New mom, 1 yr old, won't care for kittens

Kittens were born yesterday, 4 born. I died in 3 hours, breathing problems. Last night was difficult. The mom would nurse the kittens for a few minutes, then get restless, get up, wander around. Get in bed with me. I would take her back to the kittens. She would stay for a few minutes. Then repeat the cycle.

The kittens are very thin and long. They nurse whenever they can. But the mom is very restless, nervous, etc.  I tried giving them Petlac formula, but they won't take it. Won't nurse from the bottle. 

I have to stay with the mom constantly while she is nursing. If I leave, she follows me, leaving the kittens on their own. 

I'm scared the kittens are going to die. Don't know what else I can do. I can't afford to take them to a vet. 

You need to supplement until Mom is willing to nurse. sometimes it takes a cat a day or two to adjust to motherhood. Nursing kittens won't use a bottle. You need to find/get a needleless syringe 1-2 ml to feed the cats. You can also use an eye dropper. The formula must be warm and the kittens must be kept warm. the kittens cannot digest cold food or food when they are cold.

Tummy down, head up. put one or two drops in the side of the mouth.  Wait for kitten to swallow, then breath.  Repeat.

Start w/ 1 ml and if the kitten takes that try to feed another ml.

Then, hold her on your shoulder and pat her on the back to burp her.

Then rub her tummy to help her digest. Rub her bottom with a warm damp cloth to help her pee and poop.

Then try to feed her more in about a half hour to an hour.

The kittens need to be fed every 1-2 hours around the clock.

I'm no expert, but I have read here that sometimes kittens will take more kindly to being fed from a 1cc (needless) syringe than from a bottle. Make sure the kitten is warm before you start. Head up, belly down, syringe in corner of the mouth. Only let 1-2ml through at a time, making sure the kitten has time to swallow in between. It's very important that no liquid is inhaled - you don't want pneumonia on your hands.

Full fat goat's milk - raw if possible - is a good alternative to KMR. You might find that appeals more to the kittens.

It's really important to keep the kittens warm. If mom won't stay with them, put a pet safe heat pad in to give them the warmth they need.

Sorry I can't be more help. I hope some of our experts chime in soon.

Columbine said:

I'm no expert, but I have read here that sometimes kittens will take more kindly to being fed from a 1cc (needless) syringe than from a bottle. Make sure the kitten is warm before you start. Head up, belly down, syringe in corner of the mouth. Only let 1-2ml through at a time, making sure the kitten has time to swallow in between. It's very important that no liquid is inhaled - you don't want pneumonia on your hands.

Full fat goat's milk - raw if possible - is a good alternative to KMR. You might find that appeals more to the kittens.

It's really important to keep the kittens warm. If mom won't stay with them, put a pet safe heat pad in to give them the warmth they need.

Sorry I can't be more help. I hope some of our experts chime in soon.

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Dont be sorry [Columbine}, you and Handsome Kitten gave together the essential  advices.

Its also useful to weight them kittens, every twelf hours now when in crisis, later on every 24 hours...  So you see if they gain what they shall...

The petlac kmr you do have is surely OK, but if you can get raw goat milk, its even better.  And as the other said, it will be easier to give with a needleless syringe to weak kittens.  Or kittens who also nurse their mom...

The kittens possibly somewhat premature.  But as they are still alive, its apparently fully possible for them to fight on.

And dont be sad you dont have money to go to vet with them now.  Most vets arent much good with helping weak, more or less orphaned kittens...

SOME vets are experienced with this and they are good, so it depends.

However, later on you will surely need vets assistance, if nothing else so with spaying...  So you must anyways raise the money, or find a cheap vet.'''

Good luck!

Thanks everyone for your ideas. I have a small syringe and will thy that.

It's 85 here inside. I'm trying to keep the kittens warm and me and mom cool. Will weigh them shortly.

A cats body temp is somewhere between 100 and 102 degrees.  You probably need a heat source for the nest.  A heating pad on low, a hot water bottle or you can put raw rice in a sock and microwave it for 5 minutes and that will hold heat about 4 hours.  The heat source will need to be covered and off to one side so the kittens have room to move off if they get too warm.

Lots of good kitten advice here for you!

Are you feeding the mom cat plenty of wet food and kitten chow? She will also drink some of the formula from a dish. It's good for her while lactating.

Do you have the kittens in a box lined with something soft that mom can stretch out in to nurse?

Continue putting mom in with the kittens even if you are supplementing. Some cats can take a good 24 hours to settle down into their new role, and once they do, they bond with their kittens and become very good mothers! But the babies can go downhill fast, so supplementing is in order for a couple of days.

Let us know how it's going when you can!

Good info. Thanks.

Mom picked out her spot yesterday. It's a little difficult for me to get to, but it's accessible. I have a heat pad next to them. I move them onto it when the mom is away. They appear to be warm enough.

I tried giving the smallest one some formula from the syringe, but the mom interfered. She wanted the formula. So I let her have it. She eats Purina kitten chow.

I weighed the kits an hour ago (22 hrs old) and they were 115, 115, and 95 grams.  

Looks like you'll have to mix up some more KMR for the kittens.  Or has mom started nursing again?

Mom is currently nursing more than she did earlier today. She's not getting up as much. But she doesn't wait for the kits to finish. She just gets up and walks off. She does not lick them afterwards. She was walking around and meowing constantly. But has stopped for the moment. 

Mom needs to drink formula from a dish. She also needs wet food for nursing. The kitten chow is good.

The smallest kitten needs supplementing. It is underweight. You will need to remove it from the nest to feed it. They all need supplementing if she is not nursing them frequently.

Is she nursing them better?

Where is this tight spot? Is it in your house?

Did you buy the powdered kitten formula?

I'm wondering if she still needs to birth another kitten? What do you think? Sometimes this happens.

Mom and kits are in a corner under a table. I can get to it, but not easily. I'll see if the smallest kit will take some formula. 

Mom weighs about 10 lbs. Her belly is now soft. Don't know about any further kittens. 

Formula is PetLac powder. 

The little one really fights taking anything from the syringe, same as it did for the bottle. I got about 1ml in it and let it go back to the others. 

One mL is awesome!

Just keep an eye on mom and keep her nursing. Weigh the kittens again tomorrow. Whoever has not gained weight needs feeding every 2 hours. Usually 2 mL per feeding.

Try to get more into the littlest one tonight. He may fight, but it should get easier with each feeding. Once they are all gaining steadily, the worry is over. You're not there yet.

You can move them all into your bedroom too. That might help mama to relax some. They love closets!

Will do. I'll give the smallest one another ml this eve. We're in an RV, so they are never more than 20 feet from me. 

I really appreciate everyone's help on this. I'm much less stressed than I was this morning.

Ah, RV. Now I understand.

You're doing great! Glad you feel better! Hope they gain some weight tonight.

Check in with their weights tomorrow.

Handsome Kitty said:

 
A cats body temp is somewhere between 100 and 102 degrees.  You probably need a heat source for the nest.  A heating pad on low, a hot water bottle or you can put raw rice in a sock and microwave it for 5 minutes and that will hold heat about 4 hours.  The heat source will need to be covered and off to one side so the kittens have room to move off if they get too warm.

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Its correct as far as it goes, but if the inside temp is 85 - its quite warm, no?   Im not comfortable with Fahrenheit, we Europans use the Celsius.

But its uncomfortable warm for people, no?

So additional heating up of the kittens probably not necessary, one of the few exceptions.

Othewise, they as somewhat premature, surely needs good warming, even more then  full term kittens.

bikemechanic said:

 
Thanks everyone for your ideas. I have a small syringe and will thy that.

It's 85 here inside. I'm trying to keep the kittens warm and me and mom cool. Will weigh them shortly.

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bikemechanic said:

 
Good info. Thanks.

Mom picked out her spot yesterday. It's a little difficult for me to get to, but it's accessible. I have a heat pad next to them. I move them onto it when the mom is away. They appear to be warm enough.

I tried giving the smallest one some formula from the syringe, but the mom interfered. She wanted the formula. So I let her have it. She eats Purina kitten chow.

I weighed the kits an hour ago (22 hrs old) and they were 115, 115, and 95 grams.  

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Oh swell! Its good birthing weights.   Even the smallest 95 is a very OK birhting weigh.

 I though they were premature, but it doesnt sound so, not by the birthing weights.  Are they fully haired?

So keep an eye on the development, they shall add minimum 6g a day, but preferably 10plus for us to be happy.