Shouldn't they be weaned yet?!

So Mira's babies are a little over 5 months old now and still suckling from her. I would estimate that mommy's milk still makes up 1/4 to 1/3 of their diet. Is this normal? Mira's sister Kiki also had a litter and her kittens transitioned to dry food in half the time it took Mira's, and now at about 10 weeks they are completely weaned and Kiki's milk supply has dried up. Other than these 2 litters I have never dealt with kittens and mother together, so I really have no idea what the norm is here. My main concern is Mira's health. She has withered away to almost nothing. High cal food from the vet and lots of extra treats etc. have helped but I'm afraid she won't get back up to her normal weight until the kittens are weaned. I think maybe she is trying to stop them; I see her try to get up but the kittens are already as big as she is and she has a hard time fighting them off. Should I intervene? And if so, how?

No its not normal or wise. Especially if mom cat is NOT spayed yet - she has to be spayed and then she will make those kittens stop nursing. They are almost ready to be eating adult foods at 5 months old and also they need to be neutered/spayed if they are not done!

You MUST physically separate them, get mom's weight up and spay her!

I had fully intended to have Mira spayed when the kittens were 8 weeks as advised. However, when I took her in for the weight loss my vet said he wouldn't perform surgery on her in that condition. She has put back on a pound or two with the food he gave me but still has a ways to go before she is back at a healthy weight.

All 3 kittens have spay/neuter appointments for the beginning of December.

Will spaying the kittens decrease their urge to nurse?

Keep mum away from the kittens, she cannot regain condition with them suckling on her at this point.

They are more than old enough to be away from her. Also the kittens are old enough to mate with her and each other so probably a good idea to keep boys away from girls.

Another trip to the vet would be wise, to make sure nothing is wrong with her health wise.

ETA: I'm confused how the kittens can be 5 months old, when in a thread from Sept. they were only 7 weeks?
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=204421

Wow! 1/4-1/3 of their diets? If they're really nursing that much I think you have to separate them. My boy Scotty nursed until he was 10 months old, but not very much. Maybe once a day. Once the kittens are separated, she should start putting on weight again, unless there's an underlying health issue.

Originally Posted by missymotus

Keep mum away from the kittens, she cannot regain condition with them suckling on her at this point.

They are more than old enough to be away from her. Also the kittens are old enough to mate with her and each other so probably a good idea to keep boys away from girls.

Another trip to the vet would be wise, to make sure nothing is wrong with her health wise.

ETA: I'm confused how the kittens can be 5 months old, when in a thread from Sept. they were only 7 weeks?
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=204421

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I apologize. They were born July 30th, so they are just under 4 months. I counted the month of July when I did the math. Also, I seemed to think their birthday was the 17th but DH just corrected me.

Oscar still suckles from time to time (he's almost 3 months now?) but mom is slowly weaning him. He seems to mostly do it when he's thirsty. Why don't you try switching the babies onto a cat-milk treat? Then weaning them off that slowly after they've stopped bugging mom.

Originally Posted by mira's_mommy

I apologize. They were born July 30th, so they are just under 4 months.

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Ok Not uncommon for them to still nurse at under 4 months, but given the condition of mum I would wean them. They are over 12 weeks so can live without mum, and she cannot go on nursing them.

Yeah I'm a cruel mother and I wean my kittens at 8 weeks . I've never let a kitten suck of its Mum after 12 weeks. Definitely take Mum cat away from the babies now and feed her a high quality kitten food to get her condition up.

Agree to keep mom and kittens physically separated and do not let them nurse any more. She will recover if you do this so you can spay her. I've had mother cats that wanted to keep nursing, but for their heath, the kittens are separated by 3 months old if mom doesn't do it before.

I have shut Mira in our bedroom away from the kittens. Just weighed her and she is 6 pounds exactly. I never weighed her before she got so thin but I think her healthy weight is somewhere between 7 and 8 lbs, definitely no more than 8. I will keep up with the high-cal food and I plan on calling the vet tomorrow to have her checked out again.

And another off-topic question: Is it okay to still go ahead with the kittens' spay/neuter given that my math was wrong about their age? The apppointment is for December 7th so they will be 4 months and 1 week then.

Originally Posted by mira's_mommy

Is it okay to still go ahead with the kittens' spay/neuter given that my math was wrong about their age? The apppointment is for December 7th so they will be 4 months and 1 week then.

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Yes, that's a great age. My personal preferred age for spay/neuter is 14 weeks, so 17 weeks will definitely be OK. If you wait any longer, someone could get pregnant. My kitty Dot went into heat when she was 16 weeks old (2 days before her scheduled spay!).

Hi Mira's Mommy,

I also agree it would be best to wean the litter but I would suggest buying a baby bodyshirt for Mira and tailoring it with a pair of scissors and needle and thread so it covers up her belly but leaves her rear free (with a loop to go around her tail to keep it in place). That way she could still be with her kittens and help socialize them while weaning them.

regards,

Christine