cat just gave birth ?

[stacy6681]

I sweet stray cat came to our house a few months ago and choose our home. This cat is the sweetest cat and of coarse my daughter was immediately attached to her. We ended up taking her and getting her shots. Well I knew she couldn't be much over 6 months old. There was a wait for over a month to get her fixed. Apparently the last time she was outside she must of been in heat the first time and ended up pregnant. Yesterday she ended up giving birth to 4 kittens. Only 1 has survived so far. I have read that shots while mama was pregnant could cause this but I didn't know at the time she was pregnant already.

So now mama cat is walking around meowing and leaving the one baby alone. I have brought her back to baby and she is in a room with a closet to not have anyone bother her.

I never have had a cat that has had kittens before. Is there anything I need to know about mama's reactions? The meowing and leaving her, is this normal? How would you know if she is done with birth or maybe she is in pain? Do I need to clean up the bedding or leave alone? I have already removed the babies who did not survive. Also how soon can mama cat be fixed after giving birth if she either takes care of this one baby or not? Sorry for so many questions, any advice in this would be greatly appreciated.

 

[susanm9006]

Some times very young mama’s don’t know what to do with a kitten. It is also a possibility that her babies were born prematurely and she isn’t caring for it because she knows it won’t survive. Keeping her confined to a quiet place with baby will help. And yes, I would replace her bedding so that the kitten stays as warm as possible. Is she nursing the kitten? If she is you should try to get a weight on the baby to see if it is gaining every day. If not it won’t survive if you don’t bottle feed it. You will need Kitten Replacement Milk and a kitten nursing bottle. There are good You Tube videos on bottle feeding.

Mom can be spayed once baby is eating on his own, around 8 weeks.

 

[Sarthur2]

Place a heating pad set on low under clean blankets for the surviving kitten to stay warm.

Mom is probably calling for her “missing” kittens. Did she see them deceased? It helps her to know they are gone. She will get over it and settle in with her only kitten in a day or two, but make sure she nurses in the meantime.

Mom can be spayed when kitten is 8 weeks. Do not let her outside until then, especially if she goes into heat.

 

[stacy6681]

I sweet stray cat came to our house a few months ago and choose our home. This cat is the sweetest cat and of coarse my daughter was immediately attached to her. We ended up taking her and getting her shots. Well I knew she couldn't be much over 6 months old. There was a wait for over a month to get her fixed. Apparently the last time she was outside she must of been in heat the first time and ended up pregnant. Yesterday she ended up giving birth to 4 kittens. Only 1 has survived so far. I have read that shots while mama was pregnant could cause this but I didn't know at the time she was pregnant already.

So now mama cat is walking around meowing and leaving the one baby alone. I have brought her back to baby and she is in a room with a closet to not have anyone bother her.

I never have had a cat that has had kittens before. Is there anything I need to know about mama's reactions? The meowing and leaving her, is this normal? How would you know if she is done with birth or maybe she is in pain? Do I need to clean up the bedding or leave alone? I have already removed the babies who did not survive. Also how soon can mama cat be fixed after giving birth if she either takes care of this one baby or not? Sorry for so many questions, any advice in this would be greatly appreciated.

 

[stacy6681]

Yes, whenever mom is in the closet the baby seems to be getting milk. I need to weigh baby to make sure. I just cleaned up the area and put a heating pad on low for when momma leaves. She did see the deceased kittens since I did not touch them until this morning. They were born late last night. Momma has calmed down some so maybe because of that then. Thanks for all help.

 

[susanm9006]

Baby sure looks like it has figured out nursing!

 

[Margot Lane]

Smorgasbord!!! Woo hoo!