Mother Cat Being Spayed Tomorrow Kittens Not Weaned

My 1-yr old cat Calli is scheduled for spay in the morning. The clinic understood that she has 4 wk. old kittens that are not weaned and informed me that her procedure could be done on her side so that she could continue to nurse. However, there is a problem w/her being away from the kittens for the day. I had hoped that I could introduce the kitties to milk (kitty formula) from a saucer over the weekend. They showed little interest. They are VERY healthy and thriving. In fact, Calli can hardly carry them in her mouth anymore; she drops them and has them follow her!

Is there much danger of them becoming dehydrated from going all day w/o her? I must have her there at 8am and pick her up at 4:30pm, so it will be most of a day. Someone will be available in the later afternoon, maybe noon or so, to offer them some more formula from a dish. I'm thinking my previous efforts at feeding from a dish may have failed b/c mom was near (she is still uneasy about her kitties being away from the "nest").

I feel that this spay is essential b/c she has attacked me twice, and my granddaughter as well, due to overprotectiveness w/these kitties. And we do not want another litter, either; she was really young to get pregnant, but she managed to get out one day when I failed to close the inner door all the way behind me.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

Assuming the kittens are fed in the morning, offered a dish at noon and another around 4ish they should be ok.  Can you leave some dry Royal Canin Mama and Baby Cat out for them to eat as well.  They are just at the age that some might eat a little.  The pieces are tiny and made for small kittens.

Mom may not be up for nursing right away so be prepared to feed them the first night.  also be sure to get pain meds for mom.  she will need them for the first 3 days.

I would hold off on the spay if at all possible. She should start to calm down with the kittens soon, and it's not safe if they are totally depending on her for food. Can you move her to a room where she is not disturbed except for fresh food? Even two more weeks would make a lot of difference. It sounds like she doesn't feel safe for whatever reason.

Oh, boy. I would postpone this spay for at least 2 weeks. Preferably until the kittens are 8 weeks old. It sounds like the kittens are not ready to wean yet (most aren't at 4 weeks), and this could be traumatic.

I'm sorry mom has attacked you. She's protecting her babies.

Can you re-schedule the spay?

I think going ahead w/the spay is the right thing to do. Don't get me wrong. She has not become terribly aggressive in general. The first time was almost funny. My neighbor has a sweet but large St Bernard/Standard Poodle mix. She brought her to the house a few days before Calli gave birth and she hid under my bed, where she eventually gave birth. This neighbor thoughtlessly brought the dog w/her a few days later, and Calli came from under the bed in my room in a FURY, through a laundry area, kitchen, living area, to the front door and was ready to tear that dog UP! She hurt a guy that was with my neighbor who tried to intervene.

The first time she attacked me was a week or 2 later when I took this neighbor back to my closet (where Calli had moved them) to see the kitties. Calli had trusted me to handle and play w/them all that time w/o any problems before. She attacked me this time, and I wondered if it was because this neighbor was standing there and she remembered the dog. I don't know, but she got me good on my head, face, upper arms. I was STUNNED! However, she did the same thing a week or so later when the neighbor wasn't there. That attack wasn't quite so severe, and I don't know what provoked it.

More recently, she has scratched my granddaughter. We have another female cat who IS spayed. Calli and BK are about the same age and are great companions. BK is actually my granddaughter's cat. She was playing w/BK in a box, they were kind of loud, and Calli scratched her on the back. The kittens were not around. Then last weekend, there was a neighbor dog that was loose and came up on our deck and up to the screen door. Understandably, Calli was upset about that. Madie, my granddaughter, who is 8, was trying to get in or out of the door and got scratched.

Otherwise, she is a very affectionate cat. She and BK were strays. I live in a mobile home community with a big feral cat problem. That's, I'm sure, where they came from. They are not at all "lap cats", but Calli LOVES to be petted and stroked. Neither one tolerates being "held".

Anyway, I went into all that. I do think I will go ahead. It's all arranged. The kitties should be ok. I know when we had BK spayed last yr. she was back to normal VERY quickly. I hope that Calli recovers as well.

Leave a dish of formula for the kittens before you leave in the morning. It will be a long day for them.

I understand your concern about your safety, but I think you are putting both mom and kittens at considerable risk here. Mom may need a few days to recover, and the kittens are not at all self-sufficient.

I would really advise that you give mom her own space, leave her in a room with her babies to settle, and wait a few weeks to spay. She seems to only be upset when surprised by what she sees as an intruder, so her own space should really help.

I am very concerned.

Many vets will not agree to spay nursing moms. I'm surprised your clinic has agreed to this.

The spay also may not prevent her attacking again if she feels her kittens are threatened while they are still small.

catwoman707

I agree. It will make her less hormonal, but won't do away with her mommy impulses.

kay lowe

Was your other cat nursing kittens when she was spayed last year?

I think she is set to go ahead with her spay appt, so let's help from there.

I would plan on her not feeling up to nursing the minute she gets home, she may, but she may not too.

4 week olds have nails too that might hurt her incision area, so it will have to be a see how it goes thing.

However, remember the kids can not go an entire day without food, they will all get dehydrated, so whether they will go for a dish of kmr/canned pate mushed or not will see, but they very well might when they are feeling very hungry.

Thick like a shake helps.

If any do not, use an eye dropper of a needle-less syringe if need be, just be sure they all get food in to them until mom is ready to nurse again.

I understand that they do not need to go w/o nutrition. If necessary, we will hand-feed them, though I don't think that will be required. They are up and around, running and getting into things. Just not interested in nutrition from any source but mommy yet! As I mentioned before, the clinic said that they do a procedure w/an incision on the side for nursing mother cats so that they can continue nursing, so hopefully Calli can continue nursing w/o much problem. She does have her own space in a room where she keeps the kitties. They are beginning to outgrow it now that they babies are more mobile, however.

If I have any problems feeding the kitties, I'll be back. 

Just got Calli back from the clinic She is drunk but otherwise OK. BK didn't act that way with hers.Anyway, the kitties did not act starved and still did not seem eager to take the formula fromt the saucer. They enjoyed what they got on their paws, or around their mouths, or sucking from my finger, but not the dish, until toward the end, when Brooklyn, the most advanced one finally did lick some up from the bowl. Calli nursed them when she got home, even though she is wobbly walking. She doesn't seem at all to be in pain. She was very alert and active in the car on the way hom

Anyway, so far, so good. Thanks for your help.

She's got pain medicine in her right now. She'll feel the pain over the next couple of days.

Thank goodness she nursed the babies. I'm sure they were hungry. They just aren't ready to wean quite yet, so still need to feed from mom.

Did the vet send you home with pain meds?

Make sure mom has wet food and water nearby. She'll be thirsty and hungry when the anesthesia wears off.