Need some guidance for Mommy and Newborns!

My little cat, "Little Miss Kitters" just had her first litter 3 days ago, (4/30/07). She is not quite a year old herself, and now I have some concerns as this is also my first litter, my first cat, etc!

1. Does mommy's age factor in with any problems that may arise in herself or her little ones?
2. Sometimes she seems indifferent to them, sometimes bewildered as if she is not quite sure what to do.
3. How much KMR should I give Mommy a day? I gave her some this morning, but she went into the yard a few minutes later and got sick!
4. How can you tell if the little ones' nutritional needs are being met?
I'm sorry for all the questions at once, but I love this kitty and her babies, yet I feel so inadequate! I'm really thinking of taking her to the local cat adoption agency, although it would break my heart! But, I really want her to get the best of care! My complete story with this cat will be on my profile. Thank you all for any advice you can give me!

Kiss your kitty babies!

Originally Posted by fawxfyre

My little cat, "Little Miss Kitters" just had her first litter 3 days ago, (4/30/07). She is not quite a year old herself, and now I have some concerns as this is also my first litter, my first cat, etc!

1. Does mommy's age factor in with any problems that may arise in herself or her little ones?
2. Sometimes she seems indifferent to them, sometimes bewildered as if she is not quite sure what to do.
3. How much KMR should I give Mommy a day? I gave her some this morning, but she went into the yard a few minutes later and got sick!
4. How can you tell if the little ones' nutritional needs are being met?
I'm sorry for all the questions at once, but I love this kitty and her babies, yet I feel so inadequate! I'm really thinking of taking her to the local cat adoption agency, although it would break my heart! But, I really want her to get the best of care! My complete story with this cat will be on my profile. Thank you all for any advice you can give me!

Kiss your kitty babies!

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first of let me welcome to you ts TCS , this is a wonderfull site.

im glad the birth went well and the kittens are doing well.
sometimes when a cat is young herself and has kittens they do get a bit confused and not to sure what to do. as long as she is feeding them , cleaning them , and stimulating them to go toilet everything should be fine.
i only ever give mum cat replacer milk if i think she needs it. otherwise she is best to be on a good quilty kitten food wet and dry.
to keep an eye on the kittens eating enough , i always find it best to weigh them daily at the same time each day. if they gain everything is fine , this way you can spot problems quickly if they start to lose weight.

i thing i will say is please do not let her outside , she can become pregnant withen a week of giving birth , and this really isnt healthy for her. once the kittens are 8 weeks old the mum can /should be spayed then at 12 weeks the kittens can be homed.
please dont feel inadequate , if you didnt care or want to do what was best you wouldnt be hear asking the questions.
if you need advise with anything else please just ask.

Some 1st time mothers are not sure what to do - but I've seen young and older 1st time mothers do well.

The mother doesn't NEED KMR - that's for weaning kittens. All she needs is a good quality kitten food (dry or canned) for her extra nutrition. So don't give mom the KMR.

Kittens getting enough milk will not be crying a lot.

Hi fawxfyre, welcome to TCS.

You have received some great advice in the above posts. Please don't take Kitters to the local adoption agency unless you feel you cannot afford to feed her and later, the kittens. She needs you right now, you are doing fine.

Thank you for the replies! The babies are not crying, and they do move around a lot. The only reason I was giving mom the KMR is that I read it on some other websites a few weeks ago, and it was before she had the kittens. It is the financial burden that has caused me to only VAUGELY
consider taking her to the adoption place. I cannot keep her in the house at the moment, as I am staying at my parents right now to get back on my feet financially, and she says no cats in the house. (I already have a small dog in the house, and she doesn't really care for that! ) Little Miss Kitters is such a sweet little momma, and I love her to pieces! Especially after the way we met up! She was either a stray or abandoned last June on our front porch; severly malnourished, starving, and unable to take more than a couple of steps before she would fall. I started immediately feeding her and giving her plenty of liquids, and before you knew it, she grew into a beautiful Persian mix! I'll try and get a good pic of her to post. For someone being an avid dog person, I'm sure crazy about this little furball, and only want the best one can give her! She deserves it!

Right now, they are in a spacious cat carrier, and I clean it every day and do what I can to make them comfortable and warm! I'll let you know how they progress! Thanks again!!

Wow! a week? Geez! And that is a problem, unfortunately....I just saw your reply after I posted mine. I stated in there that my mom won't allow her to stay in the house! And I certainly don't want her to get preggie again! Thank you for letting me know when I can get her spayed...I was wondering about that because I certainly will do that! I'm supposing she will give that mating call again? If I hear her do that, she will be indoors; at night at least! Thank you again!!

i hope they do stay warm enough outside , and i hope no preditors gets to them. and i also hope mamma dosnt fall pregnant again soon.
i can see why now you said what you said about the animal shelter because you want the best care for her , and her kittens not being indoors isnt really in her best intrest.
good luck i hope everything turns out for the best.

they will mate weather its day or night.
also i dont know if this statment is true or not , but iv just read that a male might kill kittens to make them go into heat quicker? but again i dont know how true this is.

Tasha, that is very true. Many male members of the feline family, including lions, tigers, cheetahs etc. do it.

If the worst happens and she is already pregnant again when her current litter reaches 8 weeks (she most likley will be), you can still go ahead with the spay. It is sad, I know but it's the best thing.

I love this site! I am trying to keep mommy and babies fairly safe; they are in a cat carrier and it does have a door on it. When I feel they may be in danger, I will close that door to where she can still push it open, (unless I think she needs to stay in it for a while!), and the carrier is situated between two walls and a rather large rocker/recliner. And, there are a few other things that are in the front of it. The cats in the neighborhood are feral cats, so they don't come around unless they know we are not going to be coming and going out of the house. I think they have learned with me I may pop outside at 3am! (I am one of those late to bed early to rise people). I go out several times in the evening to check on her and babies, and my last check is usually bet. midnight and 1am, unless doggy needs to go out after that. I'm going to try and post a pic in the next day or so. I really appreciate all your help and advice! I LOVE my animals!!