Kittens a week old and Kittens 3 days old! I need advice!

My cat Kush had 4 kittens a week ago. She was a very good mom for the first 3 days and then after that stopped doing anything for her babies. My other cat Kibawib had 6 kittens 3 days ago. My cat Kush actually bit one of her kittens so hard that it put a hole in his/her neck and one in his/her right arm causing it to have trouble breathing and stop eating. I did everything i could to try to keep the kitten alive but it just didnt happen. Becase Kush stopped doing for her kittens my cat Kibawib went into the cage with the kittens that belong to Kush and started feeding them and cleaning them. I just want to know if it is okay to put the 3 kittens of Kushes that are a week old and that are still alive with Kibawib who has been taking care of them and has 6 kittens of her own that 3 days old? If i put them all together there will be 9 kittens on one mommy but that mommy keeps trying to go to the kittens that Kush stopped doing anything with.

ToriiBugg21 said:

My cat Kush had 4 kittens a week ago. She was a very good mom for the first 3 days and then after that stopped doing anything for her babies. My other cat Kibawib had 6 kittens 3 days ago. My cat Kush actually bit one of her kittens so hard that it put a hole in his/her neck and one in his/her right arm causing it to have trouble breathing and stop eating. I did everything i could to try to keep the kitten alive but it just didnt happen. Becase Kush stopped doing for her kittens my cat Kibawib went into the cage with the kittens that belong to Kush and started feeding them and cleaning them. I just want to know if it is okay to put the 3 kittens of Kushes that are a week old and that are still alive with Kibawib who has been taking care of them and has 6 kittens of her own that 3 days old? If i put them all together there will be 9 kittens on one mommy but that mommy keeps trying to go to the kittens that Kush stopped doing anything with.

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I suppose you can have all 9 kittens together, yes you can.  

You must be ready to try and help Kibawib, both with much good nourishing food for her, meat, calciumsources, fat -  I dont know exactly what you do have access to - write more, so you will get feedback.

You may also need to supplement feed the smallest ones, if they dont manage to get enough.  There will be quite some competition for the best places.

If you can get raw goat milk, do so, so you have it as your reserve.  Both for the kittens and for the mom.  

How is Kush doing?   Good moms whom suddenly lose interest in their kittens, have often some problem somewhere.  Perhaps mastitis (inflammation in her teats).  Or she got an infection inside her...

Please come back with reports, and more questions as you need!

Good luck!

  Hooray for Kiwabib!!  I think the post above covers it all! If you cannot find goat's milk fresh, or cannot afford the canned, then you can try the "glop" recipe at www.kitten-rescue.com and add 2 egg yolks for the mama kitty's batch.  For the kittens, I have had the best luck with goats milk, fresh or canned with Multispecies Ultra24 the best runner up.  KMR can sometimes cause diarrhea, even though I dilute it and feed more often.  For supplemental bottle feedings, the natural rubber nipples in FourPaws nursers (hard to find, but I get mine from Amazon.com) seem to be the preferred nipple - they are safer when the kittens get teeth because they don't rip off (and potentially get swallowed) as easily.  Please keep us posted!

Yes, you will likely need to supplement the smallest ones, but they will all get comfort from being together and easier for the mom too. Read up on how to feed a kitten and how much and how often. Or this site can provide links. Like StefanZ said, please check the mother who rejected her kittens for something wrong. A vet check would be best. It is comforting to hear that your other mama cat has so much concern for these kittens, as do you! Keep us posted! Would love to see pictures!

Well you sure have your hands full!!

9 babies are too many to have nursing at the same time.

What will happen is, the smallest will be shoved away by the bigger ones.

So first off you need to make sure you keep mom WELL hydrated, fresh water and lots of it, canned food at least daily, and some watered down KMR would be great to give her daily as well.

You can rotate the babies, so you need another small container with a heating pad or a heat source for them to be put in when not with mom.

Rotate them every hour or so, otherwise the smalls will not make it without being syringed then bottle fed only, as they will not do both, a nursing baby will not accept a bottle, period, so one or the other is best. That is of course unless anyone doesn't seem to latch on well enough and is not gaining weight daily.

That is the other thing you should do, chart them, list each with their daily weight so you can keep track of who's doing what.

They need to gain a good amt of grams every single day, bare minimum is 6 granms, but best for 8-10 grams a day.

Both cats are eating great I feed them a cat food called call of the wild. They both get call of the wild cat food and kitten food plus they get kitten replacement formula and water. They have all if that at access any time they want it. The kittens are doing great with Kibawib. I help Kibawib clean the kittens and get them to use the bathroom 3 times a day. I try to help her feed them but the kittens won't take to the kitten bottle. I switch them out all the time so that they are all getting enough milk. Just after 3 days of having kittens Kush didn't want anything to do with them. She wasn't feeding, cleaning or helping them go to the bathroom. I had to force her to feed them by laying her down and putting her kittens on her boobs. Kibawib on the other hand is never away from her kittens for longer then 5 minutes then she goes right back in her cage and lays down with them. How old are kittens when they open their eyes? Kush's kittens are a week old today and one of them is trying so hard to open its eyes.

This is Kibawib her 6 kittens and Kush's 3 kittens that Kibawib took in. She's a great mommy! I'm so proud of her.

Oh yeah plus I'm giving them wet cat food and wet kitten food. And my small ones are feisty they push the big cats off the boobs so they can get in there plus the big ones just move out the way. Kush has been to the vet she has nothing wrong with her she just isn't producing milk. The vet said that may be why she stopped wanting anything to do with them. And why she killed the one because she knew they wouldn't live without her milk.

I just took this picture for you guys. All the kittens are about the same size. Ranging from 4oz to 6oz. I weigh them every day just to make sure that they are growing because I can't be with them 24/7 I tried letting Kush mess with her babies today and she still wants absolutely nothing to do with them. Kush and Kibawib are very healthy. Both are eating their regular dry cat food plus the dry kitten food wet cat food and wet kitten food they are drinking the Kitten milk replacement formula and lots and lots of water. I'm still helping Kibawib clean and care for the babies. The runt is actually one of the biggest kittens now. She is doing absolutely amazing. I'm so proud of my babies. They are completely wearing me out though. Oh well as long as they are happy, healthy and thriving that's all that matters to me.

This is a fantastic report! You should also be VERY proud of yourself! . Kibawib sounds like a blue ribbon mama! Kudos to her! Good you are rotating the babies, and that they are also fending for themselves. Since you are weighing them, you will know if any are not gaining weight. If that happens, you will need to use a syringe to supplement instead of the bottle. You must also get some rest because there are more busy weeks ahead! You are doing a wonderful job! Thanks for sharing pictures and please keep us updated.

Well it's 8:35am where I'm at. The kittens and Kibawib are doing great. I'm a lot nervous about today though because I have to go 3 hours away to go to the doctor. I really don't want to leave them but I have no choice but to do so. Kibawib is doing an excellent job so it does kinda ease my mind but not 100% because this is the first time they will be alone for a long period of time. My appointment is normally between 3 and 3:45 but today it is at 2:15 so I should be back home a little earlier then normal. I don't have anyone to keep an eye on them while I'm gone or I would try to go down that route. I'm praying all my babies will be fine while I'm gone today. Kibawib is a good mamma so I'm glad that the kittens are in good hands.

ToriiBugg21 said:

Well it's 8:35am where I'm at. The kittens and Kibawib are doing great. I'm a lot nervous about today though because I have to go 3 hours away to go to the doctor. I really don't want to leave them but I have no choice but to do so. Kibawib is doing an excellent job so it does kinda ease my mind but not 100% because this is the first time they will be alone for a long period of time. My appointment is normally between 3 and 3:45 but today it is at 2:15 so I should be back home a little earlier then normal. I don't have anyone to keep an eye on them while I'm gone or I would try to go down that route. I'm praying all my babies will be fine while I'm gone today. Kibawib is a good mamma so I'm glad that the kittens are in good hands.

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I think you can let them be alone safely.  Perhaps let Kush be outside, as she isnt motherly any longer.

You too must take care about yourself, so dont have bad conscience.

- As the vet tells she is OK,  I suspect its something hormonal, her mamma hormones disappeared, and no motherly feelings any more.  Still, males can be good extra moms, so a female without maternity hormones could too take care - but not all are good moms nor caretakers.   She perhaps isnt, while  Kiwabib is excellent mom.

Kittens opens their eyes roughly at day 10, some earlier, some a little later.  There is no sure rule on it.   Just wait and see!

Well Kibawib did great on her own today. I got both the cats dog cages to have their babies in and before I left I locked Kush in her cage as I have been doing every night when I go to sleep because I fear she will kill another kitten. Anyway when I got home and let her out I was sitting down eating and noticed that Kibawib and Kush where both in Kibawib's cage caring for the babies together! I'm so proud of Kush!!!! She has been helping Kibawib keep the babies warm and helping her clean them. So tonight I'm going to take a chance on letting her stay out like I do with Kibawib. Kush has been doing great and Kibawib doesn't seem to mind the extra help from her. I'm so very proud of both of them working together to mother the babies even through Kush isn't producing milk. Kush help Kibawib clean the babies and keep them warm is a lot of extra weight off of her because she is having to nurse 9 kittens. I am helping her. I clean the babies myself 3 times a day and I feed each of them the milk replacement formula with a syringe 3 times a day and sometimes more depending on how much time I have at home that day. All the kittens are still doing great. One of Kush's babies who is a week and a day old always opens her pretty blue eyes. And the other 2 from Kush's litter are trying to open their eyes but don't quite get it yet. I'm so proud of my girls working as a team to mother their beautiful little babies. They all mean the world to me. Plus the girls love it when I'm there because it gives them a chance to get away for a little bit because Kibawib doesn't leave her babies for any longer then 5-10 minutes unless I'm caring for them and then she'll run off until I'm done doing what I have to do with them and as soon as she notices I'm gone she runs right back to them. Oh yeah Kibawib got a broken hip when she was a kitten and it rebroke when she gave birth to her first baby and after that baby I had to do everything for the other ones clean them get them breathing. She seemed very grateful thatiI was there helping her. I don't have the means to take her to the vet just yet. Does anyone know of anything I could do to help her out? She doesn't really act as if it bothers her to much. She acts the same as when it first happened.

ToriiBugg21 said:

Well Kibawib did great on her own today. I got both the cats dog cages to have their babies in and before I left I locked Kush in her cage as I have been doing every night when I go to sleep because I fear she will kill another kitten. Anyway when I got home and let her out I was sitting down eating and noticed that Kibawib and Kush where both in Kibawib's cage caring for the babies together! I'm so proud of Kush!!!! She has been helping Kibawib keep the babies warm and helping her clean them. So tonight I'm going to take a chance on letting her stay out like I do with Kibawib. Kush has been doing great and Kibawib doesn't seem to mind the extra help from her. I'm so very proud of both of them working together to mother the babies even through Kush isn't producing milk. Kush help Kibawib clean the babies and keep them warm is a lot of extra weight off of her because she is having to nurse 9 kittens. I am helping her. I clean the babies myself 3 times a day and I feed each of them the milk replacement formula with a syringe 3 times a day and sometimes more depending on how much time I have at home that day. All the kittens are still doing great. One of Kush's babies who is a week and a day old always opens her pretty blue eyes. And the other 2 from Kush's litter are trying to open their eyes but don't quite get it yet. I'm so proud of my girls working as a team to mother their beautiful little babies. They all mean the world to me. Plus the girls love it when I'm there because it gives them a chance to get away for a little bit because Kibawib doesn't leave her babies for any longer then 5-10 minutes unless I'm caring for them and then she'll run off until I'm done doing what I have to do with them and as soon as she notices I'm gone she runs right back to them. Oh yeah Kibawib got a broken hip when she was a kitten and it rebroke when she gave birth to her first baby and after that baby I had to do everything for the other ones clean them get them breathing. She seemed very grateful thatiI was there helping her. I don't have the means to take her to the vet just yet. Does anyone know of anything I could do to help her out? She doesn't really act as if it bothers her to much. She acts the same as when it first happened.

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Tx for the wonderful report!   So everything seems to go execellent with both mommas, kittens and GrandMa.

In the end you mention this with Kibawib´s  broken and badly healed hip.    I dont understand clearly your message, I have a feeling you do worry about it?   And its why she perhaps need an vet, and you want advices?

This is them right now working together also Kush is starting to milk again out of 2 of her nipples right now.

Well it doesn't seem to bother hee unless its a cooler night. She is walking the same as she did after it healed the first time but on the cooler nights you can see that she is nor walking the same as every other night. The first time I took her over it when it first happened she was 4 or 5 months and it was already to healed to be set. The vet told me when we where discussing her having the kittens that it may break or get some hair line fractures again. In the beginning they told me to get a syringe and infant tynol and give it to her when it seemed to be really bothering her. I just didn't know if I was able to give it to her while she is nursing the babies. The vet said that her hip will never be able to be put back in place because of the way it was healed when Irescued her. when I got Kibawib her hip was to far into her healing process so they would have had to break it again to fix it. Both of my cats Kush and Kibawib I rescued from bad situations. Kibawib was beaten and Kush was in the motor of a car and fell out when the car was started and she fell out misses the fan and only had a broken tooth and some scratched. The vet was very surprised that both of them survived. They went through h*all before I gave them a great loving home.

Kush is the white calico on the left Kibawib is the black and white on the right with babies all. snuggled up betwbetween them. They are being great parenting together. They are sisters and love each other very much! They are always together!

Re the broken hip.  I dont have good advices as for now, it may prob wait till the kittens are weaned.

But be sure she has lotsa of extra calcium.  Both because the litter is big, and because, her calcium reserves are perhaps a little thin, as that hip hadnt healed properly.

So some nice vitamine paste cant hurt.  And calcium sources?   If you dont have better sources, there is always full fat youghurt, goat milk, cheese...

Even egg shells crushed into a fine powder may be used.

I will perhaps write more in the evening, Im goin out now.

Good luck!

ToriiBugg21 said:

Kush is the white calico on the left Kibawib is the black and white on the right with babies all. snuggled up betwbetween them. They are being great parenting together. They are sisters and love each other very much! They are always together!

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Both of the cats and my 2 dogs get multi vitamins every day. And they get this stuff for hairballs every 3 days. All the medicine I get for all my animals is from the vet. Except for the infant Tylenol that I just pick up at a drug store. Kush did great being out last night so I'm leaving her out today while I take my dogs to their play date. I give my dogs an egg a day to help with their coat and skin. Kibawib has dry skin could she also eat an egg a day?

Yes, you could mix it in with her food or formula. It would be extra protein too. I'm very impressed with how well you take care of your animals. And the pictures of the cats co-mothering is just precious! So glad Kush has settled into motherhood now too. Be sure Kush gets formula too!