Mama neglecting babies?

My friend's cat just had kittens Friday night. She had them between two mattresses (there's gap, so it's a small nest-like place.) I was over at my friend's house last night and Mama kept coming over to us. She was more instrested in playing outside with the other adult cats (there are five adults) and with us humans than tending to her babies. I'm worried; I've never dealt with Mama cats, newborns yes, but not the mothers. Is she neglecting her babies, that are only a day old?

She's two years old, and this is her first litter. She is three-legged, and my friend thought she wasn't capable of having babies. Mama's sister had babies last year, and Mama helped with that litter, but this is the first time she's had her own.

Also, my friend believes there are only three babies. But Mama was very, very big. If she had stillborn babies could she be neglecting her living ones due to stress?

Thank you for any feedback.

Believes there are 3?
has anyone looked to see how many there are, what shape their in, etc??
that all has to be evaluated

I agree she needs to have a look at the kittens and also I wouldnt be letting the Mama cat outside as she can fall pregnant again very quickly! This cat needs to stay inside until the kittens are weaned and then the Mama cat spayed.

Are the kittens warm? does the Mama let them fed at regular intervals? If the Mama cat is infact neglecting these babies then your friend will need to intervene and feed them herself.

I cant offer any other advise as I dont know alot about day old kittens but I am sure someone else will be along shortly with more knowledge.

She needs to pull them out of that spot, to obviously see whats even up there..

And lock them into a room together, a bathroom, closet..or a crate..and see if momma does a good job then..

Letting her outside is like her going to an amusement park, of course she will forget them..

In my humble experience, mama cat didnt spend as much time as i would have thougt with her kitten. when i told my vet this, she explained that in the wild the mother would be out hunting a lot of the time to get food so she could feed the babies. but i agree that she should maybe be kept confined with the babies for a while to monitor and to see how shes getting on with them.

I am a little concerned though that no-one has checked on the kittens yet even to count them? And that there are other unspayed and possibly un-neutered cats around as she can get preganant again very quickly if she gets the chance. (sorry if this isnt the case or i am saying very obvious things )

The mama cat should be fed a high quality kitten food too to ensure that she has enough nutrients to feed the babies.

If your friend needs help with spaying the mama and her sister (the cat's sister i mean!) TNR1 has a list of low cost clinics that could help her

Thank you all for replying.

I've never had to deal with a Mama and her litter, so I'm new to this. As they are not my cats, I can't do much except report back to my friend-- which I will do immediately.

Also, she got one of the cats spayed, and are getting the other two done soon. (Both were pregnant, so she had to wait.)

I for one am a strong advocate for spaying/neutering. I volunteered with a nonprofit organization for six years that specialized in spaying and neutering. However, my friend doesn't share the same sentiments, so it's harder to get her to fix her cats. If anyone has suggestions on helping her get a move on fixing her cats, I'm open to new ideas.

Thanks for the help.

Tell her that unspayed/neutered cats run a higher risk of cancers and that females can develop pyrometria which can kill them.

Also its not good for cats to continue to get pregnant every time they come into heat.

I think the kits need to come out and be checked. If all so well mom and them should be put where they can not leave.