Advice Needed On How To Proceed

[Andrewjjjjjjj]

Long story:
I live in an apartment complex and have food/water outside for the strays as well as 2 large tubs insulated with wood chips so that the many cats outside can have some place to eat/sleep. About 2ish weeks ago I noticed one of the cats would stay on the porch for days at a time, so I finally bring her inside (and put my pet in the room with toys so he doesn't get upset), and notice she's pregnant. She's been in the bathroom most of the time except for when we put our boy cat in the room and let her roam, we tried to make sure both of them had attention/care. (Looking back we should of taken her to the vet to make sure she was okay but please don't bash me for that now)
So fast forward to now, she had 6 kittens 4 days ago, all seemed to be healthy, we were asleep for all births excluding the last kitten, who we had to help get the sac off of because she wouldn't do it. so I go to work today and come back home and a kitten is crushed, i'm not positive if it was the one that she didn't de-sac because there's 3 identical tabbies, but she most certainly did crush it, it was flat as a pancake. How should I proceed, what do I need to do to ensure that mom, and that the rest of babies are properly taken care of? Thanks in advance.

Edit1: forgot to mention I believe the mom is young, and that it's her first litter of kittens. She doesn't quite know how to pick them up by their neck carefully and she seems more interested in some attention when I check on her than if she's currently feeding her babies/they're sleeping next to her.

 

[Primula]

Just going off-topic for a minute, if you feed strays outside you are going to be overrun with kittens, which can cause huge problems in your apartment complex. Not to mention landlord problems. A female cat can become pregnant at 4 months & can litter roughly twice a year. Personally, I do not feed any cat to breed unless I spay/neuter the cat. Cats can stay outside in a colony, if necessary, but they must be fixed.


First, keep the male cat away from momma. He must never be in the same room, especially if he is not fixed. He can potentially harm the kittens. Unfortunate about the dead kitten, but, moving along ... momma needs a quiet room with a large comfortable box for her & her babies. A box lined with soft bedding. She needs clean water & very good food - wet & dry. That's all she needs. Make sure she is feeding all her kittens & keeping them clean. Hopefully, she will be a good mother. She needs to feel that you are nearby to help her, if necessary.

At 8 weeks she can be spayed & her kittens neutered/spayed.

 

[catwoman707]

Hello and welcome!

Unless she is in a small cramped space where she did not intentionally lay on the baby, it's very likely she intentionally did that, something may have been wrong, they have a great instinct for this.

However, being young, which does cause her to be more concerned for herself and attention than her new kids, I'm not so sure I can say it was intentional either.
I know that I had that happen also, but think it's more like putting the unwell baby behind her, if she is unable to take it far away from her nest of kids. Depriving it of nursing and ultimately it dying, but ends up laying on it.
There is also the option of them eating the baby, had that happen too, and it was a long time before I was able to comprehend that one......

I don't believe the others are in danger because of the one. That is unless you see behavior that appears aggressive towards the others.
Be sure to give her plenty of attention, I think that will buy some time before more of her maternal instincts kick in and devote herself to their care rather than putting herself first.

 

[Andrewjjjjjjj]

Just going off-topic for a minute, if you feed strays outside you are going to be overrun with kittens, which can cause huge problems in your apartment complex. Not to mention landlord problems. A female cat can become pregnant at 4 months & can litter roughly twice a year. Personally, I do not feed any cat to breed unless I spay/neuter the cat. Cats can stay outside in a colony, if necessary, but they must be fixed.


First, keep the male cat away from momma. He must never be in the same room, especially if he is not fixed. He can potentially harm the kittens. Unfortunate about the dead kitten, but, moving along ... momma needs a quiet room with a large comfortable box for her & her babies. A box lined with soft bedding. She needs clean water & very good food - wet & dry. That's all she needs. Make sure she is feeding all her kittens & keeping them clean. Hopefully, she will be a good mother. She needs to feel that you are nearby to help her, if necessary.

At 8 weeks she can be spayed & her kittens neutered/spayed.

He is kept away from her, he's fixed though. she's always kept alone in the bathroom with sufficient food/water/temp. if it was just a fluke then sorry to have created a thread on it. Thanks for the help.

 

[Sarthur2]

No, it's a genuine concern. We are here to help with any and all concerns.

Does mom seem comfortable in the bathroom with her kittens? Do they have enough room?

Thank you for bringing her inside and saving her!

 

[Andrewjjjjjjj]

Hello and welcome!

Unless she is in a small cramped space where she did not intentionally lay on the baby, it's very likely she intentionally did that, something may have been wrong, they have a great instinct for this.

However, being young, which does cause her to be more concerned for herself and attention than her new kids, I'm not so sure I can say it was intentional either.
I know that I had that happen also, but think it's more like putting the unwell baby behind her, if she is unable to take it far away from her nest of kids. Depriving it of nursing and ultimately it dying, but ends up laying on it.
There is also the option of them eating the baby, had that happen too, and it was a long time before I was able to comprehend that one......

I don't believe the others are in danger because of the one. That is unless you see behavior that appears aggressive towards the others.
Be sure to give her plenty of attention, I think that will buy some time before more of her maternal instincts kick in and devote herself to their care rather than putting herself first.

The box we have lined with blankets is a TAD on smaller than we would of liked, and we haven't grabbed a new box yet (that's happening today) so i'm thinking it may of been an accident. She isn't aggressive or anything towards them she just seems a little ditzy & careless. Thanks for the reply.

 

[Andrewjjjjjjj]

No, it's a genuine concern. We are here to help with any and all concerns.

Does mom seem comfortable in the bathroom with her kittens? Do they have enough room?

Thank you for bringing her inside and saving her!

She wants to get out and hang out a lot of the time, which we allow after we know they've been fed and are warm enough to be without her for a bit.

 

[catwoman707]

Ah so it may very well have been an accident.
It happens, unfortunately

Yes, don't apologize! Gosh, that's why we're here!
Any and all questions, concerns, pics to share which we love, feel free!

 

[Andrewjjjjjjj]

here's a pic of the little punks :-)

 

[DragonsNKitties]

Oh goodness, they're so cute!

 

[Sarthur2]

How sweet!

 

[catwoman707]

Aww! So precious!
I'd keep an eye on the one who is not dogpiled. There is often a smaller less aggressive baby who continuously gets bumped off of the best milk producing nipples and end up not thriving.