A cat I rescued from birth is now not taking care of her kittens.

I rescued a baby kitty last june, her mother abandoned her we found her under our house at about 3/4 weeks old. I knew her mom as a neighborhood cat we fed, we later found her ran over that day. 

She was obviously traumatized, as are most kitties who are abandoned.. We never had her fixed because she was going to be a completely inside cat. Well, that didn't work. One day whilst taking out the trash she darted out the door and came back about 4 days later. She was pregnant and had her kittens this morning from 1 am to about ten this morning.. She lost one and three survived. I am sure she doesn't have the best parenting skills having been abandoned at such a young age, but she is extremely distant from her kittens. Our house is quite large so we have two rooms dedicated to her because we have two other three month old bengal kittens who are very hyper- bengals being a hyper breed. ANY WAAAYYY she only feeds them when she lays down.. At first she wouldn't feed them at all and then with gloves on, my boyfriend placed her in the nesting area with the kittens and they couldn't really find her nipples to feed off of her and I'm not entirely sure her maternal instincts are completely there. I don't want them to starve to death or be underweight, so my boyfriend and I went out and bought a bottle and milk replacement immediately (We are insane cat lovers hehe) only to come home and find them nursing on her, but as soon as we walked in the room she stood up and moved them, two got lost in the middle of the room looking for her, once again with gloves we placed them on her. I guess my question is how do we know if or when we should step in and feed the babies.  

( We are getting her fixed and we already have close family/friends forever homes for the kittens, that is not an issue)

Hi MsScream, Unspayed females have a way of finding their way out of the house, no matter how careful you are. Good job on arranging to have her spayed.

Is there any way you could confine her and the kittens to a smaller area? Ideally a large crate or a cage, but if that's not possible a small room? She'll probably take better care of them if she's in a confined area and cats don't need a huge amount of space. Much safer for the kittens if they don't go crawling around looking for Mum.

Weigh the kittens now and then weigh them every day to make sure they are gaining weight. At this stage they should be gaining every day so even going a few hours without food is bad for them. If they are not gaining then by all means step in and feed them. Make sure you feed them belly down, in the same position they nurse from their Mum. If you feed them on their backs like a human baby the milk can get into their lungs and this will kill them.

Mum sounds like she's pretty attached to you already, so she won't mind you stepping in to help.

Someone with more experience should be online soon with more detailed advice for you.

Good luck.

There is some more information on what to do if your cat won't nurse her kittens here.

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/help-my-cat-is-having-kittens

I agree completely with Norachan.   and yes, weighting them every day at the same time, is the easiest way to know if they get enough or not.  (10+g daily) Most breeders and rescuers do so, so you are in good company.

Some very experienced rescuers dont weight normally, but this is not because they dont believe in weighting but its because they being so experienced they see and feel with just a glance if the kitten are well and gaining, or not...

For unsure amateurs its best and safest to weigh - double especielly so in a case like yours, with a so so mom.

Easiest tto use a electronical scale measuring in grammes.  Kitchen or post.  they have them cheaply at walmart and the likes... Or you can perhaps lend from some neighbour.

Work also on the mom being confident and comfortable, non stressed.  Having her in just one small room may help with that yes.

Good luck!