Not nursing ...

So willow has just finished having kittens - think she has had 5, now she has moved to the end of the box and left her kittens in the middle, she hasn't nursed them, she managed brilliant in labour, done everything & the first 4 suckled but when the 5th came she left, what do I do? Anything ?

Ah sorry I jumped the gun a little, she must of needed a break, coz she has just got back in and lay down for them , phew panic over!! :-) xx

Well she is nursing but the kittens kept meowing so I went & squeezed her nipple a little & I couldn't see any milk come out, is this normal, what should I do? Do I need to check another nipple? Xx

The only safe way to know anything is to weigh them every day.

Of course, them having no milk at all the first 24 hours and it is over.

But if they do get anything, you will know if they get enough or not.  Weigh them every day at the same time.

Try to get a kitchen scale, preferably in grams.

Go around your neighbours and ask, for buying time.

If you go out to a shop for buying, buy dextrose sugar (=glucose) too. Useful for different emergency solutions for both cats and people. Also in some baking.

Good luck!

I've got the formula & bottles, but don't want to intervein until I know for sure, well they are all suckling & have quietened down now, each on a nipple. Yeah going to weigh them at 6, what should the average be? X

Just wondering what you do with the dextrose? I'll get some in preparation for my cat's kittens if it's something I might need in an emergency.

kir5tie said:

Well she is nursing but the kittens kept meowing so I went & squeezed her nipple a little & I couldn't see any milk come out, is this normal, what should I do? Do I need to check another nipple? Xx

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Are the kittens nursing yet?

kir5tie said:

I've got the formula & bottles, but don't want to intervein until I know for sure, well they are all suckling & have quietened down now, each on a nipple. Yeah going to weigh them at 6, what should the average be? X

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As they have quietened down, it is probably OK! They do surely get at least some.

Average is difficult to say. What you do is to start frome where every one is, and write up them individually.  They "should" gain 10+ grams per day. Some occasional slowing down happens, but slowing down several days, or a dip more than one day - sound alarm bells.

They often lose a little the first day, but if everything healthy they gain on almost immediately.

You can of course have a scale in ounces, but it is more difficult to see clearly.  (and you must manage without my help.)

Around 100+ grams is a OK starting weigh.  Under 90 begin to look on, under 75: watch out closely....

Under 65: work extra as much you can.

Kris78 said:

Just wondering what you do with the dextrose? I'll get some for my cat's impending kittens if they might need it.

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Dextrose is the bodys own energy source. So it is the quickest way to give them some extra energy.

In weak more or less fading kittens, you can wet the dextrose and put a little on their gum, to give them a boost of quick energy.  White Caro Syrup is a more common tip, but dextrose is really better.

Dextrose is also a main ingredient in home made pedialyte.   Pedialyte with a lite extra dextrose in may also be used as live keeping fluid in itself. Like they do in hospitals with comatose patients.

Say, you suspect mom has no milk, and it is evening, all shops are closed down. You cant not get hold of  KMR or goat milk.  You can buy yourself several hours by giving them pedialyte with a little extra dextrose in.

Such a home made basic pedialyte works fine for both cats, weak kittens, and your own children in many situations.

You can also use dextrose if you yourself need a quick energy boost. Say you are sporting.

As they do sell dextrose among the baking shelves, I suppose the most common use otherwise in in baking....  

So you see, it is never wrong to have dextrose home, but it may be a live saving thing.

Thanks for the support, yeah all kittens are nursing very well, the weights measure: 11g,14g,13g,11g,12g & 11g. So all is good so far! :-). Thank you all again xx

Sorry 111g,140g,130g,120g & 110g xx

I WAS ABOUT TO SAY! MAN, THOSE ARE SOME TINY KITTENS!

Lol it's the phone!! Xx