cat not grooming kittens

samz

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Hello there,
so one of my babies had kittens two days back 5 healthy kittens she is feeding then sleeping with them keeps them warm nut she wnt lick them groom them she doesnt stimulate their digestion n doesnt lick their bums i m doing tht for her with a damp warm towel they seem to b fine but i m just wondering why wnt she do it herself? How do i teach her to do it?
 

StefanZ

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I suppose she is young, and her instincts hadnt kicked in 100%.

Proceed as you do, preferably so she sees it.  Hopefully the instincs do kick in...

If you could get a friendly help mom, a female or neutered male, who could help with the grooming,  AND teach her...  That could do the trick.

I hope you are weighting them too every day?   Although, you handling them several times a day, you get some instinctive feeling how how they gain, and how they are...

Good luck
 
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samz

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Ok so we tried bringing in another nursing cat that belongs to my frd her kittens are about three weeks old we put them in the same room my girl observed the other mama cat but instead of cleaning her kitts she ran off to hers and started licking their faces(she doesnt lick hers at all) we tried making other mama cat lick the kitts clean she did once but then refused my frd tried mixin kitts up for both cats but they pick their ones out not only that my girl steals the other kitts try feeding them she even cleaned them that got me thinking she does know what she is supposed to do but she still refuses to clean or groom hers my frd took her cat back so i started cleaning the kitts again and i showed her i cleaned a kitt and put it in front of her so she can sniff n lick she just turned her head away and didnt even look.at the kitts...even tho she is not violent shez always been a very loving frdly cat but she picks her kitts up by their legs or try dragging them near by their ear m so worried she is feeding them good doesnt leave them alone much she gets up kitt cries she comes running back then y isnt she grooming them like she did to those other kitts?is it tht mayb she didnt want the kittens or what? Its her first litter she is an yr and 8 months old
 

StefanZ

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So you tried your  utmost, without clear cut results...  The only left to try is to get her kittens an extra foster momma/dad, without own kittens.  who will wash them, and their biological mom will give milk...

Them two adults hopefully good friends.   (have some Feliway spray in the beginning so they will feel more at ease)

And she isnt that young either...     Nay, I dont know why she doesnt want to wash her own kittens, and is rather brutal with them....  

Sorry, I dont have good advices, other than you must continue to help the kittens...

ONE  advice I can give.   If you are a breeder, Im not sure you want to use her as your founding queen of your cattery.  Bad mother instincs may go further down, be genetic.

So unless she is absolutely stunning in other ways, strong adding into the breeding programme in other aspects, I wouldnt use her.  Let her be a happy  neuter and pet, like most purebreds are.

If you arent a breeder, do of course spay her as soon she is done with nursing, typically it will be done at about 8 weeks.

Good luck!
 

GemsGem

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I agree with StefanZ, you have tried your best but well some cats just don't make good mom cats. It's happens sometimes not just in cats but all animals including humans.

I would highly suggest your have don't let her have anymore kittens and have her spayed.
Cats like this tend to get get worse with each litter to the point where they will either ignore the kittens completely and you will have to hand raise them or even possible she might attack them.
Not nice but some cats are just not meant to be mothers, it's just doesn't come naturally to them.

StefanZ is spot on about kittens being spayed as this can be genetic. Bad mothers do tend to produce other females who are bad mothers.

Don't think you have done anything wrong. You really have tried your best but some times these things are just not meant be.

Good luck and I would love to see some kitten pictures :D
 
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samz

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Here i tried attaching one of the picz if it works i ll load more picz :-) and yes i did intend on getting her fixed she is pure breed but i m not a breeder bu ohhhh the temptation of having little fur balls...anyway she is driving me nuts last night the papa cat stepped in stole kittens sat on my bed and licked away i was in the same room keeping an eye in case he tried hurting them and suddenly she jumped up picked kittens up like mama cats do took them back to nesting box licked them a little and started feeding them after a while i thought i should clean them i tried but nothing came out this morning their bedding was a little cleaner as well so m guessing she is now trying to grasp the idea of being a mom cat well not as fast as she should but i can see she is trying i just saw her licking one kitten i will keep on cleaning them myself till i m sure she is doing it properly but for now i m happy that she has started trying mayb its cause she got jealous of papa cat loving them.....
 

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Ah, jelausy was the trick! :) Joking aside. If you can have the stud to be such a help mom I mentioned, so why not.
I mentioned earlier friendly neutered males do often help out. It is not unheard of friendly studs helps too. and the stud is not even always the biological father. As long as he is good good friend with the mom, the danger of him attacking the kittens is quite low (danger bigger than null, but low).

the problem is of of course, she may get pregnant again soon, as they get naturally in heat about one week after delivery. and with an intact male nearby, she will surely get into heat....

Anyway, the problem at hand is her bad mother instinct. If it is all right for you to handraise yourself (she is after all both giving milk and some warmth), and you want to paly it safe, so proceed.


Otherwise, you can try again with this male. Of course, observe closely till you are sure he is nice with them kittens, AND the mom doesnt mind him being thee.

In such cases, always obey the mom - if she doenst want the other adult cat near - separate them.


Good luck!
 

StefanZ

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continuing. So you arent a breeder, but have two purebreds. Yes? You arent anxious to continue with more litters, and she being a bad mom (at best a so so mom) you dont want to use her for further breeding. Both me and Gemsgem totally agree on this advice.
But it come forward you do have at home this male tom. Presumely pure bred he too. And HE seems of very good psyche.
Good psyche with a male, who also knows how to do it is a BIG plus! (I mean, some firendly, kind males dont know how to mate. Thus a friendly male who knows how to court and mate, is worth double extra).

Is he in healthy and good looking for his breed standard? does he have the usual certificate from an approved cat association??

Normally my first advice for an intact tom is to spay at first opportunity.

But if you answer YES to all these questions above, my advice will be, you DONT spay him as yet, but let him help with a couple of litters in his breed.
How to do it, let us talk later on it. There are many varioations, and I dont know how the world of purebreeds is exactly organised at your place.
The point is, a stud doenst need to be a stunning show qualtiy. As long as he is healthy in body and mind, of decent breed standard, and his genes arent not overused by, say, his brothers - there are alwyas some breeders who will need his services in their programme.
 

Anne

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The kittens are adorable. Thanks for sharing the pictures.

I'd like to emphasize some of what Stephan said. Keeping an intact male cat should only be done if your cat is registered and if it was sold to you by a reputable ethical breeder along with breeding rights. You should probably consult with that breeder first, again, assuming it's an ethical registered breeder. They should either offer to mentor you or refer you to someone who could. Keeping a Tom for breeding takes some know-how to keep the cat safe, happy and healthy :)
 
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