Zhang Zian and Lu Yiyun both had their eyes fixed on the bucket Snowy held .
"You got a Crucian Carp? A fresh one?" Zian asked, doubtful .
Snowy nodded proudly . "It's very fresh, straight from the lake!"
Zhang Zian took the bucket from her hands and lifting the lid to see a big, fat fish .
"Impressive! You've helped me a lot, I was really worried . " Zhang Zian closed the lid to prevent the fish from jumping out . "Snowy, do you even know how to fish?"
"Not at all, I don't have the patience . My uncle actually caught it, but I took it from him . " Snowy waved her hands as she clarified, "He's still fishing if you need more, I can bring them over for you . "
Zhang Zian pondered for a moment . "The food market isn't open, so I might have to trouble you for more . "
"It's alright, being able to help makes me happy . " Snowy smiled . "You don't have to be so polite with me, you can go ahead and make the stew for the kittens . "
Zhang Zian told Lu Yiyun to accompany Snowy as he took the fish up to the second floor and started boiling the water .
Since there were no customers, Lu Yiyun brought Snowy over to look at the kittens .
"Aw, they're so cute!" Snowy cried after she saw the kittens sleeping beside their mothers .
The delivery rooms of the two mothers were next to each other . The more she looked at the kittens, the cuter they were .
Even after drinking the fish stew, the mothers wouldn't produce milk immediately . Lu Yiyun did what Zhang Zian said to do, she boiled water and mixed it with goat milk powder, then added some children's multivitamins to the mixture before letting it cool . Once it reached 40 degrees, Lu Yiyun took a dropper and sucked up some milk, then started to feed the kittens one by one .
"Can I try?" Snowy asked .
"Sure . " Lu Yiyun finished feeding the kitten she was holding and handed the dropper to Snowy .
Snowy hugged a small kitten . "Hi, cutie . I'm going to feed you!"
The mother stood from her nesting area and watched Snowy since it wasn't familiar with her .
The kittens that hadn't opened their eyes felt their mother leave, so they started to cry .
The mother was slightly relieved when it saw that Snowy didn't have any intention to harm her child, so it went back to her kittens .
Lu Yiyun corrected Snowy's stance . "Snowy, you've never fed a kitten before, right? They have to be on their belly . Use your hands to support its belly and slightly raise its head up or they'll choke . "
Snowy did as she was told .
"Remember, only a drop of milk on their tongue at a time," Lu Yiyun reminded her .
This was just like fishing, it tests your patience . Feeding 11 kittens little by little? An impatient person would get frustrated immediately .
Time slowly ticked away . Although Snowy had no patience for fishing, she was surprisingly very focused on feeding the kittens . She wasn't in the least bit frustrated or annoyed . She even asked, "I understand feeding the kittens milk with children's multivitamins, it's very nutritious . Why do you need Crucian Carp stew to stimulate the mother's milk?"
"It's healthier and better for the kittens to drink their mother's milk . Kittens that depend on milk powders have a higher mortality rate, and they grow up to be thin and small .
Zhang Zian put on a kitchen mitt and carried over a warm pot of the stew . The stew also had goat milk powder, so it was a milky-white color .
The two mothers had become used to eating canned food, but the stew would taste better . They came out of their nesting area and lowered their heads to sip the stew .
"The kittens are still pretty young, so they need to be fed once every three hours . That's too many kittens for one person to feed everyday," Zhang Zian continued .
Snowy was about to put her kitten down when Zhang Zian pointed at the tissues and said, "Wipe its mouth, then gently massage its side . "
Snowy did what Zhang Zian said and started to stroke the kitten . A few moments later, the kitten opened its mouth and burped .
"After you feed them, you have to burp it or they'll have gas," Zhang Zian explained .
The two mothers finished the stew . One of them ran towards the litter box in the corner of the room to relieve itself before it went back to the nesting area .
With Snowy there to feed the kittens, Lu Yiyun had nothing to do, so she left to clean the litter box .
Not long later, Lu Yiyun ran back in a panic holding the litter box .
"Zhang Zian, not good!"
"What happened?" Zhang Zian asked .
"The cat has diarrhea!" Lu Yiyun anxiously pointed at the poop in the litter box for Zhang Zian to see .
Zhang Zian looked at it and tried to calm her down . "There's no need to panic . That's not diarrhea, it's just a soft poop . It happens frequently to mothers when they're still nursing their kittens, take a closer look . "
He pointed at one of the mothers .
The mother licked its kitten's fur from head to tail, even the kitten's butt area .
As a result of the kitten being stimulated, pee and poop slipped out .
Without hesitation, the mother ate the pee and poop before she moved on to the next kitten and repeated the process .
"I…thought only dogs…eat poop . "Snowy was so shocked she started stuttering .
A thought appeared in her head, What if Snowball ate its own poop and then came to lick me? That would be disgusting .
It was Lu Yiyun's first time witnessing this and she had the same thought as Snowy, but with her own cat, Jasmine .
"This is a special situation . " Zhang Zian laughed . "When kittens are newly born, they aren't able to relieve themselves on their own . They require their mother's stimulation to do so, or else they'd die of constipation . After their mother eats their waste, it'll have soft poop . This only happens when the kittens are still young, so don't worry . "
Both Snowy and Lu Yiyun let out a sigh of relief .
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