Mother Behavior?

I recently got a new cat who is about a year old but we didnt know she was pregnant -she gave birth to one kitten 4 days ago.

At first she would leave the kitten for hours and stay with me upstairs, but for the past two days she has been with the kitten 24/7 .. She is not leaving it even for 5 minutes.. Is this normal?

Also, it appears that she is not using her litter box as often and she is not eatting as often either... But when we put some kibble into the box where she is with the kitten she will eat it.. We put the food right outside the box after we noticed it.

One other question, i have read on some other threads that we should of gotten her on kitten food during the pregnancy and while shes nursing.. And as we didnt know she was pregnant the birth was totally unexpected. We are buying kitten food very soon but we should give her the kitten food right away? Or should we make the transition gradual like any other cat food?


**If there is anything else that i should know pleasee free feel to post it

She could use the kitten food immediately, especially if she's not eating as much as she normally would.

Her staying with the kitten 24-7 in the beginning is perfectly normal. The mom cat I fostered last year only left the box once a day to use the litter box and eat. Someone explained to me that new mom cats can sort of "shut down" their system so that they don't have to leave the kittens very often in the beginning.
There is a reason for that. For one thing new born kittens need 24/7 care. Staying with the kittens all the time is also designed to protect the kittens from predators in the wild. It sounds like your kitty is doing her job.
It is a little odd though that she left her kitten for hours the first couple of days. That's not really normal but maybe it just took her a while to get in to the mommy role. Since she's doing what she should now I would not worry about it.

As far as the kitten food goes you can switch her over right away. There is no harm in feeding a pregnant or nursing mom adult cat food but the kitten food has more nutrients and calories which is helpful to her.
Make sure that you get a good quality kitten food. Science Diet makes a kitten food that is pretty good. Iams is okay too if you're short on money. It's also a good idea to give your mom kitten formula like KMR. You can either give it to her to drink from a bowl if she likes it. Otherwise you can mix it in with canned food. You can buy KMR and other brands of kitten formula at pet stores. Sometimes well stocked grocery stores have kitten formula in the pet section too.
I would put the food and water right by her "nest" so that she doesn't have to leave the kitten to eat. Leave dry food out at all times and also give her canned food a couple of times a day.

I have no experience with moms having only one kitten but I've read that there are certain things you should pay attention to with only one kitten so you may want to read up on that. I think it's referred to as "single kitten syndrome".

Lastly, please make sure that you get mom spayed as soon as you can. It's so much better for her and you and you won't contribute to the overpopulation problem.

Good luck with the new addition

Originally Posted by TashaaM

Or should we make the transition gradual like any other cat food?

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It depends on how you know about her stomach behaviour, its individual.

For example, our boys have never isssues because of which brand we give them. With them, we can always do the switch immediately.

Some other cats are very sensitive. Most are in between.

So. Start the switch immediately, exactly as the precedessors said. The gradual transition you do according to that you did observed earlier: you did had her some time, right?

Her litter is small, thus her need of extra nourishment not so great as if she had a big litter.


Good luck!

Originally Posted by StefanZ

It depends on how you know about her stomach behaviour, its individual.

For example, our boys have never isssues because of which brand we give them. With them, we can always do the switch immediately.

Some other cats are very sensitive. Most are in between.

So. Start the switch immediately, exactly as the precedessors said. The gradual transition you do according to that you did observed earlier: you did had her some time, right?

Her litter is small, thus her need of extra nourishment not so great as if she had a big litter.


Good luck!

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we arent to sure how her stomach is because we have only had her for a month.. August 1st was exactly a month

Originally Posted by TashaaM

we arent to sure how her stomach is because we have only had her for a month.. August 1st was exactly a month

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Ok, better safe than sorry. Switch in 1/3 at a time, or so.

Unless you have receits you know for sure are safe and easy eaten for all.


Good luck!