Kittens have been moving inside her for over a week, still no labor symptoms..?

[iluvkitties]

I treated momma cat for worms with praziquantel and it worked very well. Now I just need to treat her fleas. She isn't infested bad, just a few here and there but they can be bad for the babies. Now that she is nursing, are topical flea treatments safe for mom & kittens? Also, what do you guys think about bathing mama cat with flea/tick shampoo? Let me know what you think and give me a suggestion.

 

[iluvkitties]

We already have a bully amongst the kittens. The big tabby boy gets the teat he wants when he wants it. I always make sure everyone has a teat at feeding time though. Venus is a very dedicated mother.

 

[iluvkitties]

Venus+5

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• iluvkitties
• Nov 28, 2014

 

[catwoman707]

I treated momma cat for worms with praziquantel and it worked very well. Now I just need to treat her fleas. She isn't infested bad, just a few here and there but they can be bad for the babies. Now that she is nursing, are topical flea treatments safe for mom & kittens? Also, what do you guys think about bathing mama cat with flea/tick shampoo? Let me know what you think and give me a suggestion.

I say no to the bath, but yes to the flea med, and recommend advantage 11, never store bought types like Hartz or Sargeants.

The important thing is, once you apply it on her, watch for a while that no babies go crawling over her and through the meds is all.

It's very important the babies stay flea free, as it so easily weakens them and causes anemia.

I can't remember the exact amt of blood that a baby kitten has, but it is a rediculously small amt, I was shocked, which is why they become anemic so darn easily with just a few fleas.

We already have a bully amongst the kittens. The big tabby boy gets the teat he wants when he wants it. I always make sure everyone has a teat at feeding time though. Venus is a very dedicated mother.

Here's a really cool/interesting kitten fact

In their first week of life, each kitten has chosen it's favorite nipple to nurse from, and usually remains with that one through their babyhood. This is why you will sometimes see babies sort of scrapping it out to try to get another one off of "his" nipple. Hard to imagine their tiny brains working like that already huh??!

Another reason why the smaller ones are not able to catch up, since all the best milk producing nipples are spoken for, leaving them with the upper ones.

 

[iluvkitties]

Would a local pet store carry Advantage? How much would it cost?

 

[catwoman707]

Yes it would.

Depending on whether they sell individual tubes or not, some do.

But a 4 pack is around 45.00 and a six pack about 60.00.

No flea baths, not while she is crawling with snuggling babies

If you can't afford it in the multi-pack now, try asking a vet to sell you a single tube.

 

[iluvkitties]

Is this good?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DI5A78Y/?tag=&tag=thecatsite

 

[iluvkitties]

While I'm out shopping tomorrow I will pick up a flea comb and flea drops. I already have some Dawn dish soap in case she needs to be washed.

The kittens are doing well except for the small one. She isn't getting a full belly after eating/suckling. There are 9 teats and 5 babies, but she (the runt) will only use the top teats. The 2 boys have claimed the lower ones and the other girls fight for the middle ones. What should I do to help the runt?

 

[StefanZ]

While I'm out shopping tomorrow I will pick up a flea comb and flea drops. I already have some Dawn dish soap in case she needs to be washed.
. What should I do to help the runt?

Try and put her forward while the others are asleep. If necessary, you can make an extra little comfortable nest, warm and cozy, and put aside the boys there when they are satisfied and contend, to take their health nap there...   And during the time, the runt will get her quality time with mom.

If necessary, you may perhaps need to supplement feed the runt, but wait with this till you see it is really necessary.

Weigh her every day at the same time, so you are sure she is gaining minumum 6 grammes a day.  (weighing in grammes has the big advantage you see directly the result, where 10+ g is the rule of thumb for healthy, fullweight kittens.   Small kittens gets less, of course.

So look after where you can get KMR (best the powder version) or goat milk (fresh preferable, but full fat bottled is OK too).  Also a syringe without needle is useful.  Bottle may be difficult.

She took the highest nipple as it is less fight for it.  Which is wise by a runt, but it costs anyway...

 

[catwoman707]

Is this good?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DI5A78Y/?tag=&tag=thecatsite

Yes! This is what I use for all of my rescue cats, kittens as well as my personal cats.

However, you need the adult cat sized rather than the small cat/kitten size.

You will not need to worry about bathing or even a flea comb, for her at least. The fleas die fast as well as the eggs and larvae, which is what the 11 after advantage means, it's their newest formula.

 

[catwoman707]

While I'm out shopping tomorrow I will pick up a flea comb and flea drops. I already have some Dawn dish soap in case she needs to be washed.

The kittens are doing well except for the small one. She isn't getting a full belly after eating/suckling. There are 9 teats and 5 babies, but she (the runt) will only use the top teats. The 2 boys have claimed the lower ones and the other girls fight for the middle ones. What should I do to help the runt?

This is what I was explaining in my post, #39, that the runt is only allowed to use the top, less milk producing nipples and it WILL catch up soon enough, causing failure to thrive.

This means you will need to create a small box/container that is soft and warm (heated with heating pad on low or other source) and at least 3 times a day you will need to pull the rest of them out and put in the box to allow the runt access to nurse on a better nipple.

The more often you do this, the shorter period of time the others need to be out away from mom.

Even pulling 2-3 of the biggest ones is fine, as long as there are nipples that are full to allow the smallest couple to nurse properly.

If this is not done asap, then you need to syringe kmr formula into him, and it's a struggle. He will NOT take to a bottle, they never will as long as there is mom, so you would have to slowly put a couple drops at a time into the cheek area, allow to swallow and breath, then repeat.

It's so much harder to deal with then simply pulling out the bigger ones every so-many hours. Especially if you are home and able to do this.

Weighing daily is important, not for the great eaters but the other one or two who are not or are in question.

Each must gain grams daily, 10 is awesome but a minimum of 6 a day.

 

[iluvkitties]

My mother cat is on the small side and is naturally skinny. She only has a few fleas on her, so I don't think she needs a larger cat treatment.

As for the runt, she is starting to fight her sisters for the middle teats. She is a little smaller, but is eating better. Now I'm watching one of the boys. He has one of the good teats, but when he feeds, he only stays on that teat for a few seconds then let's go and cries. I have to help him get to it a few times during each feeding. He seems a little bit weaker today also. They have all gained weight since yesterday morning when I checked them this morning. Mother cat has been with them nearly all day today. She is keeping them warm even though the heater is on.

 

[catwoman707]

It's not according to the amt of fleas, but that there is enough oily medication to move through and get to all of her body skin, as it travels through their skin oils.

Yes, so much focus on the smaller ones and occasionally it's a bigger one who doesn't do so well as expected.

Just an eye on all of them, notice any changes or lack of interest in nursing, or of course the best indicator is a lack of weight gained daily at this point, the first 2 weeks are critical and fragile

 

[iluvkitties]

Mother cat is a SMALL cat. I'm going to giver her a flea treatment for her weight.

 

[catwoman707]

Mother cat is a SMALL cat. I'm going to giver her a flea treatment for her weight.

Of course give her the appropriate dose for her weight.

 

[iluvkitties]

The kittens are 1 week old today. They are all doing great and no more fleas! We treated mother cat and bathed the babies. My mother helped me to bathe them. Their eyes are just starting to open- it looks kinda weird. Mother cat has bonded with them, and cries at me if I pick them up. The babies are moving around the teats and eating well. The mother cat still likes canned kitten food more than her babies, and if she hears a can being opened, she jumps out of her nest to find the food. She sometimes drags/flings kittens out if her nest during her food rush... They seem alright though. Her rear isn't leaking anymore and she is eating well herself. She is beginning to fill out and not look so skinny. Everything seems to be going great for mother cat and her kittens. 

 

[catwoman707]

Good news all around!

Yeah, I had to laugh when you said that, I have seen many moms jump up at the sound of a popped can, leaving the kids flinging around wherever. I've even seen some who had such a good suction going they were hanging off mom when she got up! What a riot!

Everything seems to be just as it should be now, just watch their weights and all should be just fine!

 

[iluvkitties]

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• iluvkitties
• Dec 3, 2014

 

[catwoman707]

Aww! Look at those faces!! Mom looks proud