My mother cat has gone of meat after having kittens!

Hi there !

I wondered if anybody could give me some reassurance . My cat recently had kittens 3 days ago. She's gone off meat (only licking the jelly/gravy) , but eating a few biscuits and drinking plenty of water. I've tried changing the food to a different make and to her old food but hasn't made a difference. Is my cat getting enough nutrients etc. should I be worried ? She seems healthy in herself and kittens still feeding well :-)

Thanks in advance

While it is normal for a cat not to have much appetite for up to 48 hours after giving birth due to having eaten the placenta and being tired. If it has been 72 hours by now that is no longer normal in y experience.  Have you talked to a vet about this? 

Have you tried giving her some dry food instead of wet if she is responding well to the biscuits? At this point, the most important thing is that she eat, regardless of what food she'll accept.

She's eating buscuits , but I'm worried it's not enough. Also eating the jelly/ gravy from meat x

Nay, its not enough. Depends also on how many kittens there are...

You can give her kmr.  If you can get goat milk, it is also suitable.  Egg yolk...

Does she manages well cow milk?  If yes, you can give her full fat.  If you arent sure, dont experiment.  But full fat, not sweetened plaing yoghurt is OK...

Try to lure in her anything, even if itsnt fully nourishing, to get up her appetite.

Biscuits and jelly is better than nothing, but not good enough.  Unless its lotsa of biscuits and a small litter.

Do also weigh her kittens every day, so you have an idea if they get enough.   If they dont gain, you must give them extra kmr or goat milk yourself.

*vibes!*

Thank you!

Where do I get this sort of stuff from? and can I just handle them at 3 days old to weigh them? She's only got 3 kittens, she will happily eat treats I give her . X

Almost all breeders, and most rescuers weight them from day 1.  So there is no danger she will abandon them because you touch her kittens.  If you weight them respectfully where she sees you, it should go OK.

An electronic scale, measuring in grammes, dont need to be fancy or costly.  A kitchen or postal scale you can get quite cheap.

Walmart has them, surely also a lot of other places...

Goat milk?   A well equipped supermarked may have them.  Or some shop specializing on milk and diary products...

Otherwise, try and ask around where you live.  I cant know how you do have it!  You may even be lucky and there is someone having goats nearby, and is willing to sell some milk...  It seems not unusual even in the USA...

They are all between 160 and 180 grams. ?

The weight is good in 3 days kittens.  They must have gained nicely unless they were unusually big at birth.

So keep an eye on changes!  They "shall" gain at least 10 grammes a day.  More than one day with less gain - watch out!!!

She slowly eating a bit more , the food I put down last night (some chicken) was just about gone this morning and some buscuits ate so fingers crossed she's on the up! Thanks for your help x