Fostering stray mama and her 2-day old kittens....questions

I am fostering a stray mama and her five 2-day-old kittens. I just got them yesterday. I really don't know anything about the mama. They told me she was a stray/feral. When the shelter gave the family to me the mama and all 5 kittens were in a crate. The mama was in the back and the babies were in the front. The shelter worker reached in and held a couple of the kittens and the mama seemed ok with it.

I brought them home and put them in a quiet bathroom away from people. I checked on them a few hours later and the kittens were still in a pile at the front of the cage and the mama was at the back. They didn't seem like they had moved in the last 3 hours. I nudged the kittens towards the mama and they all crawled to her and started madly nursing. Since then I have seen them nursing multiple times, so I think that she is taking good care of them.

I'm worried about the mama, though. I have had them for 24 hours and I don't think she has eaten or drank anything. I know she is very scared. She doesn't go ballistic, but when I reach into the crate she growls and swipes at me. But I think she is too scared to come out and eat. How long can she go without eating while she is nursing. When should I be concerned? I can't touch her or really even see her very well since she is huddled in the back of the crate.

I don't think she is feral, but she is very scared and probably not used to being around people. It has only been a day and her babies are very new so I'm hoping she calms down and warms up a little. Any tips for how to help her would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
Kerry

I brought home a very scared mamma cat who was not eating a few weeks ago, so I know how you feel. Mine wasn't aggressive at all just so scared she was shaking like a leaf. I tried every kind of food to try to get her to eat and she held out and would not touch anything until I pulled out the turkey baby food. I had to work her from the baby food to wet food and now have her grazing on dry as well as eating wet, but the baby food was the trick for her to start eating. Try different smelly foods that she might not be able to resist to get her to start eating again. Some things I tried before the baby food were different kinds of wet food, canned tuna, I tried different treats and kmr. I would try the baby food first though, every cat that is around when that jar opens gets excited just at the smell. I wish I had it on camera everything I offered her she sniffed and turned away, but that baby food her nose was just sniffing away and as soon as she tasted it she devoured the whole jar in seconds (she also had been at least a few days not eating at the shelter where I got her from).

I'm sure once she comes around she will be a very sweet kitty. Mine is a 100% different cat now than the one I brought home 3 weeks ago. She now circles my feet in excitement for wet food and spends hours snuggling with me. A few weeks ago she wouldn't touch anything or even come out of the carrier I brought her home in longer than it took to pee.

Her being anxious is not so peculiar. Many new bees are so. Some momas dont eats one or two days afted delivery either - them having eating up the high nourshments placentas.

But giving nursing her reserves are thin...  So I do understand your worries.

One key here is, the most important is she does begin to eat, not what she eats at first.

So as long as it is tempting her, it doesnt need to be first class nourishment.  Nourishment you can think on later, when she does eats.

You got excellent advices above, I remember Pandas situation, exact parallell, but even worse...

For softing the tension, you can try with

Feliway diffuser if you can get one such.

Soft, calming music. Best is classical harp music, but almost any relaxing music will do.

If you are there, do talk much in soft, friendly tone and other friendly noises. Extra effectful to queens, as so is a a friendly tom does when courting... Other toms just take what they want, so the cat females do know very well who  is trying to be nice, polite, even friendly, and who is not.

Good luck!   *vibes*