I posted a few questions several weeks ago when our 4 little "kitty bits" were just a few weeks old. Thanks for all the helpful info. I'm happy to check back in and let everyone know that all 4 kitties and their mommy are doing great!
They've started to eat solid kitten food. They use their litter box and we've started to let them explore the rest of the (KITTEN PROOFED) house! We're still monitoring that because our 2 older (16 +17 year old) female cats and our 4 year old boy are still getting adjusted to the new additions.
Actually, our older girls and our boy are more afraid of the kittens and their mommy than vice versa. All they want to do it stay OUT OF THEIR WAY! Is that normal?
Yes, this is perfectly normal. Mom is giving off warning pheremones for resident cats to stay away from her and her family.
The main question(s) I have right now are:
* Our kittens will be 7 weeks old tomorrow. I've read that that's when they should be dewormed and also read that we can get an OTC dewormer. Any advice and info there would be great!
ABSOLUTELY NO OVER THE COUNTER WORMERS! Call your vet and get the kittens in for a visit and a look-see. Vets are the only ones who should ever prescribe wormers for kittens and cats. OTC wormers can cause multiple health issues and even death especially in kittens!
* Unless we can find REALLY GOOD homes - esp., I am thinking, a home where 2 can go together, I already told hubby that they won't be going anywhere! We have a huge house and 19 acres in the woods. We also just finished putting up a 20x24'/ double story barn. It's insulated and it will have propane heat for our pet ducks in the winter so the cats can hang out in there, but also would always be welcome inside the house.
Please do not let the kittens outside until AFTER they have been spayed and neutered. Most vets will do it now at 2 pounds. But kittens are not safe outside until they are 6 months old- otherwise they are easy prey for predators.
In any case, whether they find good homes, or whether we are their good home, we want to make sure they're healthy! We also don't want to break the piggy bank on vet bills. Our current vet has always seemed a bit on the expensive side. He charges a $35 office visit fee PER CAT just to go through the door. That is on top of whatever medical procedures/ vaccines, etc.
That is pretty common- although some vets if you talk to them and take in a litter of kittens, they will only charge you one office visit. If your vet is gouging you, then find another vet you are comfortable with.
One question - they have a vet clinic at our local Petco. It includes a kitten vaccine "package". I think it's $50 per kitten for all the kitten vaccines. Has anyone else used them, and/or do you have any other suggestions?
I would suggest finding another vet with a stand-alone clinic. Not one in a Petco or PetSmart. It is sort of like going to SuperCuts for a hair cut, they get the job done, but it is second rate.
Do you think they should go to the regular vet for a new kitten check up anyway? They'd obviously need to go when it's time to get spayed, but I'm just looking for input here on what would be best for the whole crew, but also might not require a bank loan

Again call around to all the clinics and ask. Some vets will do a blanket cost for a litter of kittens- it all depends on the vet.
Can anyone send a link of "what to do when" for kittens? I've read a bunch of different stuff, but haven't found anything that's really clear. That's probably just me ... I'm sure the info is out there. But if anyone can help me find it, I'd really appreciate it!