Feral kitty kitten problems

Heyo! i's me again!    Today, one of my no named ferals had kittens.   When I took a look, she was sitting in the shed, and had three kittens.  Then, I had to go work.   When I returned,  the feral was laying there, acting all happy and stuff like a normal kitty.   Only this time,  i saw three kittens.  the first too were on the ground on the other side of the shed.  The third was nursing the mother. I put on my gloves and moved the kittens back other to their mother. As i was leaving, I saw this kitten that seamed to be lifeless.  I gently touched it, and it jumped up and meowed.  I lifted the kitty up, and saw that it's umbilical cord was really long.   Maybe 5-6 inches.  I have never seen something like this, so I decided to consult you guys (and gals).   This kitten also seams dirtier than the others.  Here are some details:

I closed the shed so she couldn't leave when I saw her in labor

The shed isn't very clean

She decided to have her kittens on the smallest pillow in the room, next to an empty cardboard box

As far as I know, first time mother (I hope anyways!)

What do you guys (gals) think?   Should the umbilical cord be so long?   

Sorry you didn't get an answer sooner. You can tie off the cord with dental floss and cut it to within an inch or so of the belly. Are you feeding this mama with dry food, wet food and water inside the shed? She needs it! Also, I assume you plan to crack the door so mama can get out when she needs to? You could spread a soft blanket in the shed since you say it's dirty. That might help the kittens to feel more comfortable. Also check to make sure mama is nursing all the kittens properly. If not, are you prepared to hand-rear or take them to a shelter? A sock filled with rice and microwaved for five minutes, then wrapped in a towel and placed near the kittens, will offer some extra warmth. Kittens cannot regulate their own body temperature the first three weeks. Is mama staying with them a lot? Please give an update, and thanks for helping out the ferals!

sarthur2 said:

Sorry you didn't get an answer sooner. You can tie off the cord with dental floss and cut it to within an inch or so of the belly. Are you feeding this mama with dry food, wet food and water inside the shed? She needs it! Also, I assume you plan to crack the door so mama can get out when she needs to? You could spread a soft blanket in the shed since you say it's dirty. That might help the kittens to feel more comfortable. Also check to make sure mama is nursing all the kittens properly. If not, are you prepared to hand-rear or take them to a shelter? A sock filled with rice and microwaved for five minutes, then wrapped in a towel and placed near the kittens, will offer some extra warmth. Kittens cannot regulate their own body temperature the first three weeks. Is mama staying with them a lot? Please give an update, and thanks for helping out the ferals!

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Re cutting off the cord; its possible to do it with your nails too, if you dont have dental floss.  Or a blunt scissor...hey, now when the cord is old and dry, you can use a normal scissor too...  Its fresh newborn cord which shall not be cut with a sharp scissor...

Clean hands, but no sterile technique is necessary.  Moms teeth aren sterile.

I agree  YOU stepping in may be necessary if you want a weak or unwanted kitten to survive, but leaving to a shelter is seldom a solution.  Unless the shelter does specialize on rescuing in overall, and rescuing small kittens especially.  Most shelters of the type of "Animal Friends Society" works only with tame, friendly, easyly handled cats.  And thus, if they admit a little kitten (or a shy semiferale), its the gas chamber waiting.  Of course, they dont tell it aloud.

So unless you get their assurance they DO have foster home lined up, dont leave the kitten there.  Find some other solution....

SArthur post is very good, and advices just to agree with.

sarthur2 said:

Sorry you didn't get an answer sooner. You can tie off the cord with dental floss and cut it to within an inch or so of the belly. Are you feeding this mama with dry food, wet food and water inside the shed? She needs it! Also, I assume you plan to crack the door so mama can get out when she needs to? You could spread a soft blanket in the shed since you say it's dirty. That might help the kittens to feel more comfortable. Also check to make sure mama is nursing all the kittens properly. If not, are you prepared to hand-rear or take them to a shelter? A sock filled with rice and microwaved for five minutes, then wrapped in a towel and placed near the kittens, will offer some extra warmth. Kittens cannot regulate their own body temperature the first three weeks. Is mama staying with them a lot? Please give an update, and thanks for helping out the ferals!

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StefanZ

Litter was just born yesterday.

uggg!   she killed one today. found it under her!   The one i rescued i found on the floor   (the kennel is on a table, at least a three feet drop)  dieing,  still alive though, covered in those stupid ants and barely breathing.  Help me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!    

Oh no! Have you cleaned the poor baby up? Warmed it up in a warm towel next to your body? Smear some honey on its mouth to revive it!

Just realized it's like 2 days old. Are there any more kittens? Bring them all in! I'll be back shortly to give you info on feeding formula. But go buy KMR (kitten milk replacement) formula at Walmart or pet store.

It needs to be fed! Quickly! Do you have a syringe to give it some drops of pedialyte in the side of its mouth, tummy down, head up, let it swallow and breathe and go again. We need to talk about kitten formula. Please answer so we can move forward. Hope it is reviving!

If you have no pedialyte, make some with water and a sprinkle of salt until you can get some. If you can't get KMR powder tonight, a substitute formula can be made with evaporated milk, egg, water, etc., but something must be done. Newborn baby must feed every 2 hours. Please respond!

I just re-read your thread. I gave you advice 3 days ago but you never posted an update regarding the issues you had then. Are there 2 babies left now? Need to hear from you in order to help you. And if you can't hand-rear the babies, let's get them through the night until you can get them to a shelter or someone else for care tomorrow.

@sisco1111   Hi, I'm very sorry about the loss of the kitten. Also you must work quickly as sarthur2 stated. I am wondering can anyone in the vet clinic where you work can help you? Possibly have the Vet see the remainding kittens? They must be kept warm and fed and simulated to potty. They should also have syringes and KMR at the clinic too.

the third just passed.    I don't think the fourth (last) will live to see tomorrow.  

Kay, could you take the mother and the last kitten to the vet? If it is going to pass today it would be kinder to have him/her euthanized rather than leave him/her to suffer. The mother will come into heat again soon after losing a litter like this, so if you get her spayed ASAP you won't have to go through this again.

Sorry to hear the kittens didn't make it, it's very sad.

Not to make you guys (gals) mad, but I am gonna euthanize the mother if the kittens die.  WORST MOTHER YET!  I tried my best and did what you all requested, but this is just too late.   she is rolling on the kittens, suffocating them and throwing them out of the kennel, in a way i dk how, but i find kittens on the floor everyday.

What are you doing for this last kitten? Do you have it with you in your house? Are you able to give it formula? Is it warm? Or is it still with the mother?

You said you did what we requested, but you have supplied no details, so it is really difficult to know precisely what is happening with a particular kitten, and what special advice we need to offer that is tailored to the situation at hand.

From what I gather, you are not allowed to bring kittens into your house, and you have quite a number of feral cats living on your land. In earlier threads you said your pa did not allow cats in the house, and that you had about 30 cats.

So it seems that you are limited in your ability to care for these helpless cats, whom you dearly love and care for, through no fault of your own. You apparently have a heart of gold, and some day you will be able to offer all that love, and more, but right now you cannot. And that is frustrating and heartbreaking, and causes you pain, which becomes anger at the feral cats who may be even more helpless than you to care for their young if they can barely scratch out a life for themselves. And it will repeat, as they are not getting neutered and spayed.

So although it hurts you to no end, and it is easy to blame the cats, perhaps it is Mother Nature's way of creating a survival of the fittest. After all, the cats cannot help being pregnant, and it is not much of a quality life for them either.

So let's say a prayer for the remaining kitten, as well as for its mother, and open our hearts to what nature allows - for better or worse.

And we all know that you are a kind, caring, and feisty student who has much to give, and that someday you will accomplish all that your heart desires.

Wishing you peace, and that you know that the kitties know that you care and gave them love and comfort.

Young mother cats don't always know how to care for their kittens. I don't think the mother is acting maliciously in this case. She may have rejected the kittens because she sensed there is something wrong with them. She may just be confused and scared and clueless about how to take care of her kittens.

You're in a position to do the compassionate thing here and get the mother spayed so that this doesn't happen again.

Please don't blame the mother cat for what happened to the kittens. Unless you're able to step in and take complete charge of the cat, by spaying and neutering and providing them with a safe indoor home, you have to accept that nature can be brutal at times.

I'm very sorry you've lost the kittens in this way but I agree with the others, I've seen a lot and in time, you will too. She probably was far too young to be a mother and she didn't know how to care for them. I also agree it would be best to have the other kitten put down. Sometimes its the kindest thing to do. It does upset me that you want to have the mother put down yet will not have her spayed. I know that emotions run high but please take a breath and think it over carefully. She was as much a victim as the kittens. Its quite possible she may not have had any milk at all hence why she was rolling, its quite uncomfortable for them to nurse if there's no milk. I've seen several cats have kittens and not have milk. I'd also like to ask if you have a local Humane Society that may help with TNR. Trap-Neuter-Return. There is a local one in my town that will do so as long as you promise to feed and shelter them and they must not be able to be handled, hence true feral. If not true ferals then they may also have a discount program to have them spayed. Would the clinic where you work be willing to work out a deal with you?

I do have another question, when you say kennel, what do you mean by that? Do you mean a large metal dog kennel? If so, she may not be throwing them out, if she is locked in there they may crawl out and fall. I am also wondering if/why is the kennel up so high that its possible for them to fall? If you can, set the kennel flat on the floor if it is safe and fix it up nicely with blankets and towels also cardboard around the edges and bottom inside so they cannot fall/crawl/drop out. At least a foot high. Does mother cat have a litterpan and plenty of food/water?  If she is freindly, it sounds as if she is, can you very carefully, turn her over and check to see if she has any milk and if the kittens have nursed at all?

thanks for the help guys.     We put a shot in the third kitten and saved it, along with the fourth.   So far, nothing has died today.  

Such great news, were you able to find someone who could foster the kittens for you, since the mother in un-prepared?

We still have the kittens with the mother, she seems to have calmed down and is nursing them how she should be.

That is good to hear, did you see my questions about the kennel set up? And also the TNR?

This is good news! I hope the mama continues to nurse. What kind of shot was it? Also, do you feed this nursing mom cat?