Well tinker is in labor

Well, congrats to Tinker! Though I'm sorry you are having so many problems with this, I know it is the last thing you needed right now! Hopefully she figures out how to be a mommy soon...

I know you'll keep us posted.

Well, while I'll agree it's the last thing I need right now, it's not something I can't handle. it'll just take time. I'll get through it. More than anything I just want them, and my cats to all be OK. but honestly, after the crud I've been through in the last couple months, this isn't THAT big a deal

Originally Posted by Snake_Lady

Just a question: Is it possible mom is shunning them because the male was licking them?

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I thought of that too..I had always heard that if they smell foreign the queen might reject them....

I kept my bottle baby warm by putting a hot water bottle, under a heavy towel and placing her on top. You can also use a heat pad on low, placed under towels. I hope Tink get's the Momma instict soon. for Tink and the babies

yeah. the problem is my mother has none of that stuff. It's VERY hard not to get irritated.

No rice, no heating pad, no kayro syrup no funnel (for pouring the KMR into the bottle).

I'm just getting real frustrated.

You know, even if you have one of those hot water bottles, you could fill it with very warm (not boiling...you don't want to burn the kittens) water, and wrap it in towels, or an old sweatshirt, and lay the kittens on that to keep them warm. You'd have to keep rewarming the water, but it would work.

My mother in-law was the master at taking care of abandoned orphaned kittens, and this was like 20 years ago...but she used to rotate old towels on a very low heat setting in her oven to keep her kittens warm. Not the safest thing, but if you warmed them for like 5 mins. in the oven on 150 degrees, it may not be too bad of an idea. JUST BE CAREFUL IF YOU NEED TO DO THIS AS A LAST RESORT.
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SORRY...I just saw that you don't have a hot water bottle.

As far as a funnel goes, take a piece of heavy paper (you'll probably need several, as you know what happens to paper products when they get wet), and form a cone with the paper...that will work to funnel your kitten formula into the bottles.

Have you been to http://www.kitten-rescue.com/ yet? If not, take a look at it...it will be especially helpful if momma cat rejects the kittens or refuses to nurse them.

Best of luck to you...we all admire your fortitude and positive attitude about all of the events in your life recently.

To be honest it doesn't make a damn bit of difference where i put them, or what i use to heat them. Tinker just moves one or two of them somewhere under the bed then leaves them. I can't keep track of them and have no way to remove her. I'm going to call a rescue group and see if they might have a surrogate mother.

Probably not a bad idea, if she keeps moving them all over. Sounds like she seriously may not be ready to raise a litter.

Good luck!!!

the rescue group here doesn't even have a person answering phones so I had to leave a message. i'm sure that's pretty common. i'm on hold with a vet but they aren't going to be able to tell me much that i haven't already been told here.

Well the only thing I could think of is that i'm confusing tinker by moving them back when she takes them.

I've locked her in the bathroom with her kittens, a baking pan with litter in it, food and water. it's a half bath and it's tiny. This is my last thought.

Well, that was probably a good move. As long as they're all confined to the same small space, at least YOU can keep track of them. And as wierd as it sounds, she may separate the kittens, and visit each separately to nurse as well. Some mothers don't always know what they're doing right away. I would just make sure that everyone is WARM, and that everyone is feeding, and if they're not nursing off Tink, then you'll have to step in and help with that.

Is she feeding them at all? Is she keeping them warm at all?

well i'm crossing my fingers here. The bathroom was a horrible idea. it's very cold in there, and all she did was take a baby, set it on the cold ceramic tile on itls back and let it cry.

Here's what I did. I let her move them one more time under the bed. I pushed in some towels on either side to contain the heat. SO FAR they have stopped crying and she is in there with them. so maybe being that she put them there she'll stay. I kind of tricked her. I put them in the middle of the floor so i knew she'd move them.

Cross your fingers!

My thoughts are that a tom cat got into nest - alarmed Tinker (whether the "tom cat" was her brother or not - survival instinct). She keeps moving them as she doesn't feel safe. They probably still smell like him or at least unfamiliar. She's too young to have had a litter & doesn't know what to do (some cats don't). Confining her is your best bet, but if she doesn't start catching on soon the odds are low for those kittens.

Well if this try doesn't take i don't think they'll make it through the night. they just can't take all this moving, and getting cold.

I called a vet, but they can't do anything for this. I have KMR and while tinker loves it I can't get the kittens to eat it. HOwever, i am able to hold tinker and let her lay sideways into my lap, then manually attach the kittens. They won't find the nipples on their own. I've been doing this every couple hours, and their bellies look full like they should. I don't know if she's stimulating them to eliminate but that i'll tackle if I can get this first part working

I agree Natalie, Wilbur still has his hormones and Tinker is completely unsettled by it.

Fastnoc, you may have to just sit beside her and the kittens, by hand keeping them warm. They cannot thrive like this. They are newborns and she will need some intervention. Keep warming them with your hands and placing them on her nipples to feed.

Put Wilbur in the bathroom, so Tinker can relax.

As long as the kittens are not warm, they will not latch on and eat. Cup them in your hand and then put them on her nipple.

You are probably right that they won't make it through the night. She may not have the instinct to care for them, she may be rejecting them because they smell "funny" to her, or she may know they are "messed up" & rejecting them because of that.

Do you have any way to find a cage/crate to put her & the babies in? Bigger than a carrier, like a large dog crate. Any other rescue groups you can call?

FYI - You will need to keep Tinker & Wilbur seperate 24/7 now. Eden went into heat within days of giving birth. Even if he's neutered - he can get her pregnant. Somehow you need to find the $$ to get her spayed soon. Talk to local rescue groups - see if they can help out at all.

I can get them to latch on, that's not a problem. once they do they stay stuck for at least 15 to 20 minutes which I'm sure is enough.

I can't get to them under the bed but I can't keep moving them so I'm going to have to let her take it from here. if they start crying again for a long time I'll put them on the bed with me again. but moving them creates more problems than it solves right now.

Originally Posted by white cat lover

You are probably right that they won't make it through the night.

She may not have the instinct to care for them, she may be rejecting them because they smell "funny" to her, or she may know they are "messed up" & rejecting them because of that.

Do you have any way to find a cage/crate to put her & the babies in? Bigger than a carrier, like a large dog crate. Any other rescue groups you can call?

FYI - You will need to keep Tinker & Wilbur seperate 24/7 now. Eden went into heat within days of giving birth. Even if he's neutered - he can get her pregnant. Somehow you need to find the $$ to get her spayed soon. Talk to local rescue groups - see if they can help out at all.

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Iv'e got calls in to the two rescue groups here, and I found I can get a discount certificate for the spay at petsmart on saturday. Hopefully one of these things will come through.