Abandoned kittens

I found 2 abandoned kittens yesterday. I have a female cat that stays on my front porch....however, she is not the mother of the kittens...she was never pregnant. This morning she has taken on the mother role for the babies including grooming and trying to nurse them. Is there any way for me to tell if the kittens are getting anything from her? Her nipples are not big...they look normal. I have been giving the kittens replacement milk...is this what I should continue to do?

Someone with more experience and knowledge will be along soon, but I think that is safe for now. I would make sure to keep an eye on them and continue with the kitty replacement milk. Good luck with the little babies, and thank you for rescuing them!

A kitten milk replacement is really about all you can do. The best way to make sure the kittens are getting enough and remaining healthy is to weigh them each day at the same time. They should be gaining 7-10 grams daily. The following webistes will give you a lot of information on how much to feed and how often as well as how to wean them when the time is right.

Feeding your Kitten

Caring for Newborns

How to Feed Kittens

Hey--
I think it's a good idea to let the mom mother the kittens in terms of socialization. How old are they? Are their eyes open?

While you can let her mother the kittens, you also need to be bottle feeding them, especially if their eyes aren't open, or they're any less than four weeks of age. Older, and you'll want to still do some bottle feedings, but you can start to wean them onto regular kitten food.

The suckling of the kittens can sometimes produce a milk flow, but that takes time, and it's longer than they probably can go without any real sustenance.

Let the surrogate mom love 'em, as they probably need it, but also make sure you're providing for their food needs. Oh, and regular old cow's milk won't do--you need a formula specifically for kittens.

Their age is also a big factor in all of this as well. Do you have any pictures?

I just wanted to say good luck!

Bless you for taking those kittens. It is wonderful that you have a maternal cat, even if she cannot nurse them, she can teach them what kittens need to know and keep them clean and stimulated to potty. Please keep us posted on their progress, and some pics would be great.

watch her when she tries to nurse the kittens. if they become frustrated and switch nipples often then there not getting any milk.

Thank you to all for the wonderful responses! Heres an update....they will not take the replacement milk..have even had other people try. They insist on just continuing to nurse on my female cat. They are not whining and wimpering to indicate that they are hungry at all! I am so confused. Is there a way that she could have started to produce milk for them...since they have been stimulating her so much??? Is there a way I can tell if she is producing?? Her nipples still look completely normal.
Thank you ALL for your wonderful replies!!! What a wonderful forum!!!

Maybe if you gently squeeze a nipple and see if any milk comes out? I'm not sure how else to tell.

Well, it's possible, just not likely. The breasts of a nursing cat have little hair surrounding her teats, and they appear to be a bit swollen. The nipples are generally pinkish and bigger than most normal cats. You could try squeezing a little to see if any milk comes out..

Do you have a scale? Weigh the kittens and if they're gaining weight steadily, then they're obviously getting it from somewhere!

If your female was never preganant then she will NOT produce milk. You need to bottlefeed them! Don't rely on the female cat to provide nutrition to them, as she has nothing to provide.

Actually, I'm pretty sure that with enough stimulation, they can produce milk. While I could be mistaken, I've even heard of cases of men in the human population doing certain things and being made to produce milk to, I guess, help out their SOs or whatnot.

Again, could be mistaken, but I do believe it's possible.

Thank you!!

any guess on there age? the nursing could be a comfort thing more then a nutritional need(my 4 mo olds started nursing on my boy cat... ! if the kitten can walk without wobbling its about5 weeks old(give take) if its running more like 6+ if its missing also the eyes still blue?