Our cat Stars had kittens about 7 weeks ago. Since then she has looked unhealthy, very skinny, greasy-looking coat. She is about 1.5 years old and before she had kittens she had a shiny coat and healthy weight. At first I figured it was because she'd just had kittens and was too busy with them to care much for herself, but now that the kittens are not nursing much and she doesn't spend much time with them, I'm worried because she hasn't started looking any healthier. She eats and drinks and poops fine, and no other signs that she might be sick. Any ideas?
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New mom cat not looking healthy?
- Thread starter kitkat5505
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If she were mine I'd have my vet look her over to rule out any problems.
Also, what has she been eating? Pregnant and nursing cats need a high quality kitten food to keep up their own health.
Hope she feels better soon and it turns out to be nothing serious.
Also, what has she been eating? Pregnant and nursing cats need a high quality kitten food to keep up their own health.
Hope she feels better soon and it turns out to be nothing serious.
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- #3
All our cats eat Sportmix, that's about as high-quality as we can afford right now with 6 cats and a tight budget. I don't want to take her to the vet if it's nothing because we can't afford the $42 checkup either.
Providing the total nutrition for a litter of kittens takes a lot out of our girls! Give her as much food in both canned and dry (preferably in a kitten-variety) as she wants and also offer a daily treat of gently-warmed goat's milk to help her build her resources back up.
It's fairly normal for a queen to look skinny after having kittens and while she's nursing, the kittens are taking a lot of nutrition from her. You need to help her get that nutrition back by feeding her well. It is an expensive business, having kittens. And make sure you get her spayed asap, if she gets pregnant again she'll lose even more condition.
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- #6
Is it okay for her to eat leftover meat, like pork chops or chicken? Last night we gave her some cut up leftover pork chop and she loved it.
I will be getting our 2 female cats fixed as soon as we have the money, hopefully after Christmas. We got our male cat fixed a few weeks ago and they are not allowed outside so they are fine for now, but I know it can only take one time of them accidentally getting outside to get pregnant again, so I will get them fixed as soon as I can. If it wasn't $100+ each I would've done it by now.
I will be getting our 2 female cats fixed as soon as we have the money, hopefully after Christmas. We got our male cat fixed a few weeks ago and they are not allowed outside so they are fine for now, but I know it can only take one time of them accidentally getting outside to get pregnant again, so I will get them fixed as soon as I can. If it wasn't $100+ each I would've done it by now.
Your male cat will still be able to get the females pregnant for a while after his operation. You should probably keep them separated and call the vet to find out how long he will still be fertile after his operation.
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- #8
I didn't know that, thanks for the tip, I'll call our vet and ask. Luckily Stars now hates him and won't allow him near her or the kittens, but our other female spends lots of time with him (I'm surprised she hasn't gotten pregnant).
How old is she? Are you sure she isn't pregnant?
I don't know if I would feed pork as it has a lot of undiegestable fat.
When Ziggy (RIP) had her kittens in August, she looked really skinny too. When a female cat is pregnant, the babies take out so much of the nutrients that the mother has to eat so much more. And since she had SEVEN kittens, imagine how much that sucked out of her!! The nursing also takes alot out of her too. Until she's stopped nursing completely, she won't get back to her normal self. Feed her as much as she wants, Ziggy never had the chance to gain weight again, and the kittens were 10 weeks old when she passed. So I know that it takes along time. You could try a high-cal food if you are really concerned. The greasy fur could also be to do with her having 7 kittens to nurse, she's not getting enough nutrients for herself. Give her a bath if you think she is neglecting herself.
How old are the kittens now?
When Ziggy (RIP) had her kittens in August, she looked really skinny too. When a female cat is pregnant, the babies take out so much of the nutrients that the mother has to eat so much more. And since she had SEVEN kittens, imagine how much that sucked out of her!! The nursing also takes alot out of her too. Until she's stopped nursing completely, she won't get back to her normal self. Feed her as much as she wants, Ziggy never had the chance to gain weight again, and the kittens were 10 weeks old when she passed. So I know that it takes along time. You could try a high-cal food if you are really concerned. The greasy fur could also be to do with her having 7 kittens to nurse, she's not getting enough nutrients for herself. Give her a bath if you think she is neglecting herself.
How old are the kittens now?
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I sympathise with you! I have only 2 cats and sometimes it amazes me how much they cost to keep happy. You made a comment about spaying costing 100 dollars +. I just wanted to say that there are LOTS of low cost spay/neuter clinics or companies that will give you money back if you get a spaying done at your usual vets.
The site http://www.lovethatcat.com/spayneuter.html gives a list, depending on what state you live in. A google search would probably bring up some other ones near you. Or else visit your local animal shelter and ask them for a referral, they will use a cheap organisation. Our kittens spaying is cost 35 dollars, our older cats neutering was 20. Good luck, wishing your mummy cat all the best.
The site http://www.lovethatcat.com/spayneuter.html gives a list, depending on what state you live in. A google search would probably bring up some other ones near you. Or else visit your local animal shelter and ask them for a referral, they will use a cheap organisation. Our kittens spaying is cost 35 dollars, our older cats neutering was 20. Good luck, wishing your mummy cat all the best.
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- #12
She is 1.5 also. Honestly it is possible that she could be pregnant and too early to tell, not only has she spent a lot of time with our male, but she got out of the house about 5 weeks ago and was hanging around some orange cat when we found her. I'm just surprised that in the 6 or so months since my male matured she hadn't gotten pregnant because they mated a few times.
She had 4 kittens, and one died last week (accidental fall
I have checked that site before and searched online. The only low-cost spay-neuter clinic around here is at a humane society almost an hour away and they only do it for people in that county, which we aren't. When we got our male fixed 2 weeks ago it was $70 plus $15 for a shot of painkiller and we got him his rabies and distemper shots at the same time so we ended up paying $120. It would cost us $120 alone just to get a female fixed at the same place, plus they need their shots too, we just can't afford that right now, especially with the holidays coming up. I will try calling the local animal shelter and see if they can tell me if there are cheaper places here. If not there is a travelling lowcost clinic in Utah and we are going to visit family there in January and I can see if they'll be near there.
Thanks for everyone's advice and help
