't amazing but isn't a loss either. Jewel has never been a big gainer and she's very active. but still. I like a plus sign in my daily chart!!!


Anyway, this stage is generally over in a week or so, but in the meantime it makes me just a little jittery. There's always something to worry about though. Once this stage is over there'll be toileting, and introducing solid food, and... yeah well, you get the idea!