Kitten Announcement

I am happy to say that it was not the mucus plug that I saw it was vomit from one of my other cats. Sarah gave birth to four kittens at 7am Sunday morning. She had them all in a 30 minute time span. She is a great mom. All of the kittens are alive and making good weight gain. We are now about 34 hours into life so I think it is safe to say they are all healthy.
I am a little worried that she is not producing enough milk. The kittens all start crying every two hours. Any foods that I can give her to promote milk production?

Awwww, that is great news! Congrats on the new babies! *hint hint - ummm, pictures????*

As for her milk production, give her high protein treats of boiled boneless breast of chicken or ground turkey along with her regular meals of a high-quality canned kitten food formula. Leave down a good quality dry throughout the day. She might also like a little KMR or goat's milk too.

If you have a kitchen scale that weighs in grams/ounces, it would be good to keep a daily weight chart to ensure the babies are progressing. If you have concerns about your queen's milk production or that the babies aren't getting enough milk, this is a real good way to determine your next course of action. If the weights are not progressing as they should, you can supplement by bottle feeding.

Congratulations!

Something else that may help with milk production is kitten glop. Give her as much of this as she wants.

Home-made kitten formula (Kitten Glop)

8 ounces water (boiled then cooled)
1 envelope Knox unflavored gelatin
8 ounces whole evaporated milk (not skim)
2 tablespoons mayonnaise (not low fat)
2 tablespoons plain yogurt (not low fat)
1 large or 2 small eggs yolks (raw)
1 teaspoon clear Karo syrup
* 1-3 drops liquid pet vitamins
* 1 capsule acidophilus
* 1 drop Grapefruit Seed Extract (GSE)

* Optional, though very beneficial.

Boil the water, add the gelatin and mix well. Add the following ingredients in order, mixing well after each addition:

1/2 of the canned milk
Mayonnaise and Yogurt
Rest of the milk
All other ingredients

You can substitute canned goat's milk for the canned evaporated milk, if you prefer it. This mixture will keep in the fridge for up to four days. It is jello-like in consistency in the fridge so you can just scoop out as much as you need and warm. It can also be frozen in ice cube trays and defrosted as needed. You can find pet vitamins at a pet store or your vet, and acidophilus and GSE in the liquid form at a good health food store.

If the kittens are all making good weight gain, she is producing enough milk. Each kitten should gain around 10-20 grams a day (use a gram scale for accuracy).