Eight to nine week kittens still nursing and more on the way.

ladybastet

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Hello, I was curious as to what I should do because I have eight to nine week old kittens still nursing on Scarlett, the mama, who is pregnant again, no thanks to Pookie, our male cat. Anyways, I was wondering if I should get them to stop nursing about now as to allow the nipples heal before the next litter is born. We didn't plan on having her knocked up again, but are too broke to get either of our adult cats fixed and the free spaying/neutering programs are no longer available for there is room for only so many customers. So, should I stop mama from feeding the kittens now, and if yes, then how?
 

Willowy

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Raising a litter is far more expensive than a spay, and she's going to keep having back-to-back litters until she's spayed or it kills her (it's very hard on her body to have so many so close together). I don't know what you'll do with all those kittens. And if you keep any kittens, the females may go into heat as early as 4 months (usually 5-6 though), and they have no qualms about mating with their brother or father. So you're going to have a real cat population problem soon. It would be worth it to beg, borrow, pawn something---whatever you need to do to get the money to at least spay the females. Call every cat rescue place and vet in the area to see if there's any kind of assistance you can get.

Anyway, if she doesn't want them to nurse anymore, she'll cut them off. It's not something you need to concern yourself about; she'll take care of it. You just need to worry about finding a way to get everyone fixed.
 
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ladybastet

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Well, we're getting rid of our male cat soon anyhow, for he has attacked us on multiple occasions for not letting him outside. Tore my sister's face up rather well. I think we might actually hand him over to the humane society to deal with. I don't know if they can rehabilitate him or will have to put him down. It will be up to them. As for the kittens, they are all female. We originally started with eight, but within the first two days the only males of the group died. Then at seven weeks, our chosen baby died of flea anemia, despite all our attempts to wash with dawn soap, iron enriching foods, vacuuming, and the whole hoorah. Then we were left with five sisters. One already found a home, and we plan on giving at least two more away. As for mama, after her second litter is old enough, we will be giving all except on baby away and then finding mama a good home. She's just too unhappy being an inside cat and we live in an apartment complex where there are nine hundred other tom cats prowling about and people who can't keep leashes on their unfenced dogs.

Anywho, I was just wondering because her nipples are looking terrible. They're bleeding and all scabby, and I don't her getting an infection and then trying to feed the new litter. She also screams and does what we call 'alien' or 'airplane' face before making these weird noises. But it's only when the kittens feed on her. I know their little teeth are unpleasant, and I want to help her find some relief before she has more kittens to feed. Would udder cream be alright to use on her nipples then?
 

sugarsandz

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Have you begun starting them on cat food yet?

As far as the male cat goes, they humane society will put him down if he's aggressive. I don't know what to do about the nipples on the queen other than call a vet and ask them because she could very well end up with an infection. When is the next litter due?

 If there is anyway to fix the female at all I'd do it. When my husband and I were broke we had to get one of our dogs to the vet and we had to sell one of our gaming consoles as the problem couldn't wait.
 
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ladybastet

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 They've been on dry cat food for quite some time now. They prefer it to the wet food, surprisingly.

 And our male cat is only aggressive if he doesn't get to go outside. He likes to vanish for a few days at a time as well. It's unfortunate he is so, but that's what happens when money from taxes are spent on my mother's desires rather than necessities.

 As for the next litter, I'm thinking about five to six weeks, maybe more since she's a scrawny thing who eats like she has four stomachs. She just started showing last week anyhow.

 And I would love to have a game console to sell off, but we don't have much and I cannot afford to sell this laptop. School and work reasons, of course.
 

vball91

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The male cat is probably only that aggressive about getting outside because of his hormones. Getting him neutered would most likely solve that. I am sad to hear that he will most likely be put down for something that is 1) beyond his control and 2) easily solvable.

As for the female, she sounds in rough shape. She could end up with an infection or it could be mastitis. Being scrawny means her reserves are low. What are you going to do if she has complications during her next birth and needs a vet?
 
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ladybastet

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 It will be a great loss, but again, this is my mother's doing. Her shopaholic ways come before anything or anyone else. But I believe in Karma.

 Actually, she has always been very thin. We've had her since she was ten weeks old. Very tiny thing naturally. As for the possibility of complications during birth . . . We'll just have to wait and see. Besides, this will be her second litter and cats have been doing this since forever. I am quite certain she will be alright. I prefer to be the optimist when it comes to this particular topic, but does not mean I am ignorant to the possibility. 
 

sugarsandz

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I'd offer the queen dry kitten food 24/7 as someone suggested and wet food throughout the day. I give my nursing cat 2 cans a day and more if she wants it. I also mix in powdered kmr into warm water because she drinks a lot more that way.
 

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If you are in the StatesI would urge you to contact spay USA they will find a free or low cost option near you. They work with vets and will send vouchers. Call 1-248-7729 everyone who I have shared this number with has had great success. If you are in another country please share and we can find you resources. I know here in Canada there are quite a few free or low cost options and I understand there are programs in the uk as well.

If you fix your male cat his behavior will stop. I understand money is an issue but there are resources out there you just have to work at it. I think it is truly a horrible thing to hand a beloved pet over to a shelter knowing he will die alone and scared. Please call the hotline.

I would also think it would be a good to try to get the female cat done now bc cats can be spayed while pregnant because she does not sound well health wise and even though birth is natural cats will die if they are not well and have had too many litters. Also the kittens may very well have health problems if she is nutrient deficient and weak. Again please seek out resources that will help you and your cats.
 

franksmom

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Here is the link to the spay USA website (http://spayusa.org/). Again if you are anywhere in the USA they will work with you to find a free or low cost option.
 

dilly

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At eight weeks the kittens are old enough to be weaned.

Mom is probably completely drained still trying to nurse and feed her unborn babies. Everything shes's taking in is going to all of the kittens and nothing for herself. 

Trying to nurse this new litter may kill her, because she probably doesn"t have enough to support herself too, after nursing for so long, and getting pregnant  again so soon

I'd feed her dry kitten food and canned kitten food to help her as much as possible.
 

whatusername

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Now my cat has given birth once, with my little experience I still know a lot. By that age they should stop feeding so try buying bottles of cat milk (although this can become costly). If she is pregnant and her nipples are bleeding they need to stop asap because of nipples in that condition that could mean the death of the kittens when they are born. Really kittens should stop feeding from their mother completely around the age of 6 weeks; my kittens stopped at about 9 weeks, so there's no harm in making them stop. If they don't stop within the next week you will unfortunately need to separate the kittens from their mother. Let them see her every two hours for about 10 minutes each time or till they try feeding on her. After about a week of doing so they should get used to not feeding on her anymore and you can try and reunite them. If they attempt to feed on her after the week of separation continue separating her. Her nipples really do need to heal before she gives birth unless you plan on bottle feeding the kittens which for the first two weeks is cheap, you can buy a whole tub for about £10 from where I am maybe about $15 for you. It will last a while while they are young but as they get older they need more and more. The first tub should last you about 4 weeks for about 3 kittens and for 6 about one and a half. Anyways separating the current litter from their mother at this age is really no harm. All the lose out on is a couple of manners but that's it. And if your cat is making weird noises when they try to feed of her, separate them ASAP! It could cause her to stress out and get unhappy and also try to attack you and it's not good to be stressed out while pregnant.

As for your male, if you can't afford to get him spayed you will have to give him away unless you want to keep on getting attacked and your female pregnant. The other person who replied is also right, it may just be his hormones. But also if he is spayed he will not want to go outside as often and longer because the main reason why cats go outside for a long time is to look for other cats to mate with. It's up to you but try your best to get him spayed and please reply telling me if this was useful and giving all of us updates. Also how many weeks roughly is your cat pregnant?
 
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