Please Help Me

[CatLuvr1978]

My cat won't have anything to do with her newborn kittens this is her first litter and mine also. I have no idea what to do. Can someone out there please give me some much needed advice. I don't want these poor kittens to die. I had to help her with the birth of most of them 4 out of 5. Do you think maybe it is because my scent is on them? Please help. Any advice will be much appreciated. Thank you.:confused: :(

[RWDVM]

Dear CatLuvr:

I am a vet and I would be happy to help. Unfortunately, not all cats (or dogs) are good mothers. This occurrs most commonly when they are first time mothers. It has nothing to do with you having your scent on them.

If Mom will not let the kittens nurse, then you need to feed them by hand, or they will die. At this age, they need to feed every four hours. You can get kitten milk replacer (KMR) at any pet store, as well as the bottles necessary to allow them to suckle. At first, you will also have to stimulate them to urinate and defacate. Mom is supposed to do this by licking the anal/genital region. You can do it by gently swabbing the anal/genital area with a cotton ball soaked with warm water.

Best of luck to you. Please feel free to contact me if you need any further assistance. You can contact me through the board or through my veterinary advice and health management web site at the web address listed below.

Sincerely,

Roger L. Welton, DVM
Veterinarian, Webmaster http://www.askdvm.com

[CatLuvr1978]

Thank you so much for your advice. Although I must say I am still a little nervous about all of this. Right now she seems to be doing fine. She gave birth to another kitten and is now with all of them and allowing them to feed and grooming them. Hopefully she will remain consistent with this and all will be fine but just in case I think I will purchase some of the formula you referred to and the bottles also. Should I also purchase a warming mat of some sort to put under part of the bedding just in case? Thank you again.

['too crazy]

Hi Catluvr, Don't worry about feeding them, you will be fine if you end up having to do it. I have fed many babies and they do OK. I have had to make the hole in the nipple bigger so you may need to do that. Maybe mama kitty didn't take care of them because she still had one more to go. If you end up taking care of them, just use a heating pad with a blanket over it on keep it on low heat. Good luck. Keep us posted on how things are going.

[originalfatc]

lol, toocrazy beat me, I was going to offer maybe she still had more to go.

Hopefully she is fine now.

My cat Joey's mom was not a motherly type, each litter they had to hold her down to feed the kittens. (does that make you wonder, like, why they let HER have kittens?)

In Joey's case she rejected 4 out of 8 (yes, huge litter) at 2 weeks for no apparent reason.

I kept him in a small crate with a heating pad set low and a pad on top so he didnt get burned. I carried him around in a pouch (hence *joey*) and fed him every two hours with kitty replacement milk. Then like a baby, I had to burp him and encourage him to eliminate.

At 4 weeks he plowed into the food bowl because the milk didnt come fast enough for him. I fed him watered down strained meat mixed with krm. He was a little piggy! He stood in the center of the bowl and gobbled!
Right after that he pulled away from me and used the litter box by himself. I think it embarrassed the *big boy* that Mom would make him poop.

He's almost 6 years old now and in great health!
Keep us posted!

[CatLuvr1978]

Thank you all so very much. She is doing great now. Feeding and taking care of them wonderfully. Although she does seem still a bit on edge but I guess that is because it is her first litter. Still I have all I need on hand just in case. I appreciate all of the advice.

[catman1]

To the Vet.

Roger do you think its best that she pulls the kittens and feed them by hand.I have heard that cats will sometimes eat there young when they don't want them.
I raised baby animals with a baby doll bottle and it worked fine.If i am wrong please correct me.
catman