Please help

My cat gave birth 2 days ago to her first litter, I've never had a cat before her and I'm a little worried. The kittens seem to be feeding and sleeping fine but at least one of them constantly meows and I can't figure out why, even when they are all feeding or all sleeping one of them still constantly meows, is it normal? Also mummy cat seems to want to explore or play at night time these past 2 nights and I worry because she doesn't return to the babies unless I put her back there. I have no heating pad or scales as we didn't know she was pregnant. What can I do to keep her there at night time as it is cold currently 6 degrees Celsius (43 Fahrenheit) and I don't want to risk them getting hypothermia. Also any tips on what could be causing the constant meowing, it seems to be mostly at night to, so could they just be cold?

You need to get supplies. A scale is the best way to see if they are gaining weight, which is the best way to see if they're thriving. A meowing kitten usually means something is wrong. This kitten is likely hungry, and needs to be fed by you until it is strong enough to get a nipple. A heating pad would also be a good idea to put under half the nest. You will also need kitten milk replacer. Powdered PetAg is most recommended here.

You can also close mom in a room with her litter box, food, water, and nest. That would help her to stay close to the kittens.

Will she be spayed after this litter?

I am hoping to get supplies for her over the next few days when I can get into town as I live in a country town and have to rely on my parents to drive me. I have the best in my room and my door is closed but my cat is smart and can open the door herself, which means I spend most of the night awake with her, a heater has been placed in my room on medium as to not make the room to hot but to slightly warm it up because if I cover the kittens with a blanket, even if she is nursing she will wake up and either go walking to look for them or try and play. I make sure she is still receiving attention and I let her out of my room a couple of times a day for a few minutes to stretch her legs but she always goes back into the babies. Yes I plan on getting her spayed as soon as possible

If the kitten who is crying doesn't get fed soon she will likely not make it. This is a critical time. Some members may be able to advise on a homemade kmr for the time being. Do you have a dropper or needleless syringe? @stefanZ

You also don't want to put a blanket over them as they can suffocate.

It's normal for the mother to be away from the kittens some. Can you put something in front of the door to keep it closed? You need to sleep too.

And please note that she can go into heat and get pregnant again a week after giving birth. Please be sure to keep her inside.

I am hoping to go get supplies tomorrow, I will check with my local vet clinic. They have all settled down now and are sleeping peacefully. I do help them occasionally latch on if they look like they are having trouble. I will do my best to keep her inside by explaining it to my parents as they have only ever had dogs they seem to treat her like a dog to and do not seem very fussed about her well being or the babies, leaving it all to me. But I will make sure I get all the necessary supples to help the little ones

I am hoping to go get supplies tomorrow, I will check with my local vet clinic. They have all settled down now and are sleeping peacefully. I do help them occasionally latch on if they look like they are having trouble. I will do my best to keep her inside by explaining it to my parents as they have only ever had dogs they seem to treat her like a dog to and do not seem very fussed about her well being or the babies, leaving it all to me. But I will make sure I get all the necessary supples to help the little ones

Help the little crying one latch often. Every two hours at least.

If she gets out again she will likely get pregnant again. The other risk is that something could happen to her, orphaning the kittens. She could also bring pests or illness back to her kittens.

That's is what worries me, I try my best to keep her inside and try to make her an inside cat but it is hard when you also have dogs and the back door is constantly left open. I usually get up every hour or so and check on them but if there crying it's usually until they stop that I'm with them..

It is essential that she stays in at least while she's nursing and until she's spayed. Make sure she's closed in a room when the door is open. I understand that you're trying your best!

Thank you! Any advice on how to get her to sleep at night. She seems to sleep all day and then gets a sudden burst of energy at night and will begin to roam around or bathe herself and disturb the babies

I don't, unfortunately. Cats tend to be nocturnal. I would say that whatever her behavior is, it's probably normal. The babies are awake and feeding every few hours anyway.

Ok, thank you for all of your help!

sarahrose28 said:

I am hoping to get supplies for her over the next few days when I can get into town as I live in a country town and have to rely on my parents to drive me. I have the best in my room and my door is closed but my cat is smart and can open the door herself, which means I spend most of the night awake with her, a heater has been placed in my room on medium as to not make the room to hot but to slightly warm it up because if I cover the kittens with a blanket, even if she is nursing she will wake up and either go walking to look for them or try and play. I make sure she is still receiving attention and I let her out of my room a couple of times a day for a few minutes to stretch her legs but she always goes back into the babies. Yes I plan on getting her spayed as soon as possible

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you can probably borrow gears from your neigbours.  When in times of need, its a sociale rule to help out if you can, even if you normally dont speak much with each others.

sarahrose28 said:

Thank you! Any advice on how to get her to sleep at night. She seems to sleep all day and then gets a sudden burst of energy at night and will begin to roam around or bathe herself and disturb the babies

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does the meowing one latchh on and nurse?  of course, you perhaps still dont know if the suckles efficeint enough.  Having a scale makes it easier to notice changes.

If you dont have any gears, like a dropper, you can use a straw!    What fluid, depends on what you do have home.   But if you dont have antything else, you can always give some water with a little white caro syrup or honey in it...   Its NOT enough, but will buy you some time.

You live rural?  Can you get goat milk? its excellent emergency kmr.  

Or if you can get RAW, unpasteurized cow milk... its better and safter than bought, pasterized cow milk,  This last is desperation, but I know kittens whom were rescued so.  You will perhaps need to dilute some.

Not sure if this has been mentioned yet, but does the crying kitten seem like it has had milk coming out of the nose? Please check the kitten's palate (even without the milk coming from the nose) and see if it's closed as it should be. If it does latches on normally (like Stefan asked) I think this could be the problem. But even if she doesn't latch on, it doesn't hurt to check.

And follow all things mentioned above of course until checked. If it's closed, continue. If it's open, go to the vet asap. 

Unfortunately my neighbour has threatened our cat if they see it in their yard again so I don't think they will be helpful. As for getting some milk and supplies to help with that, I will call around tomorrow and see what's available. All the noses also seem to be perfectly normal, I'm hoping I may be able to get them to the vet for a check up just in case though.

They all seem to latch on and nurse fine but they can disturb each other if their not all latched on at the same time so I usually go back a few times, especially when there's meowing and make sure their latching on fine, sometimes lightly holding their heads there

Please keep your cat in! There seem to be many dangers, in your case specifically.

I will be making sure she stays in until she is spayed, no matter how much she hates it