Kitten Birth Issues

[sunny091]

I took in a very pregnant foster cat on Tuesday and she gave birth to five kittens last night. Two were completely underdeveloped with no hair, and one was still born. One appears to be healthy and eating, but the other one is much smaller and his head is oddly shaped. He was cool to the touch, so I've been trying to warm him (with rice) and feed him KMR. He isn't latching on to his mother. I'm assuming he won't make it, but I'm trying. Any suggestions on what else to do?

Also, the mother appears to have enough milk to feed more kittens. Is it possible that she might be okay with feeding orphaned kittens? Is it not a good idea if she has one kitten who is surviving? One of the big open admission shelters near me often has people drop off bottle babies.

 

[amethyst]

I would wait to make sure she is in fact done having kittens, though 5 does sound like a normal amount. It can happen sometimes where the mother cat births some kittens that died or didn't form right early, then carry any others left to term. It sounds like you are doing all you can for the little runt kitten, if he doesn't make it at least you know you tried.

I think if there is an orphaned litter that are around the same age (a week or less age difference) it would be a good idea to try. You don't want to be mixing older/bigger kittens with younger/smaller ones. She might actually instinctively want more kittens since most of hers died, but you never know. Just make sure you keep an eye on the kittens to make sure none are getting pushed aside. That might include needing to bottle feed some.

 

[sunny091]

Thanks for the advice! I’m pretty sure she’s done having kittens. The vet did an ultrasound when the mother cat came off of transport on Tuesday and said he saw five kittens. He also measured their head at 2 cm, so guessed it would be a few days before she gave birth.

 

[StefanZ]

Agree with above.
Ir heating lamp is very useful.
What exactly kmr are you using, van you get raw goats milk?

Adding a little dextrose or equivalent helps sometimes.

And keep an eye on the scale daily helps much.