Please help! Mother cat had kittens one week and now not drinking much or eating.

I volunteer for a local Foster group. The cat I volunteered to take in had kittens three days after I brought her home. We don't know much about this cat except she came from a terrible hoarding situation. when I first got her home before she had the kittens she was eating and drinking fine she had the kittens on Wednesday and I noticed on Saturday she was not drinking or eating as much as she normally did. I've tried everything from goat's milk and cottage cheese to every brand of wet or dry cat food on the market and the only thing she will eat is boiled chicken and certain baby food. I've never had a mother cat with kittens but from what I read online the kittens look like they're doing okay. Mother is nursing them and when they are sleeping they are all piled together content. Except for not drinking and eating much mother cat seems normal want affection and is walking around fine and paying attention to her babies. She did get her rabie shot on Friday that's the only thing besides having the kittens that I can think of might be a problem but from what I read the shot effects should have worn off by now. I'm just concerned she's not making enough milk to be able to support the babies. I really don't want to have to take her to the vet since I live in the North and it's so cold out and the babies are only seven days old. Not to mention she ate her last litter due to stress. I don't want to stress her out by bringing her to the vet or exposing the kittens to cold temperatures unless I absolutely have to. Any advice would be greatly appreciated as this is all new territory for me.

Pregnant and nursing cats should never be vaccinated. She is probably experiencing side effects still. Since she seems okay otherwise, continue to feed her what she will eat - the baby food and boiled chicken. Make sure she has dry kitten chow and fresh water available 24/7, and let's hope her appetite returns soon.

Do make sure the kittens get enough from mom. They might be interested in the chicken or turkey baby food too! It's great for weaning.

I have 4 kittens and thier mom in a spare bedroom. They are in a cardboard box about the size of a laundry basket. Mom can get in and out but kittens cant get out. My question is what age can i open the box so the kittens can come and go as they please? They WILL not have free run of the house just the bedroom.

What I did when my foster kittens were starting to move a bit was to put their birthing box in the middle of the room. I then put a cat bed next to it. As they then started to climb over the side of the box, they landed in a soft cat bed next to it. This was them at 23 days old:





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Most kittens are ready to venture from the nest at about 3 weeks old! [emoji]128571[/emoji]