Mother Cat VERY Thin

lindseys

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Jun 19, 2014
Messages
8
Purraise
1
A pregnant stray mother cat came in to our local animal shelter not that long ago.

When she arrived she was at a healthy weight, and she has since given birth in the shelter.  She gave birth to six, but kicked one out of the nest.  She is now down to five 1 week old kittens.

The kittens appear to be healthy and doing fine.  The mother cat has been a great mom to the remaining kittens.  However, in just a few days after giving birth she has lost a significant amount of weight.  She is a bag of bones.  Her appetite is not the problem - she is being free-fed dry kitten food and is being supplemented with wet food.  Nourishment is never in short supply and she is eating a fair amount.  I believe her significant weight loss to be a result of the stress of shelter life.  It must be extremely taxing to live in constant fear of the dogs barking and howling right next door - especially while trying to care for a litter of kittens.

For this reason my family is strongly considering fostering this mother cat and her kittens until she is back up to a healthy weight and can be adopted.  Unfortunately, previously-made arrangements will prevent us from being able to take her and her kittens until 2 weeks from now, when they will be 3 weeks old.

However, if/when we do bring them into our home - what diet should I be feeding her?  I'm thinking of free feeding dry kitten food, but what brand/type would be best for weight gain?  What brand/type of wet food should I be giving her as a supplement?  I want her to gain back some weight, but I don't want to do anything that might compromise the health and safety of the kittens.
 

StefanZ

Advisor
Staff Member
Advisor
Joined
Sep 18, 2005
Messages
25,995
Purraise
10,639
Location
Sweden
Give her as high quality as you afford.  in dry, For kittens or at least, for active cats.  Orijen is a good example.  Much animal proteins and high contend of animal fat, about 22% I think.   There are surely others brands, especielly in the USA...

Its easier to find good quality wet, as long as its no funny fat reduced version.  There are some such. Beware.  So on wet you can have a  cheaper version if you so wish.   Even whiskas is OK, as long as its their wet.   If you can get the swedish brand Bozita - its rather cheap and really decent quality in their wet.

Normally, such a food should be enough.   Here she is emaciated because of the stress, and possibly also other reasons.

So extras are good here in her case.      

Some vitamine pasta,  there are several brands.  Nutrical is one I think.

You can give some KMR, preferably this in powder.  Water it down some and give as her drink water, perhaps.

Another good tip is goat milk. Fresh or in bottles.

You can add egg yolk with this goat milk,  it  becomes even more nourishing...

Some mild and fat cheese if she likes it...     @LindseyS

What happened with the disowned kitten?   I presume mom felt it was something wrong with it; but such kittens can sometimes be saved by vigorous human care - so what happened??

Good luck!
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3

lindseys

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Jun 19, 2014
Messages
8
Purraise
1
@StefanZ the kitten was abandoned at night (just one day after birth) - when no one was at the shelter at all - and was just an inch away from death upon discovery in the morning.  The kitten was humanely euthanized as nothing could have been done to save him/her.

*BACKSTORY*

I met Momma cat 4 days before she delivered (I was volunteering that day).  She was the sweetest thing and really seemed to trust me.  I tried to be there for her birth - coming in every day I could.  I couldn't come in the one day she had her kittens which was extremely frustrating ;)

Anyway the kittens will most likely be kept in the bathroom - where they can't cause much damage and can't really injure themselves.  While they are still young and not as mobile their nesting box and momma's litter box will be kept in the bathtub (which we will line with towels and blankets).  Once the kittens need more room to roam the nesting box and all of their things will be moved out of the bathtub and just onto the bathroom floor.  I was also wondering - since momma's still around do we need any sort of heating mechanism to be rigged up in the nesting box?  Or will their mom's heat be enough?
 

StefanZ

Advisor
Staff Member
Advisor
Joined
Sep 18, 2005
Messages
25,995
Purraise
10,639
Location
Sweden
I was also wondering - since momma's still around do we need any sort of heating mechanism to be rigged up in the nesting box?  Or will their mom's heat be enough?
If it isnt unusually chilly in there, or they unusually weak, moms warmth is usually enough.

Im not sure it the litter box should be kept in the bathtub.. I think mom prefer to have it further away.   Mom isnt sick, so she can jump out from the bathtub and back again, without troubles, yes?

Good you are going to line the bathtub with blankets and such, so the kittens dont risk to be chilled out when they begin to crawl around.

Good luck!
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #5

lindseys

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Jun 19, 2014
Messages
8
Purraise
1
@StefanZ  

Our bath tub has pretty high sides.  I'm sure most cats wouldn't have a problem jumping in and out, but I worried it might be a little much for a momma cat.

We'll start with it out of the tub, and may move it in if mom appears to be having problems. 
 

GemsGem

Mentor
Staff Member
Mentor
Joined
Dec 4, 2013
Messages
5,606
Purraise
2,118
Location
England
Yeah new mom cats can be really funny about the litterbox being too close to the nest.

You could try it being that close first. But you might find she moves the kittens out the tub away from it. :D

Hopefully your girl will not be so fussy ;) My girls always refuse in even go the toilet in the same room as the kittens :lol3:

Good luck and let us know how you get on :clap:
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #7

lindseys

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Jun 19, 2014
Messages
8
Purraise
1
Right now in her cage at the animal shelter the litter box and nesting box are literally side by side. She hasn't decided to boycott either one though, and she doesn't seem to be very finicky :D I'll probably keep the box out of the nesting area anyway if you think she would prefer that.
I was thinking of taking pictures of her progress daily, as a way to chart the growth of the kittens as well as her progress in terms of coming back up to a healthy weight.
Once we actually take her in I'll snap some pictures of the setup as well as a detailed list of what she is being fed every day and post them for approval.

Just a few more questions...
1.) I used to own guinea pigs, and we kept them on 2 layers of old bath towels, with a layer of fleece on top of the towels. This seemed to be the go-to set up for guinea pigs because the urine would pass right through the fleece. I was thinking of using a similar set-up because I figured kittens would prefer soft fleece over abrasive bath towels, and it might also keep them from having to lay on urine soaked towels in the event of accidents. I can't think of a reason this could be harmful but I thought I would check just in case
2.) I read that it was dangerous to use clay/clumping litters because the particles would expand in the stomach if ingested. Therefore, pine would be the next option. Does the dust from pine litters have any negative effect on the kittens upper respiratory systems? What is, in your opinion, the safest litter for use around kittens? Ease of use/clean up doesn't matter.
 
Top