Need help, mamma cat just gave birth!

hello everyone:

OMG, when i woke up this morning I couldn't imagine I would be caring for a mamma cat with 4 kittens. I woke up this morning and my neighbor was calling me, a white cat gave birth to 4 kittens in her balcony, she didn't know what to do , she has two big dogs, so I went to her house and saw the poor Mamma cat hiding under a table and the babies all scattered around. The mamma cat is so sweet, we've never seen her around and believe me I know all the cats around.


We are guessing someone had her and when she got pregnant abandoned her. That makes me so angry. Well, I took her and her babies and brought them home. She is in our outside bathroom now. I think this is her first time giving birth and she doesn't seem to know what to do. The babies look fine, but they are cold and hungry, she is very thin and doesn't seem to have much milk. She is not feeding them and they are screaming. She is all bloody and she still looks pregnant to me. I'm scared, I've never dealt with this before, I've rescued kittens, but never seen a mamma cat with her babies this tiny.

Any advice will be much appreciated.


Thank God the Mommy cat is sweet and she is purring like crazy.

Thanks in advance.

Tamar

If you give her some blankets and a safe place to be she might calm down and tend to them. She is probably as freaked out as you are. If she doesn't feed them really soon you will have to bottle or syringe feed them. Are you near a pet store or store like Walmart where you can get some kitten milk and bottles?
Thank you so much for taking her in!

OH, geez!!!!!!!

the kits need to be kept warm!! wrap them in blankets, get a heating pad, old socks filled with rice, tied off and warmed in a microwave. do you have any kitten milk and baby bottles? They won't eat if they aren't warm and if they aren't warm and not feeding they will die. Once warm if their appetite seems off, a little Karo (corn) syrup on the gums shoudl stimulate appetite.

If she doesn't have enough milk, chances are you will have to bottle feed or supplement bottle feed. How many kittens, btw?

Any way to see if the warmed up kittens will latch on? will Mama cat stay put to let them feed? If she still has a kitten or two inside this could be very serious - as infection could set in.

Do you have a vet you can trust? Would he or she come by under the circumstances? Otherwise, bundle them ALL up and take them there...

Is Mom cat eating? Make sure to give her kitten food.

Hopefully someone else with lots more experience with an emergency like this will be along shortly with advice!

Thank you both so much for the advice!!! prepared a box with blanket and I puit them all in, I gave the Mommy water and canned food and she ate like crazy, she was so hungry! her belly looks big, but I don't think she has any babies in there, she doesn't seem to be in any pain. I left them alone in the bathroom so she could relax and be with them and I think she is doing better, I opened the door a little and she was lying in the box with them and I think she is feeding them now. I will keep checking them to make asure they are warm and eating, I live like half an hour from walmart so I will go to get some milk and bottles just in case.

They are 4 tiny babies, three are orange and one is white with orange spots, so cute! The Mommy is all white with a little orange around the ears and face and blue eyes, she is really pretty.

I hope everything turns out fine, I will take great care of them and then I will find good homes for everyone of them, including the mommmy cat. I have 6 kitties already so sadly I can't keep them.

Thank you all HUgs!

Originally Posted by AddieBee

If she still has a kitten or two inside this could be very serious - as infection could set in.

Click to expand...

I agree with all yours advices. Warm but not TOO warm.

But extra kittens sitll inside mom is not necessary a danger: the kittens are in different sacks, thus it is entirely possible to give birth even a couple of days inbetween.

The problem is, in normal cases you do see if the mother is contend and there is no hurry, or if the mother is in apparent distress and thus a quick call to the vet is necessary.
Here is everything a mess because of the circumstances, so it is difficult to know if the vet is really needed, or if it is enough with letting the mom settle down, giving them warmth, water, some food - and safety.

And of course - prepare for extra feeding the smalls. When they are really small, droppers (pipette) is sometimes easier to use then bottles or syringes.

Be sure the "kitten milk" is not the usual lacotose-reduced cat milk, but mother-milk substitute for cats, the sc kmr-milk.
KMR is the best the best brand, but also Royal Canins is ok - as long it is for kittens, not puppies.


Tx for helping them out!
Good luck!


...........................
edit.
Oh, that was quick! I saw it was already better while I wrote this answer.

Thank you so much for telling me about the milk, I will be sure to choose the right one.

If I see something wrid about the Mom I will rush her to the vet.

Thanx so much

You are doing very well, Momotokitties.

As far you had done everything in the line to the best manuals.

Keep up the good work!

A good link useful for you is http://www.kitten-rescue.com/.

I believe our veteran Hissy stands behind it.

Keller's belly was a little big for a few days after birth as well, it may go down soon. There is no telling how many litters she has had.

Thank you all, everything you have said has helped me a lot. I will check that link StefanZ, thank you!

I think everything is ok now, the babies are warm and moving a lot, the Mommy cat is feeding them so i haven't given them any milk, I will see how everything goes in the next few days. I will keep her and her babies in the bathroom outside, nobody uses than bathroom here and it is big and comfy for them there.

I don't know if she has been pregnant before, but she sure looks young.

If the babies are falling asleep on the nipple, and not crying after eating, they are probably getting enough. A good practice is to buy a kitchen food scale (about $10 at Wal Mart) that weighs ounces and weigh them every day. They shouldn't lose, but rather gain a bit every day. What a shock your household has had huh?

Yes, it has been a big shock to our household! I'm trying to tame 3 kittens that another mamma cat brought here and Ive been worrying about finding good homes for them and look what happened today.. haha

It doesn't matter, I will do my best to help them all. Thanks God I work from home!