mumma cat possible issues

skully had her kittens 2 days ago, she seemed unsettled yesterday and started going backwards and forwards from her original nesting place(even tho she had the kittens in a different place)

i moved the box with kittens in to this place and she seemed much more settled for  the duration of yesterday and today. i am worried because she is being quite fussy with her food the kittens are feeding well and gaining weight tho

she also keeps coming to me and mioawing is it usual for cats to  do that? after a stroke she seems ok

before she had the kittens she usually sat with me in the lounge in the evening and is doing so now and seems settled.

should i worry about the food?

is it normal for her to leave the kittens so much?

in general the kittens seem fine.moving about,feeding and not crying or anything.

these are the first kittens and the first cat i have ever owned.  this is her first and last litter i dont know if i should be worried

can anyone help? x

Hey if its only 2 days post birth id say its normal for her to be a bit off food, what food are you offering her and is she drinking? Sounds like she is a bit over whelmed and does want fuss and reassurance. If you get chance to sit by her side and accompany her as much as poss, when you can obv as she might feel lonely and a bit shut out x x

i offer my mom cat hard kitten food soft canned food and kmr every now and then and she eats all of it
 

we started giving her kitten food on advice from the vet when she was pregnant, she usually has dry food availible all day and wet food when she asks for in but usually three times a day.

we also make sure she has water and kitten milk availible all day.

i have been trying to sit with herand she seems to enjoy me being with her and the kittens, she will purr and allow me topet her, but i was worried i might distur her bond with the kittens. we only had her for a month before she had the kittens. is there anything else  i can do to make her feel more settled? is there anything that may indicate a problem.

the kids have been banned from going into her room to see her and normally she loves being around them, do you think she misses them? she has a very close bond with my autistic son? he is yet to see the kittens, any advice on introducing him to them? 

sorry for so many questions 
 

tasha111986 said:

we started giving her kitten food on advice from the vet when she was pregnant, she usually has dry food availible all day and wet food when she asks for in but usually three times a day.

we also make sure she has water and kitten milk availible all day.

i have been trying to sit with herand she seems to enjoy me being with her and the kittens, she will purr and allow me topet her, but i was worried i might distur her bond with the kittens. we only had her for a month before she had the kittens. is there anything else  i can do to make her feel more settled? is there anything that may indicate a problem.

the kids have been banned from going into her room to see her and normally she loves being around them, do you think she misses them? she has a very close bond with my autistic son? he is yet to see the kittens, any advice on introducing him to them? 

sorry for so many questions 
 

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i dont see why not your son could see her and the babies. my kitten room and mom are in my youngest sons room because that was always her favorite place to be and where she ended up giving birth. my momma cat loves visitors lots of pets and kisses plus the kittens get used to being around people.

its so difficult,so worried ill do something wrong

tasha111986 said:

its so difficult,so worried ill do something wrong

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sounds like your doing everything your supposed to do. no need to worry just enjoy momma and the babies

def not what i signed up for....we thought she was a boy! lol xx

tasha111986 said:

def not what i signed up for....we thought she was a boy! lol xx

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yea thats how i ended up with babies. rescued two kittens one went to a friend and i took the other thought it was a girl turned out a boy now my only intact female has babies.  but he has been neutered now so no more babies.

And hopefuly the female with babies will be getting neutered as soon as possible - it's in her best interests as it reduces the risk of breast cancer and almost eliminates the risk of pyometra.

took skully and her kittens to the out of hours vet today....since she still wasnt eating. after checking her over they said she was perfectly fine but very attentive to the kittens and probably just forgetting.

i was glad a went tho now i know they are all ok.....even if it did cost an absolute fortune. on the plus the vet told me i could get a voucher which will allow me to have her spayed for free! x

Are you weighing the kittens every day?  It's the best way I know to be sure everything is OK.  They should put on 10g or more most days, and a cheap set of electronic digital kitchen scales are perfect.  I record the results in an Excel spreadsheet.

hi, am recording their weights every day and they gaining well. i was just worried about mum barely eating she seems to be picking up now which is a relief. the vet gave us some simicat which she seems to love so fingers crossed its all on the up from here. the vet said she is prob quite nervous and wants some company which is why she keeps leaving the kittens.

is it ok that occsionally when she cleans then she looks like she is biting them?  im sure its just mouthing them they dont squeak as is it hurts or anything...i just want to make sure.

this kitten business is more worrying then having my own kids was xx 

It's very understandable that you are nervous since she is your first cat and you only had her a month before she had her kittens! To take each issue in turn:

It's normal for Queens to be a bit off their food so soon after giving birth. That said, you absolutely did the right thing having her looked over by the vet, and I'm glad they reassured you that she is okay. You are right to leave out dry kitten food for her 24/7 and to give her wet food. Although, I wouldn't wait until she asks for it. Just give it to her on a schedule three or four times a day. She needs all the calories she can get! If I can ask, why are you leaving kitten milk out for her? It's not going to hurt her but she doesn't need it. Dry food, wet food, and water are the staples. 

As for her moving around: this too is normal. As long as she returns to the nest when the kittens cry and they are otherwise content it's not a problem. Happy, healthy kittens are quiet ones! Because she's already moving around you should prepare for the possibility of den moves. Most cats instinctually move their kittens once or twice (to prevent attracting predators) but she may feel the need more frequently. Den moves can get dangerous if she tries to move them into tight places where you can't get to them. It also increases the risk of her dropping one in the process or puncturing their necks with her teeth. The best thing you can do is block off areas that could be appealing to her and make her nest the most attractive place to be. Closets, under the bed, anywhere dark and cozy is what she's going to seek so be preventative and block them off now. You can make her nest more inviting by covering it up with a blanket. Also, you can minimize some of her movement by keeping everything she needs close by. Her dishes and litterbox should be right there next to the nest. 

Some Queens are just needy and like having their people with them- it sounds like your girl falls into this category. Remember that these first few weeks other than weighing the kittens your job is solely to take care of Mom so that she can take care of them. Her meowing is likely just her way of getting your attention, so make sure you are giving her as much as you can! Cats are generally good mothers and your being around will not weaken her bond with her babies. She will let you know if you are interfering. 

As for letting your Son and other family members in there- you just have to use your judgment on this. While she seems comfortable with you most Queens are very protective of their babies and do not like a lot of visitors when they are this young. The more traffic there is in the room and near the nest the more she will feel like her babies are in danger and the instinct to move the nest will kick into overdrive. So, maybe experiment with bringing in other people one at a time. Keep the visits short and make sure they focus their attention on her and not on the babies. The time will come when the babies need to be handled and socialized by a lot of different people but you aren't quite there yet. 

Finally, it looking like she is biting them may just be part of the eliminating/grooming process. If they aren't crying then I wouldn't worry too much about it, but I would keep an eye on it. When you get their daily weights make sure you look each one over and that there are no bite marks or other injuries. 

Since you are relatively new to cats I just want to add that she can go back into heat and get pregnant very soon after giving birth (I had a foster who did when the kittens were only 12 days old and I have heard of even earlier). I know you plan to have her spayed as soon as the kittens are weaned, but in the meantime take every precaution to make sure she cannot get outside. I only mention because I didn't know cats could get pregnant while nursing. Believe me, they can and they will!

So far it sounds like you are doing a great job so hang in there! Don't apologize for asking questions. It's good that you want to make sure everything is okay and this is what TCS is for. If you have a specific question it may be worth starting a new thread titled as such. That way more people will see it. Be sure to look through old threads on here and check out these links: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/249018/...regnant-cats-kitten-care-articles-and-threads . It can help minimize your stress if you have a better understanding of kitten growth and development, and sometimes reading through other people's experiences is comforting. Who knows, you may find answers to questions you didn't even know you had! 

Dont hesitate to ask more questions as they come up. Welcome to TCS! 

the kitten milk is bacause the when we got het the vet believed her to be malnourished.

my son has visited skully and she was climbing all over him it was lovely to see and he was sooo happy to see her in return.

her appetite has returned with a vengance with is great ahe seems a lot calmer now too.

as for getting pregnant again, we are not planning on letting her out of the house until she is sorted.seeing the stress its caused her we dont think its fair for her to go through it again. in sure what sheneeds is just to be ableto enjoy being with is. no more babies and lots of love xx

Agree the kitten milk is unnecessary, and it will go off quite quickly when left out.  If she has a much good-quality food to eat as she wants and a supply of clean water that will do nicely.  She is unlikely to put much weight on while feeding, but once she starts weaning her kittens she will improve.

so we have tonnes of kitten milk, if we are not using it do you think the local cat shelter could use it? it seems a shame to throw it away,unless the kittens will use it when they start to wean?

one of them is huge already and a complete piggy! xx 
 

My queen willow has always been a loving cat, always wanting her mummy, but when she was pregnant it got 1000 times worse, at one point I had to ring work & tell them I was poorly because whenever I got up to leave her she cried & cried & I never wanted to put her through the stress, when she was in labour she wanted me stroking her all the time & even now the kittens are 7 days old she comes out has cuddles and then meows until I sit at the entrance of the box while she goes in and wants strokes, she even nudges kittens in my direction for me to stroke & when I get the scales out for nightly weigh in, she looks at the scales nudges the kittens to the entrance of the box, so I weigh them then put them back at her tummy and she purrs and winks at me - as if she knows I'm making sure they are okay :-).so I think it depends on the bond you have with your kitty. Willow also went off her food for an hour or so after labour.

tasha111986 said:

so we have tonnes of kitten milk, if we are not using it do you think the local cat shelter could use it? it seems a shame to throw it away,unless the kittens will use it when they start to wean?

one of them is huge already and a complete piggy! xx 
 

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I would hang onto it for the time being- hopefully your litter won't need it but it's always good to have on hand. They will not need it for the weaning process- only if for some reason your queen stops lactating, one refuses to eat (and your vet advises you to use it), or due to a medical issue and they can't nurse from her will it come into play. 

After they are grown and Momma is spayed (so you know you won't have any more litters) I would absolutely donate it to a shelter. Kitten Milk Replacer is not cheap and is worth it's weight in gold! 

how quickly can she be spayed?

there are lots of different answers and i dont knw ehich on is correct?