help...new kittens

My cat, Emily is a little over 1 year old. We came home yesterday to discover she had 2 kittens. She was in the process of moving them from wherever she gave birth to under the front porch stairs. My husband and I got a box and moved her and her kittens to a quiet room off the garage where she could be warm and safe. We live out in the country and have all sorts of wild animals around that would love a snack.

Anyway...I've never had this happen. We did want her to have a litter but kind of thought we'd know she was pregnant. She really didn't show much - she just looked like she was eating plenty. The kittens have fleas (I've seen one on each) and they still have their umbilical cords. I've weighed them on our postal scale like another site said I should - too keep up with their weight to make sure they are gaining weight....but I'm unsure about what to do for the fleas. I have heard that fleas can kill a newborn kitten.

My daughter has asthma so she can't be around them 24/7 so they have to stay outside...

Any advise would be extremely helpful.

Melanie King
Hamilton, GA

Please make sure the kittens are warm enough. If you go to www.kitten-rescue.com you can read up on flea treatments etc..........

I hadn't found that site yet, thanks. We've got them warm and mom's there keeping them in line. I'll have to go get some kitty flea shampoo and try it. Emily's ok with me taking the kitties one at a time as long as I'm quick about it.

Thanks!!

Originally Posted by pookie

I hadn't found that site yet, thanks. We've got them warm and mom's there keeping them in line. I'll have to go get some kitty flea shampoo and try it. Emily's ok with me taking the kitties one at a time as long as I'm quick about it.

Thanks!!

Click to expand...

Please be careful to check the label...many cat flea shampoos can not be used on newborns. If you check the site address that Hissy gave you, I know you'll find safe solutions as to how to deflea the kittens ( basic method is to hand pick the fleas off, dropping the fleas into a bowl of soapy water to kill them.)

wishing your kittens all the best,

Yes I agree with Pat- using over the counter flea shampoos on tiny kittens is not advisable. Depending on which type you use, you can introduce toxic shock and even death. On drop of Dawn dishwashing detergent in warm water and a comb dipped in the solution and combing the kitten will stun the fleas. Then take a pair of tweezers and carefully crush every stunned flea that you see. But please do not use over the counter products.

I know this is OT from your question..but once the kittens have weaned from mom...please get her spayed. A cat can become pregnant again very quickly and it will be much better for your cat if she can be fixed.

Katie

I am making appointments for all of them with the Vet on Monday. We wanted one litter and then had planned to have them all fixed. I'm not into being the neighborhood cat lady - too many wild animals around for that...

Thanks for the replies about the shampoo - I would have really messed up. I'll get the fleas picked off today...

I do have another dumb question...what do they do in the wild? Feral cats (and mine aren't feral) seem to be thriving...how do their babies make it without human intervention?

Feral kittens have quite a high death rate, sometimes as much as 50%. They are more 'street smart' than a house-cat and survive with their wit and instincts.

Just wanted to add, if you pick the fleas off them and put them back with mom, they will become re-infested almost straight away, as they got the fleas from mom. You need to treat her for fleas and it is safe to treat mom with Revolution or Advantage while she has the kittens.

Feral kittens do indeed have a low survival rate, unless they are in a managed colony. Kittens in the wild are susceptible to any disease the mom picks up when she is mated with. They are prey to intact males who prowl looking for exposed litters. The toms will then kill all the kittens in the litter for one reason- to make mom go into heat again so they can mate. They are in danger from humans who wish to harm them, the elements, bugs, parasites, you name it. Only the strongest and the smartest do indeed survive.

Hey Pookie...that's great.

I don't have much to add to what Tania and Hissy already stated about Feral cats...but if you want to learn more about feral/stray cats and about a program called TNR (trap, neuter, return) you can visit the Alley Cat Allies website.

http://www.alleycat.org/

Katie