Kittens Won't Suckle

My old roommate left his pregnant cat here until he gets settled. She had her kittens today. They won't suckle and she won't stay in the box with them. The two larger boys are getting a bit lethargic. They're about two hours old. Maybe two and a half. I wasn't here when they were born, but they were still wet when i got here

Okay, you may need to act fast. Can you get any Pedialyte or KMR liquid? A syringe without a needle? Also they must be kept warm, a sock filled with rice and microwaved then tested to be sure not hot enough to burn will do for a heat source for now. Warmth is critical for kittens.

You may possibly have to step in as their mother if she won;'t clean, care and feed the kittens. It is very time consuming and being very young, well, its touch and go. Some may make it and some may not despite your best efforts. All you can really do is try. Another thing once they are nursing from a syringe, if they were ever to have any milk/pedialyte to come out their noses, immediately stop feeding turn kitten upside down, nose facing downward and gently tap to help keep them from breathing it in. Very dangerous if that happens. Also they will need to be simulated to potty, rubbing their bottom ends and around the tail with a soft, warm wet cloth will be needed.

Unfortunately, i can't afford any of those things. I work fifty hours a week and still can't pay my bills. We don't have a no-kill shelter around here, either. I was hoping there would be something i can do to get them to latch. She'll stay with them if i sit there. I'm hoping if they latch, she'll settle. I even tried animating a bit of milk to entice them ( my experience being human babies, not kittens), but she's hiring and won't let me.

This was a couple hours ago. The white one has just fine a liquid poo all over himself. They won't latch, even when I put them right to the nipples. They root and root, but can't seem to figure it out.

Try warming them up with either a heating pad under their blanket, or the sock filled with rice and warmed in the microwave, then wrapped in a towel. If they are cold, they will not nurse.

Also, mama cat's milk may not be fully in yet. So the kittens need supplementing in the meantime. Mama needs lots of wet food and water and kitten chow around the clock to provide the nutrition she needs for nursing.

If they don't nurse, and you do nothing for them, they will die. At this point, you need to put a little honey on their lips to revive them, then see if you can get them to nurse.

Do you not have a dropper even to give them drops of water? Can you get them to a vet that might take over their care?

Since the cat belongs to a friend, can that friend pay for the formula? Or can you ask anyone to help purchase some? You are running out of time.

PS: The formula is available at Walmart, vets, and pet stores. Please let us know how it's going.

I had to work. They have fat little tummies, so i assume locking her in the bedroom worked. She didn't even run out when i opened the door this time. They're moving and squalling, so i hope that's a good thing. He won't help. That's why i have them still. Else, they'd be gone. I don't even like cats, really. But i didn't want them to die just because they didn't have help. It's her first litter. I just figured she needed to be shown. Like cows. I know how to do cows. I've never had kittens. Either he'll come get them or I'll adopt them out. Eight weeks?? Six?? I want them to have a fair chance. No fair not giving them one just because they're cats.

Yay! Moving and mewing is good - means life! Thank you for caring. Closing mama in with her kittens was a good idea. Sometimes it takes that with a first-time mom. Eventually, if they are nursing well, they will only mew when hungry. Not mewing means they are satisfied. They sleep a lot in the early weeks too.

Ideally, they should be a minimum of 8 weeks before giving them away. They need this time to nurse, learn to eat on their own, and socialize. If taken from their moms too early they can have psychological problems. The ideal age is about 12 weeks. And of course the mom will need to be spayed eventually so she doesn't have more litters.

What is mama cat eating? She definitely needs extra nutrition now. If you can, putting her food, water and litter box in the same room with her will enable her to stay close to her babies. She probably appreciates being close to you as well since many first-time moms are nervous. She looks quite young herself - bless her heart.

I appreciate your attitude that they deserve to live and be cared for. This is especially sweet of you since you say you are not a cat person. So thanks again for doing the right thing, and keep us posted as to their progress and any questions you may have.

Oh i put food and stuff in when i locked her in. I have her sister too. She's being really needy now but i figured i should keep her away from the kittens. The mom is less than a year old. I figure instinct will kick in. She quit sitting on top of them at least.

Oh, good. You may want to let her sister in under your supervision to say hello, offer comfort, and check out what all the fuss is about. She'll want to know as she knows something is up. The two are likely close, so visits may help. Eventually, sister may help groom the babies and snuggle with them.

Is she spayed? Sister may get preggo next if not.

Sister is about two weeks pregnant if mom was any indication. Sister wants nothing to do with the kittens. Won't go near the box. About the time mom is ready to move out of the room, sister will be having kittens. Hopefully not going to be my problem any more. They were supposed to be spayed last year. I'm not paying for it. He'll come get them or I'll take them to the city on my next trip and drop them at the no-kill shelter. It's a long trip, but i can't handle this kittens and fleas business. I know i can't medicate the babies but i feel bad for them. Nobody likes fleas. Especially when you aren't coordinated enough to scratch the itches. I think sister just feels left out because I've been checking the babies when i can to make sure they're still alive.

Oh dear. Fleas can suck the life out of a kitten, as they only have a tiny amount of blood. If you could treat mom with a tube of Advantage on her neck, it will kill the fleas on the kittens as well. And treat sister too.

It sounds like your former roommate has deliberately left his responsibilities with you. And bravo that you are not dumping the cats in their time of need. You are stepping up to the plate and doing what's right, and not allowing his behavior to influence yours. Kudos to you!

Do you not have a low-cost clinic or humane society nearby? You could have sister spayed now while she's in the early stages and completely avoid bringing another litter into the world. I know money is an issue, but it's worth considering in view of the big picture.

Are the newborns nursing better now?

I treated mom and sister with some Hartz stuff for the back of the neck yesterday. I assume they're doing fine. They're fatter now and they were all lined up when she got up instead of being all in a pile. When she sits on them and they cry, she moves now, to let them up. The cheapest i can get her fixed is fifty bucks. I have kids of my own to feed. The vet offered to take her and spay her for thirty but he said he would take her to the local shelter, which is notorious for euthanising. Early, if they can't afford the critter they pick up. I've heard stories about people going to look for pets lost a day or two and finding they've been put down "after a wait of two months." I don't know how much is true but i don't want to risk it. Cats may not be my favourite, but i wouldn't wanna put thirty dollars into a dead cat. I doubt he'd bother fixing her. I didn't know the topical stuff would pass to the babies. I'll just powder the carpet again in there and wait for the stuff to work. Ten bucks treated them both so it wasn't too bad.

Good job on the flea treatment. Hopefully you can pull together fifty and get her spayed early to avoid another litter, and then sister is all set. One thing at a time. Sounds like the little ones are good. I'm turning in & will check in tomorrow.

You had done excellently so far!   You had got good advices too by those who chimed in.  Just to agree with them.

The mom seems a little beauty - shame on the owner who dumped them  (as he in practice did, I think).   OK, better than dump them in the middle of woods, like it happens, but a dirty foul deed anyways.   Be happy he is your EX room-mate, not your contemporary, as he is now being weighted, and found to weigh not enough.

The kittens looks healthy and nicely done.  Im happy to hear they had began to eat etc...    that outburst of poo is somewhat worrying, but lets see the development.

Re the Sister, I agree with SArthur´s advice  to spay her now, as soon as possible.   If you can manage to do it in cooperation with some LowCost spaying place, its swell.

But if you dont cant, even admitting her NOW to this shelter, is probably better than to wait and get the problems on you a little later on.

Better spay now, very early in the pregnancy, than perhaps later when it gets more difficult and ethically touchy.

Also, they must be spayed anyways, this way or another...  So you dont get extra costs / troubles on yourself, you just take them in the proper time instead of when its too late.

The shelter will prob spay her, so let it be so. 

.   Contact them and get their advices...

Please continue to report and come with further questions!

Good luck!   @Sinna

If this posts a similar post, my apologies. My phone doesn't handle this site well, and the mobile site won't let me post. Kittens seem to be doing well. They squall quite loudly when she gets up, anyway. Not sure if that's good or bad. If they weren't nursing, they'd be dead by now, right?? If they are nursing, they're ignoring the bottom teats. They're puffy and unused. I'm putting an electric space heater in the room. When i checked the babies for cleanliness (they're not, but she was working on it), i noticed they were cool to the touch. If they weren't struggling mightily and squalling, I'd think they were dead at that temperature. I'll call the shelter later about sister. i know they just put down dumped cats and kittens, so i can't box her and leave her on the doorstep. She's still being ridiculously clingy. She slept in my bed last night just so i could get some sleep because she wouldn't shut up when i locked her out.

Shelter says fifty to take her and put her down, eighty to take her and spay her. If i didn't want to spend thirty on a dead cat, I'm certainly not spending fifty. I don't have fifty dollars, first, and I wouldn't be spending it on a cat if i did. I'll just have to make sure they don't go out again. It was an accident to begin with. I'll call the vet again later and see if he'll still take her.

Sinna said:

Shelter says fifty to take her and put her down, eighty to take her and spay her. If i didn't want to spend thirty on a dead cat, I'm certainly not spending fifty. I don't have fifty dollars, first, and I wouldn't be spending it on a cat if i did. I'll just have to make sure they don't go out again. It was an accident to begin with. I'll call the vet again later and see if he'll still take her.

Click to expand...

I thougt you wrote it was a non kill shelter...  Peculiar they take big bucks payment for killing, altough its no big secret its exactly what many shelters do, ie gasses them as soon they come inside being admitted to them.

Not even all vets do take payment for pts, perhaps just for the injection costs.

But perhaps it was just a very clumsy way to make you choose a spaying.   Although 80 bucks for spaying isnt not cheap.  There are commercial vets whom do it for 80 bucks, not pretending they are any low cost places.

Oh my goodness! If that is sister, she looks much too young to bear kittens well. It is such a burden for them when they are not fully grown themselves. Please only use the shelter for her spaying if they KNOW she is your pet, and you are SURE you will get her back. No sense ending this sweet one's life just because she is pregnant. How much does the shelter charge for the spay? Otherwise, is it the private vet who will do it for fifty bucks?

Good you put the space heater in the room. Kittens cannot regulate their body temperature for the first three weeks, and can die from getting too chilled. They also must stay warm in order to nurse and digest mom's milk. It sounds as though they are doing okay so far. Eventually they will find and use all the nipples, which will stimulate them to produce more and more milk. Mama will get them all cleaned up and keep them that way as her instincts take over. Just make sure she stays in the room with them and does not go outside.

Sister sounds needy and clingy because she is jealous, and maybe she is further along than you think. Pregnant cats can be very clingy and affectionate. Do you have any idea when she may have had her heat cycle? Are her nipples pink and rosy or protruding yet? We need to figure this out if we can before you take her for a spay. She may be near her term but just small with only one or two kittens. If so, then she needs to have them as she would be too far along for the surgery.

Give an update when you can please. Sister is a very beautiful black cat by the way!

PS: I will leave what I wrote, but I have just seen your update. Do not take her to this nasty shelter. Most shelters will take in strays for free anyway, whether they keep them or put them down. StefanZ the no-kill shelter she mentioned is in a city which is a long drive away. Now we hope the vet can spay more cheaply without taking her to the shelter. I find that odd that he would take a cat to a shelter anyway. But regardless, I am now concerned as to whether sister is further along but just small because she is so young. Waiting to hear the status of her nipples.

The vet said he'd do it for thirty if i left her for the shelter, since i told him I'm looking to do it so i can adopt them out. He was kind enough to give her a quick physical exam. He says she's too far along for spaying and there are either three or four kittens. Maybe more, but she's just barely too far. Both cats are just barely a year old. The black one is bigger than she looks. She's nearly the size of the tom that's been roaming since i moved here two years ago except he's fat. It may be jealousy. She's been superglued to me since yesterday. She even tried to get in my shower with me yesterday, until she figured out it was wet. We've lost the runt, but I'm actually pretty she that because she was laying on her. She seems to have no interest in these kittens now.