Feral Mama Cat Rejecting Her Kittens

[HoosierMama]

I hope the hissing is good news but I just don't know. I am reaching out for help but no one is responding, go figure.

 

[HoosierMama]

Is it possible they are too weak to cry?

 

[FeebysOwner]

Do they appear restless? If they are still pretty much piled up, as Furballsmom suggested that is a good thing.

There is still time - as I said, they have a few days' time to live off of the nutrients in the placenta.

 

[HoosierMama]

Yes, they are trying to get to her as she moves around the crate. I don't like to look in on them too much because it may be making matters worse. I am working with some others to try and find a nursing foster cat.

 

[FeebysOwner]

No, you are right to give the mama a break. Just leave her with a load of food and water and let them be for a while now. You haven't found help yet, so there is not much point in continuing to bother her at this juncture. Maybe if left be for a while she will settle down a bit. It is very possible that being as feral as she is that she just can't handle the additional 'attention and activity' - that can make a new mother - especially a feral - very skittish and unwilling to nurse. She could just as easily get up and walk away - and, she has not done that!!

Just please keep us posted - as exhausted as I am sure you are!!

 

[HoosierMama]

We are actively searching for a foster now, I seriously don't think she will come around. I only looked in on her twice today before she moved to the corner and quit nursing. She hasn't been very open to letting them nurse since she had them. If we find a foster we will have her spayed and released back to where we found her.

 

[Furballsmom]

Do you think they're warm enough?

 

[HoosierMama]

It's pretty warm here outside temp is 86 and they are in a pole barn that has been heating up all day. What kind of ambient temp do they need?

 

[Furballsmom]

Between 88 and 92 degrees F for the first week then around 80 degrees. If mama lets them close and they pile for sleeping they may be ok.

 

[1 bruce 1]

Can you tell by looking if this is a young cat, middle aged cat, etc? Have you been able to see her belly at all, are there any signs of lactation or little wet spots that would show you the kittens have been nursing?
She sounds like the situation (not you) has her very stressed. Ideally a camera would be best to be able to check on her without having to go in the barn but if you could jerry rig the cage in such a position that you could see inside of it without actually walking into the pole barn that might help too (have the cage's side facing the door you use, a bit away, with a sheet or something only partially hanging over. That way you can peek in and see what's going on on the ground floor without having to really do much else.

 

[1 bruce 1]

Just another thought.
If you're in with the humane society, tell them what's going on and see if any vet that's on staff there would be willing to talk to you about trying a course of antibiotics and pain medication for the mother cat on the slim chance she's experiencing something like mastitis. It's unusual for them to eat this much with mastitis but if it's come on just in the past few days, she may stop eating.

 

[danteshuman]

On a side note I would buy KMR formula and bottles (plus buy or borrow the special syringe nipple for itty bitty baby kittens.) I would also set up a camera phone to see if she is nursing .. then not bother her for 8-12 hours. I would also review the kitten lady videos on YouTube . She has many instructional videos outlining what to do if you find lost orphaned kittens. I know the thought of hand rearing newborn kittens is daunting. However you may wind up just being a temporary foster mom. Ideally the kittens would be with mom, so I hope they are able to stay with mom. If you wind up taking the kittens the first thing you need to do is get them warm. I always just placed kittens on my bare chest under a warm blanket ... at least to start. You want the kitten room to ideally be 85 F but at least 80F. Then they need a hot pad that they get closer to or further away from (or a heat lamp.) They need to be warmed up before they are fed. Also the videos show you how to get the kittens to go potty/feed them/bathe them/groom them/ weigh them etc. plus lots of videos on how to save kittens that are not doing well. If you wind up taking them my first step would be to get them warm and then take them to the vet. (I cranked up the heat and the 4 week old kittens pretty much lived on my chest/stomach under a blanket for the first week. I had to tuck the blanket in around my feet/legs so the minions wouldn’t escape. When not on me I kept them in a soft crate until we set up a bunny cage .... which turned out to be ideal. We covered the bunny cage with a blanket to keep them extra warm and they had a heating pad wrapped in a towel they could snuggle on.)

Can you feed the mom20-30 feet from the barn so she will feel more secure? Her instincts are telling her to keep her babies hidden. She may even move the kittens. Plus if she is a first time mom she may not know how to best take care of her kittens.

*If the poster is talking about gloves, I do not think they can give antibiotics or pain meds to the mama cat!

 

[HoosierMama]

I suspect she is a first time Mom and quite young. If I let her out of the crate she will not be back. I just looked in on her briefly and she had her back to me but I only saw one kitten and it was the one I suspect she is trying to cull. The others may have been nursing, hard to tell, and I didn't want to disturb her. I will go out and give her more food before the evening is over. I won't look in on her again until morning. I am hoping for the best, but I am pretty there will be at least one dead kitten for whatever reason. Our Humane Society is separate from the animal shelter so we have no vets on staff, just a board who tries to do right by animals. We only have 19,000 in our whole county and lots of national forest. TYhe only advice a vet has given me about an abandoned kitten was to find a foster Mom, he said that bottle fed kittens were mean. I found a foster and after two days she was found dead away from the other kittens. I get too attached to be doing this sort of thing.

 

[HoosierMama]

BTW, I have some KMR and a bottle and nipples on the way. It will be too dark in there for camera tonight.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Thanks for the update. But, even if this means bad news for the poor kitten she rejected - it would seem she might be taking care of the others? Ultimately, even though this poor kitten might have been saved, there is probably something terribly wrong with it and may not survive either way. That is the cruel nature of things.

I hope you get some rest even if you have to go ahead and prepare for the worst case scenario.

 

[HoosierMama]

Thank you, I really appreciate you listening to my drama. I will give you an update in the morning. Yes, nature can be cruel.

 

[war&wisdom]

he said that bottle fed kittens were mean

I don't have much to add to the great advice you've already gotten, but I just wanted to say that the vet is simply wrong about bottle feeding. Bottle-fed kittens are frequently well-socialized and affectionate. My two incredibly friendly and loving kitties are only anecdotal evidence, but many people on this site would tell you the same.

 

[1 bruce 1]

I'm wondering why the vet said bottle kittens are mean We've bottle fed plenty of kittens that lived long lives as perfectly sweet cats. Never heard that theory before but I wouldn't worry about it too much.

 

[HoosierMama]

I have no idea where he came up with that, but he was pretty adamant about it. BTW, right now they are all back on her, even the one she left for dead. I have my fingers crossed for a good morning. She did have a little diarrhea, but she is still eating!

 

[HoosierMama]

After today I really appreciate my pet cats, four males!