I need someones help... PLEASE!

My cat LILO had 7 kittens (1 died, so I have 6) 4 weeks ago. (Well,they will be 4 weeks old on this coming Sunday)

I had to go out of town for business for 8 days and I returned early Thursday morning. My husband cared for Lilo and the kittens while I was away. On Tuesday morning he called me and told me that he thought Lilo missed me because she was acting sad. I asked him if she was still feeding the kittens and he said yes. I also want to add that Lilo has always been a wonderful momma cat.

Well Thursday morning I went in her room to check on her and the kittens and I finally found Lilo..... hiding. I called her to come out and she couldnt move. I picked her up and rushed her to the vets b/c this behavior was not like her at all.
At the vets he checked her temp. and it was 106!!!!

He rolled her over and found an "abcess" under one of her breast. He asked the nurse lady there to open it and after she did he pushed on it and I almost fainted when I saw what AND how much came out. It was unreal. It was puss but sooo much of it. I started to cry and he told me I didn't need to see it and made me turn around.
When he finished.... he told me that he couldn't imagine how many ounces of puss came out. He gave her a shot. On my invoice it says "1 Pen/ Gent Injection". What ever that is. He also put her on Clavamox 2 xs a day.

He told me to seperate the kittens from Lilo. He also told me that with that kind of temp that she had that there is no way she still has milk. He said since the kittens are almost 4 weeks old .. to introduce them to kitten food.

I have tried kitten food even with water added and most of them are not interested. I have tried kitten formula in kitten bottles ... not interested. I put out tuna fish and they seemed to like it but its like they arent sure how to eat it. I also put kitten formula in a bulb syringe and they love it like that but it gets everywhere!!! Which I can handle better than them not eating at all. But my question I guess is ... are they still too little to introduce them to food? Am I doing something wrong? Please help.

AlsoI want to add that I just let Lilo see her babies b/c she seems to feel better. She was happy to see them I can tell. But they all attacked her trying to nurse. She did lay down and let them suck for a second or two and then she just jumped up. Her boobies are pretty flat so I doubt there is any milk. She cleans them and stuff but as soon as they try to nurse.. she gets aggravated and walks away.

Originally Posted by CJandBilly

First, no... it's not too early for them to be weaned, but if they aren't eating food, they might need to be bottle fed.

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I have tried the bottle thing but they aren't interested. It is weird to me b/c they will take it from a bulb syringe. It is very messy. They get more of it on me and the floor than there mouths and so much is wasted.
I just feel like im going nuts!! I dont know what to do.

Thank you for your sweet words and your prayers. We can use them!

Do you by chance have any doll baby bottles with soft nipples? I once had to feed kittens that way. I'm not sure where to tell you to look for the bottles --- my Mom kept everything and she had some from when we were kids. I've seen some in a store somewhere lately, but can't recall where.

Another thing you might try is canned meaty food - not in chucks or not sliced. Put a little on your fingers and see if you can get them to lick it off - maybe that would help show them how to eat it.

Good luck and God Bless You --- I helped my neighbor's cat deliver 7 kittens 2 weeks ago (not that she really needed my help) but I certainly treasured the experience.

So sorry that Lilo got sick - that must've been scary at the vet. I think the pen/gent injection was probably penicillin/gentimycin (antibiotic)

I've read on this board to try some light Karo syrup on their noses to get them started. I think the sticky at the top of the forum on Kitten Rescue has some good ideas. Let us know how those babies do!

another method you might want to try (if they are already starting to groom themselves) is to wet down some canned food so it is a runny paste, and put it on their paw. Instinctively they should lick it off to keep clean, and when they realize how good it is, they should want more!

Thanks you guys for all of your great advice.

Last night I tries some wet food.
They went crazy over it. They actually started fighting each other over it!!!
Is it ok to just give them wet food? I have always thought dry food is better for them. But I guess wet food is better than none.
Also they are pooping and peeing now. I had a great big surprise when I woke up this morning. How do I get these babies litter box trained??

I feel so overwhelmed. 6 kittens is like 12 kids.

Anyways, anyone with advice please keep it rolling.... it all does help me so much!!

Oh, poor Lilo! I think the main thing is getting them to eat and grow, so if they prefer wet food, let them have it.

Good luck with the litterbox. I had a litter of puppies once, and let me tell you they pooped everywhere all the time. Even messy kittens aren't nearly as bad!

May your kits and Lilo grow and be healthy!

Glad to hear they eat the wet food. Thats how we got all of ours started. with wet food, and than introduce the kibble. kibble is out all the time. and right now they get four small meals of wet aday as well.

We just put a little cake pan with litter down for ours to stary useing the box. And they would play in it. than they used it now they go in their kitten box..and Aragorn..well hes a "big boy" and uses the big kitty box.

as long as its a good quality kitten food they'll be fine.

as for litter training, mine didnt learn until he was 5/6 weeks. a big lazy boy, he wanted his mummy to do it for him, lol.

In the end he learned because he saw her do it. i also used to put him in the litter tray after he had eaten to let him get used to the feel of the litter.

For litter training, I tried to watch mine eat and then when they were done I'd try and place them in the litter tray. Also, trying to "catch them" doing it somewhere else and transporting them helps. I know how it is - I have 8. And currently they are eating 9 cans of food a day PLUS kibble. Actually, I mix the hard & soft because they like the soft better, but the hard makes it go farther. 60 cans of cat food a week is a lot. (Might be even more than 60, since we have mom plus two other adult cats!)

Many people believe wet food is better than dry food. For my fosters I usually feed them wet food several times a day, and leave dry food out for if they feel like munching.