Newborn Kittens & Care of Queen

zannah

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Hi

My youngest cat (I have 5!) had kittens on Sunday morning. Just to mention - these were planned. I have ALWAYS had all my cats spayed/neutered as soon as they were old enough, but just once I wanted one to have kittens, as long as she was healthy. My vet was happy with that too.

Anyway, we have 4 beautiful babies, all different so suspecting there may be more than one father! (Tramp!)

Its now Day 3 and she is starting to leave the nest to feed herself and wander around a bit. Does anybody know how long I should keep her away from my other cats? They all go outside and although are all fully vaccinated, I wouldn't want them to potentially pass something to Mum Cat that she may in turn pass to the kittens. I have no intention of letting her outside for a good few weeks until she has finished nursing because I want her down the vets before she gets preggers again (for her sake). I just wondered when its 'safe' for her to interact with the other cats indoors.

Any ideas? Thanks.

Susannah
 

tnr1

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Originally Posted by Zannah

Hi

My youngest cat (I have 5!) had kittens on Sunday morning. Just to mention - these were planned. I have ALWAYS had all my cats spayed/neutered as soon as they were old enough, but just once I wanted one to have kittens, as long as she was healthy. My vet was happy with that too.

Anyway, we have 4 beautiful babies, all different so suspecting there may be more than one father! (Tramp!)

Its now Day 3 and she is starting to leave the nest to feed herself and wander around a bit. Does anybody know how long I should keep her away from my other cats? They all go outside and although are all fully vaccinated, I wouldn't want them to potentially pass something to Mum Cat that she may in turn pass to the kittens. I have no intention of letting her outside for a good few weeks until she has finished nursing because I want her down the vets before she gets preggers again (for her sake). I just wondered when its 'safe' for her to interact with the other cats indoors.

Any ideas? Thanks.

Susannah
Susannah....I wouldn't risk allowing them to interact until the kittens are older. I'm not sure how the situation is in the UK, but there are some terrible diseases here in the USA that can spread from outdoor cats....FIV, FELV and Distemper are all problems for outdoor cats. Not to mention URIs (colds) and Fleas...that can be deadly for little kittens. It is probably a good idea to wait until the kittens have at least received their first set of shots before allowing interaction with your other cats. I would have the mom on sabatical and keep her in a room with her kittens for now (set her up with kitten food and litter in the room). Also, as you are probably aware, cats can become pregnant again as early as a week after giving birth, so no trips outdoors (even accidentally) for mom.

Information on distemper:

http://www.peteducation.com/article....&articleid=222

I'm glad you found this site....and as you know, everyone here loves pictures.

To insert pictures...go to this thread:

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14474

Katie
 
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zannah

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Thanks Katie, yes you confirmed what I was thinking about keeping them all separate. Although the cats are all vaccinated, they can probably still pass things on to the kittens who obviously haven't been vaccinated yet as they are only 3 days old! I suppose I wanted reassurance I was doing the right thing. She has a whole built in wardrobe set up for her with blankets in a basket, then the basket is in a box on its side so there's 'walls' on 3 sides to help them feel more enclosed and warm. This cupboard is in a room that we're not allowing the other cats into for now, so I think they're all safe!

Another member showed me how to do the pics:

ALFIE:


MISTY:


DOMINO:


TIGER:


I wasn't going to name them as they will be found good homes in time, but my husband named one, his daughter named another and I had to have them all on equal footing!

Susannah
 

tnr1

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Awww..very sweet little ones.

When I fostered a mom and her kittens....I was told by my vet to be especially careful between my cats and the foster mom and babies. I just think when they are that tiny and don't have any shots..it's best not to risk cross-contamination. BTW...one of my foster kittens died of pneumonia...it was very sad. They think she picked it up at the shelter.

Katie
 
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