Help 2 Day Old Kittens And Mum Is Favouring!!

[Scarlettxlane]

Hello Everyone,

I'm new here but honestly need some advice.

My cat had a littler of 5 kittens on the 24th Feb. All 5 were doing well and she is an amazing mother however, yesterday evening I notice she moved only one kitten out of her box. I moved it back and thought nothing of it.

This morning she moved the same kitten upstairs under the bed so I watched her and she was feeding this kitten and groomimg her up stairs . But had left the other 4 Downstairs.
So I wondered if maybe she needed a new nesting place. So i brough the other kittens up her and she more or less just walked away leaving all the kittens.
So I brought them all back down to her bed showed her they were there shw fed them all and i went on the school run.
Once back from the school run, I noticed once again mother and one kitten (the same kitten gone) found her back under the bed.

Now I brought them both back down again and she is feeding all 5 again! But why does she keep taking this one kitten off to feed? I've been weighing them and this kitten is one of the strongest and heavier kittens. So it's not that he is weak!

Any ideas what it could be or how to stop? I'm so lost and so worried for my fur babies

Thank you in advance x

 

[danteshuman]

I would suggest bottle feeding them if she stops nursing them or if any of them seem to be weak. By the more expensive formula you get from the vet. In my experience the cheap stuff gives them the runs. It might be worth buying some formula and a bottle now just in case. Have you called your vet & asked about it?

 

[danteshuman]

Everything you need to know about bottle feeding: Bottle Feeding
Why she might be doing this: 5 Reasons A Mother Cat Might Abandon Or Reject Her Young - CatTime

After reading up on this I think you should take all the kittens & mom in for a checkup asap. If they aren't gaining weight or become dehydrated take them to the vet today. The younger the kitten is, the more danger there is. You may wind up bottle feeding some of the litter. Be sure to keep the left behind litter warm.

If it was me I would be taking them in today to the vet in an emergency check up, buy the bottles/formula and get ready to bottle feed the litter. I would at the very least start feeding the kittens/cleaning them afterwards so they can pee/poo once or twice a day to see if it mom can't produce enough milk. (Mom needs kitten food if she is nursing.) However I would have the vet on speed dial for the next couple of weeks.

 

[Scarlettxlane]

I've phoned the vet and theybsaod they are all gaining weight nicely ( I've been keeping records of am and pm results. They said whilst she is still feeding them it's a good sign to keep the door locked in them all in one room so that's what I've been doing. Mum is on kitten food already has been for most of her pregnancy

Kittens are okay she had been feeding them for the past 2 hours. Is there anyway i can boost her milk? I brought from the vets some kitten replace milk and bottles and am ready and prepared to do so if need be. If I start bottle feeding the ones I feel aren't doing to well , can they still be fed by mum? Or will she smell the other milk and reject?

 

[bklyn]

If a cat senses the other kittens are weak, or something is wrong with them, she may be trying to let nature run it's course with them, while she focuses on the one she believes will survive. This happens often, and it sounds like it may be what's happening here, although I'm surprised she's rejecting so many. Note: It doesn't always mean the kitten has a congenital defect or something serious, it could just be that they're the runt, not nursing as strong, or something similarly less serious. Moms reject their kittens for other reasons, like say if she herself is sick, or if she's a first time mother and doesn't really understand, but to me it sounds more like my first thought.

That said, I had a mom cat with a litter of five, who, after 3 weeks, rejected the runt. The runt weighed 6oz while the next smallest weighed 11, and at one point he lost nearly an entire ounce in a just a day, so he was fading fast. I took him from his mom (she didn't care), and syringe fed him for four days, and also gave him fluids. After four days of putting on weight, I offered him back to mom, and she accepted him. He grew up just fine, and I actually received a lovely update from his adopter just a week ago. It won't always be the case that mom accepts them back, but if you notice them not gaining enough weight, it is time to intervene, as a two day old kitten cannot survive multiple days, or very likely even one, of poor nutrition.

You don't have to separate them entirely from mom, but you should purchase a feline milk replacer and start to supplementally feed them.

 

[StefanZ]

It may also be so she feels 5 at once is too much. I presume there are fights? So she tries to rotate.

Try you too with rotation: two on three off in an extra nest.
And switch after some hour.

Continue with watching and weighting.

 

[bklyn]

I just saw you have two threads, so I'll reply to your latest concern here:
If you bottle feed them, mom should still nurse them. Feline milk replacers are good for nursing moms as well, so you can offer some to her in a bowl. I prefer the brand Breeder's Edge, although KMR is more readily available. Petsmart's GNC brand is good too, I've found kittens like the taste and don't have diarrhea or constipation as often on it. Breeder's Edge has a product called Oxy Momma, which is designed to help moms produce more milk. It's sold online, and on Amazon too I think. That said, of the few moms I've offered it too, none have willingly eaten it. The smell is so strong that it's impossible to sneak into their food as well. The reviews for those who have gotten it to work have been very positive, so it's maybe worth a try. One product I adore is Breeder's Edge Nurture Mate. It's designed to give newborns a boost so that they nurse harder, and every time I've used it, I've noticed a significant difference in appetite within a couple of hours of using it. It's also available on Amazon, which is great if you have Prime, although it's more expensive than elsewhere.

On another note, I would definitely keep a vet on hand, but I try to avoid bringing really young ones to the vet unless absolutely necessary. I've experienced on several occasions newborns picking up URIs, ringworm, eye infections, etc at the vet. There are much more serious things they can pick up as well, and not all vets have the best practices in terms of decontamination, so just be aware of that. If I do bring them, I always bring my own towel and ask that the kittens be kept on that, handled with gloves, etc. Also, vets are very limited in what they can really do with a kitten only two days old, except for maybe fluids, which can be very valuable. Checking out the mom would be very helpful, but you can't really separate her from her kittens for long, so only you can tell if the visit is necessary. Just be sure to at least keep a vet on standby like danteshuman suggested.

 

[bklyn]

Also, just a suggestion, I have a Nest camera that I keep on moms nest during throughout their time nursing. I've found it can be very helpful in seeing a full picture of what's going on. I've thought before a mom was rejecting her kittens, but then saw the kittens struggled to find a nipple, were uninterested in nursing, etc. It seems to be rejection here, but you should consider getting a camera regardless.

 

[danteshuman]

My 2 cents? I would try bottle feeding the other ?5? kittens twice a day, same time every day ... and taking care of their waste needs .... then return them to mom. Feed them at the same time every day. If she is feeling over whelmed or not producing enough milk ... she might appreciate some help.

Is this her first litter?

Cats form communities. You are part of her community. Sister barn cats will babysit/feed each other's litters. So she might take to you babysitting. I also love that webcam idea. You might be able to set up a cheap webcam if the nest camera is pricey?

Thank you for caring for her & her family.

Lastly can we see some pics of them? I think I speak for everyone when I say we love kitten pictures.

 

[catwoman707]

This is a tricky situation, because mom is not leaving behind the others, she wants the single kitten away from the others, for some reason we can't know, at least not now.
It is an instinctual thing, she is protecting herself and the others from predators by removing the weak or unhealthy one, because in the wild predators will seek out the easiest catch which is the weaker.
She really needs to be monitored with this one and forcing her to keep the baby with her and the others, just might get ugly. When mom has been trying to remove and is unable to, she is capable of eating the baby.
I had it happen. Very sweet mama cat, in a large cage with the ideal set up, I had seen one day she had this particular baby behind her back, I put it back for it to nurse and talked to mom.
A couple days later that same kitten was gone. I mean completely vanished.
It sounds horrifying and it truly was, to us humans, I came to understand what she was doing and why she did what she did, and ended up feeling so sorry for her, because they really love all of their babies, but instinct prevailed so it must have been so hard for her to do this to one......

She may feel she only has enough milk for less, or she may instinctively think there is something wrong with that kitten, which I think is more likely than lack of milk just because it's always the same baby.

Just watch her behavior with them of course, and know that bottle feeding a kitten when there is mom present is tough, because they will be extremely resistant to the bottle and fight it like mad.
They don't adapt to it unless nursing from mom is completely removed, which you don't want to do, so watch their weights good and hopefully you may only need to supplement a bit.

 

[Sarthur2]

How are mom and kittens doing today? Is everyone well and gaining weight still?

 

[Scarlettxlane]

I could just be a nervous kitten mumma lol or I might have be right...

My cat had her 5 fur babies on Saturday. Since then we have had odd problems. Which I think I may have sorted.

My new worry is im weighing my fur babies daily. Twice a day infact. Yesterday I weighed them and wrote it down. This morning I've weighed them and they have only put on 2g and 3 have put on 5g and one 6g.

Is this a normal amount of weight to put on daily.? They were putting on 10g-14g a day and now it's dropped.
Do you I've got reason to worry ? I've got formula feed from the vets if need be. So I'm going to try topping them up. But I'm just so worries still.

Thank you in advance x

 

[StefanZ]

One occasional day may vary, and if there are no other alarming signals, you can wait to next day - but getting home gears.
If its not better tomorrow, or you notice more alarming signals, begin to supplement already today.

Goats milk, and especielly raw goats milk, is an alternative too. Or a mixing up; one part formula, 3 parts goats milk, is the kashmir64 recipe.

 

[StefanZ]

Ps, you do mention "odd problems". if the situation IS problematic, may be better to begin as soon you can.
You know how to do it? The technique is somewhat tricky for a new be. Bad technique is dangerous for the small kittens.