Queen not caring for kittens

Hi, I took in a stray cat who was pregnant and she was very appreciative and loving and is calmest when I'm around. So that's not the problem.
But she has kittens early this morning (9/8), and she didn't seem interested in them at all.
My bf and I had to pet her to get her to lay down and then place the kittens on her. I think she's just inexperienced, but will she learn? Anytime I go to check on her in the room she stands up and walks over to me, leaving her kittens to just drop from her nipples.
She also doesn't groom them and if one or two wander off she just leaves them there. But she does let them nurse if I put them there, but I work and can't do it constantly. We also have six cats so I can't even put her in a room that I can monitor her in, and she won't stay in the tub I prepared for her.
Please help me, I'm at my wit's end!

Main thing, they can nurse... and get some warmth from her.  Hopefully her instincts will kick in... But you must help and try to show her...  And monitor the situation.

Weigh the kittens every day, so you are sure they do gain, smallish 6g a day, biggish born 10 gram a day, as minimum numbers...

But its true, you must be prepared to step in..  Being happy you dont need to feed them so much as otherwise necessary.

May it be possible there is one left, will come later??  If they arent done, it happens they arent much interested with the kittens already delivered....

Please continue to report!

Being a first time mom, she could have one more, but at the same time, now she's very emaciated looking (because she's a stray) so I don't think she has any more. She's had five already, and last one out was very small, 94g where the rest were 107g.
Should I help them defecate myself, in front of her so she knows and hopefully catches on?
I just get so nervous when I hear one crying because the nest is open (I tried to reinforce the sides with another blanket) so I'm afraid one wandered off and she just doesn't care, but I can't afford to open the door and bother her all the time.
She also starts to get up when I stand up after latching her kittens on, but is better when I'm there petting her.

gwendolyndark said:

Being a first time mom, she could have one more, but at the same time, now she's very emaciated looking (because she's a stray) so I don't think she has any more. She's had five already, and last one out was very small, 94g where the rest were 107g.
Should I help them defecate myself, in front of her so she knows and hopefully catches on?
I just get so nervous when I hear one crying because the nest is open (I tried to reinforce the sides with another blanket) so I'm afraid one wandered off and she just doesn't care, but I can't afford to open the door and bother her all the time.
She also starts to get up when I stand up after latching her kittens on, but is better when I'm there petting her.

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94 isnt bad, really a decent weight, so if the kitten is healthy otherwise, it shouldnt be any problems.

Yes, I think its a good idea you show her how to defecate, doing it in front of her.

Do everything with them in front of her, so she doenst worries what you are doing with them.

Although, to awoke HER, it may be worth a try to get her worried with what you are doing...   Just to try out!

My girl had a litter a few days ago and I was worried about the same sort of things - I was toileting them for the first day and then letting her sniff the tissue I used, while they were feeding or sleeping as to not irritate mum, I also pushed their bums in her face so she would put two and two together.

She may be stressed about where she is nesting, my queen is in my bedroom and was shut in there for a few days until she stopped dragging the kittens around.

Just give her time, weigh the kittens but it is normal to have a runt or two - my smallest is 122g on day three compared to the rest who are 152g. I sneak the fatties away sometimes so the little ones can have a bit more of a feed - Goodluck!

She gets up at the smallest noise and leaves them hanging on her and if one falls off onto the tile and screams and screams, she doesn't even pay it any mind. I'm worried that she may just be putting up with us putting them on her, but at least they're eating!
Thank you so much for your help you two, I'll keep you posted!

G gwendolyndark

Lots of first-time moms need a day or two to fully adjust to their new role.

Do you have a private place you can put her, such as a bedroom closet with the door slightly ajar? And put her food, water, and litter nearby so she does not have to go far to meet her needs.

You mentioned you have other cats. This new cat is probably very on edge worrying that other cats may come to bother her babies. To her, they are predators. The more privacy you can give her and her babies these first few weeks the better. She needs to feel safe.

Also, kittens cannot regulate their own body temperature the first 3 weeks, so she needs to be with them as much as possible. Kittens need dark and semi-dark also because their eyes are not open. They need low lighting when they first begin to open. This is why I've suggested a closet.

She will begin cleaning and toileting them herself most likely. Certainly you need to check on her, but perhaps not too often so she can settle in and focus on her babies.

And if you could pick up a box or plastic bin for their nest it would keep the babies from wandering right now, and lower everyone's anxiety.

Let us know how it's going .

She has a bin, but refuses to use it. Anytime I put her babies in it and her, she just jumps out. She's in a small separate room at the back of the house, about the size of a walk-in closet.
Our current kittens just want to play with the string we keep on the door to keep it closed (it doesn't close anymore), and one has gotten in a couple of times but she's not aggressive towards them, just curious and tries to get up to her. I kick her out immediately, of course. She's doing a little better, my bf held the butts up and she licked one, and we've been wiping them too, but no poop so far, so I think she's doing it herself! Progress! She'll also lay down with them now, though sometimes a little bit on them.

Yay!

So sweet [emoji]128149[/emoji].

How is she doing today?  We had a stray give birth in our house as well, and our other cats made her very nervous.  Finally (with much wonderful advice from folks here) we put her in the guest room where she can't see the other cats.  It has really helped to relax mama cat, and the kittens are doing really well (three weeks yesterday!).

She's doing great now! I wipe the kittens' bums every day, but no poop, so she must be doing it herself. She's very curious of our other six cats, though the two big guys hiss and growl if they see her. Thinking about putting a screen up to let them see each other when the kits are older. Largest is 172 grams at 3/4 days old!

That's a very good weight. It's nice you are helping her. Hopefully she'll get the hang of it as time goes on. The screen sounds like a good idea too.

So our largest kit is gaining between 20-30 grams per day. Is this normal???

That is excellent!  6 - 10 grams is the minimum gain you want to see. 

How much are the smallest gaining.  The biggest are gaining because they are eating a lot.  Be sure the smaller kittens are not getting pushed off the nipples and not getting enough to eat.

The smallest is 188 grams, but that's still 16 grams from yesterday, so still good! Some of them eat one time, and different ones do another time, I think.
Also one of them keeps opening its mouth to breathe, like it's overheating and panting. I'm not sure why?

Thank you so much for your help, everyone!

gwendolyndark said:

The smallest is 188 grams, but that's still 16 grams from yesterday, so still good! Some of them eat one time, and different ones do another time, I think.
Also one of them keeps opening its mouth to breathe, like it's overheating and panting. I'm not sure why?

Thank you so much for your help, everyone!

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What does his chest look like?  Can you post a picture of this kittens chest, front and side views.

@catwoman707

If this open mouthed breathing is slow deep breaths, like small gasps, it sounds like it is dying.

They're likely a bit young to show signs of a uri/stuffy nose, and unless it has a flat chest, it is likely dying. 

If so, nothing can be done now, too far gone, organs shutting down.

Can you describe in more detail this one's behavior, is it not interested in nursing or not latching on? Off on it's own often?

Paws feel cooler than the others?

From the side that's the best I can get. It's not slow open mouth breathing, more like smelling with its mouth open? And only for a couple seconds, but maybe three times if I'm holding it. It still eats as far as I can tell, and is still gaining weight.