Help! My Mama Cat Has Milk Fever, The Kittens Are Not Gaining W/kmr

[Prunie's Mom]

The kittens will be 3 weeks tomorrow. Last night Prunie was SICK...went to ER.... "Eclampsia" sp? Milk Fever. She stayed over night w/fluids... transferred to vet... staying tonight w/fluids. They will take her off fluids overnight to see how she is tomorrow. I messed up because I stopped weighing them everyday. My last weigh in was on the 25th.... they all gained around .4oz.... Then last nights weight in while Mom was in the hospital.... One gained 1 oz in 5 days... 2 lost .5oz in 5 days. I've fed them 5 times last night and today.... one gained .3oz but most have lost .3-.5oz. Of course KMR and me feeding them is brand new... But she was in there with them the entire time.... she is a hellicopter Mom... What can happen if the kitten gets bad milk from "Milk Fever".... Should I try Goat's milk? Or should I get them all to the vet? I am way out of my wheel house now! Thanks for anything you can offer!

 

[Prunie's Mom]

Also.... I did give my Mama Cat Prunie a dish of KMR every day for a while..... she drank some one day..... then she stopped... so I put it on top of the Royal Canin loaf kitten food.... she would eat a little.... but if i didn't put it on there she would eat it better.... so I stopped. I think she was too much of a Helicopter Mom..... She was in there all the time....I had to pull her out and shut the door to keep her away from those babies..... That week when she was probably not producing milk.... (or maybe bad milk) she was in there with them 24/7...... Now I wish I would have only sent her in the room every 2 hours...... Augh.....

 

[Sarthur2]

Prunie's Mom

Is mama kitty on antibiotics at the vet? Is she coming home tomorrow?

How many mLs and how often are you feeding the kittens?

Are you using a bottle or syringe?

 

[Prunie's Mom]

Prunie's Mom

Is mama kitty on antibiotics at the vet? Is she coming home tomorrow?

How many mLs and how often are you feeding the kittens?

Are you using a bottle or syringe?

Hi- Mama kitty has been given Calcium and Fluids.... for all I know.... She did have a fever of 105 and they told me today it was normal while she was on fluids...... I didn't ask about antibiotics..... I have the paperwork..... in the car I will look..... But they told me she would not be feeding her kittens anymore......

Right now I am drawing up 5 mls in a syringe with a nipple top....... 3 of the kittens will actually eat all of it..... 3 will let some drip down..... but they are eating most of it....

Mama Kitty has been on fluids at the ER from 9:30pm - 7:00am.... she seemed so much better.... I drove her to the vet.... arrived at 7:30am..... she looked horrible.... just like the worst of it..... The vet said they would give her fluids and then take her off during the night...... and they will call me tomorrow to see if she was ok...... I'm going to let her spend tomorrow at the vet even if she is better..... so they can watch her..... So the answer is no.... she is not coming home tomorrow. I am worried that she will not accept the calcium..... She is pretty bad.

 

[Prunie's Mom]

5 mls every 3 hours......

 

[Sarthur2]

Oh dear! I'm sorry mom has been so sick. I hope she is better soon.

Does she have mastitis, or just low calcium?

How is the calcium supplement being administered?

I need to know the kittens' weights so I can tell you specifically how much each one needs.

Right now I can tell you that they probably need more than they are getting.

I realize this is a tough situation!

 

[Prunie's Mom]

Thanks for your help and your time.... I really appreciate it!
Mom has "Milk Fever" aka Eclampsia...... which is all about her body unable to produce calcium.
Her calcium is being administered right now via IV..... at the vets office
The kittens weights as of 2:00 today..... (They are 3 weeks old tomorrow)

15.2, 12.4, 14.3, 14.1, 13.4, 14.0

6 kids.....

Thank you so much for helping me with this!

Lee

 

[Sarthur2]

Prunie's Mom

The weights are very good for 3 weeks old! Kittens at 3 weeks should weigh about 12 ounces, and at 4 weeks they should weigh 16 ounces (1 pound).

I doubt your mama cat can't produce calcium. She was depleted of her calcium by her 6 kittens.

Your kittens (in order) need the following amounts each 24 hours around the clock:

Kitten 1 - 122mLs = 15mLs every 3 hours

Kitten 2 - 96mLs = 12mLs every 3 hours

Kittens 3, 4, & 6 - 112mLs = 14mLs every 3 hours

Kitten 5 - 104mLs = 13mLs every 3 hours

I have rounded off.

The rule of thumb is 8mLs per ounce of weight, divided by the number of feedings.

The kittens need to gain a minimum of 6-10 grams per day, or about 1/4 to 1/2 ounce each per day.

Gaining more than that is fine!

 

[Prunie's Mom]

Oh my Gosh!!!!! I was soooooo off! No wonder they are loosing weight.... I mean..... Thanks to their Mom for fattening them up when she could..... so this is fixable..... I mean, they still look/behave like cute little kittens....... but Thanks to you for taking the time to spell this out for me! I've never been good at numbers.... I was a Theater Major! So now I know! Feed more! I'm copying your last message and posting it in the kitten room! Thank you so much!

 

[Sarthur2]

You are very welcome!

I hope they begin to gain weight soon.

Make sure the formula is warm. You can keep the container that you draw from in a pan of warm water while you feed.

Please let us know how this goes!

What a cute kitten! I would love to see all 6 of them!

 

[StefanZ]

Agree they had too little. You can use goats milk too if you wish. Its also a nice supplement for mo
Momma when she is back home

 

[Prunie's Mom]

You are very welcome!

I hope they begin to gain weight soon.

Make sure the formula is warm. You can keep the container that you draw from in a pan of warm water while you feed.

Please let us know how this goes!

What a cute kitten! I would love to see all 6 of them!

GREAT NEWS! And I cant' thank you enough for your help! I weighed them this morning at 9:30 after a few correct feedings...... They all gained weight..... I just weighed them again at 7:30..... They all gained weight!!!! The biggest one even reached 1 lb.!!! I feel so much better.... a weight has lifted off of me.... I will try to post pics of the others..... I tried to do that earlier..... but it only lets me post one pic..... I'll send something.. Thanks again!

 

[Sarthur2]

Thank goodness they are eating more and gaining weight! They are precious.

How is mama kitty doing?

 

[Prunie's Mom]

She is good..... She survived with no fluids last night.... They said I could take her home, but I'm keeping her at the vet's for a couple more days... The Doctor said she should not feed anymore.... But she needs to recouperate so that she can get her shots and get spayed..... if she comes home.... She will be miserable not being able to go in the room with the kittens.... and I think she will make them miserable too....crying at the door...... Then I will be miserable..... I'm trying to find someone to keep Mama for me until the kittens are weaned..... The kittens are all going to our local no-kill shelter, it's very nice, they are excited to have them.

 

[Sarthur2]

Aww, poor mama. She should come home. She will teach the kittens valuable cat lessons. They need their mama!

 

[Prunie's Mom]

Not this Mama! She is Obsessed and weird! For the entire 5 weeks I had her before the kids were born.... She bit me and scratched me every time I pet her..... When she went into labor.... she was my best friend and so sweet.... and was like that to this day..... But I would catch her biting the kids on the head starting at Day 2 of their lives! They would be sleeping and she would wake them up and bite their heads! I was not impressed with her lessons..... I have other things to do also.... I don't want to have to police her. Sorry.... not going to happen!