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- Oct 10, 2012
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The short story - We have four kittens that seem to be developing diarrhea. I am uncertain of their exact age but I think they are about six weeks. I know they should still be with mama cat, but due to circumstances revealed in the 'long story' below, they can't. I have been feeding them goat milk soaked cat food and offer them milk from a bottle. What should I be doing instead?
The long story - One of our mama cats became pregnant. The worry some part about this was that this cat is very antisocial. The only person she likes is my daughter. She runs from everyone else and glares at us with a look of terror. She was born on my parent's farm and I know she has never been mistreated, but she is the most skiddish cat I have ever seen. We knew she was pregnant and kept watching for kittens, but she chose hid them very well. It took us weeks to finally find them in our neighbors abandoned shed, who hates cats. We got her and all six kittens back home and locked them up with box, bedding, food, water, etc. but mama still managed to escape the room from time to time. she would wait by the door and dart out whenever we came to check the kittens. Yes, I did limit our time withe kittens because I didn't want to upset her, but we had to be in there to clean up. She always came back, though, and my daughter was able to lock her back in the room. A couple days ago, she went missing for over 32 hours. We brought the kittens inside and gave them some goat milk and offered them cat food because my girls had said they had seen the kittens eating a little bit of the regular food. Three of the kittens were very lethargic so we gave them extra tlc. I kept their area heated with an extra heater and was more diligent in offering them milk. By evening, all of them seemed much better, except the tabby. She was a little better, but not as much as the others. By the next evening, mama cat was at the back door waiting to get in. We brought her in, but she showed no interest in her babies. After leaving them all alone for a bit, I finally held her down so the kittens could nurse. A while later I saw her nursing them of her own free will and I saw the little tabby eating so I went to bed thinking all was fine. The next morning the tabby was dead. I just assumed she was weak or something else was wrong, but she really did appear to be getting better. The rest of the kittens were doing fine, being playful, nursing from mom when she let them. I only let my kids visit the cat family once or twice/day so that mama wouldn't be too frightened. The kids said all the kittens were doing good and from what I saw, they all seemed fine. This morning, another kitten was dead. It was one of the original weak kittens, but she was really fine and recovered from what I could tell. She played and acted the same as all the others. Is it possible that we just have a really sensitive mama cat? Could she be killing them on purpose or do they only smother the babies if they are truly sick? I don't know this, it's just what I've been told. I let the mama back outside and she hasn't come around looking for her babies, but now they have diarrhea and I don't know if it's the goat milk, cat food, or if they are truly sick. I have never had this problem with cats. We have had cats for over 10 years and usually get them fixed, but we do have a mama that didn't get fixed in time and end up having a litter of kittens every few years. The mamas are always very laid back, take care of the babies, let us see and play with them and don't move them around. They always have them in the bed that we make for them and seem content. Like I said, I think these kittens are between 6 and 8 weeks. They use a litter box and are much friendlier than the mama. Should I keep the mama from them? If I do, is goat milk ok for them or is that what's causing the diarrhea?
The long story - One of our mama cats became pregnant. The worry some part about this was that this cat is very antisocial. The only person she likes is my daughter. She runs from everyone else and glares at us with a look of terror. She was born on my parent's farm and I know she has never been mistreated, but she is the most skiddish cat I have ever seen. We knew she was pregnant and kept watching for kittens, but she chose hid them very well. It took us weeks to finally find them in our neighbors abandoned shed, who hates cats. We got her and all six kittens back home and locked them up with box, bedding, food, water, etc. but mama still managed to escape the room from time to time. she would wait by the door and dart out whenever we came to check the kittens. Yes, I did limit our time withe kittens because I didn't want to upset her, but we had to be in there to clean up. She always came back, though, and my daughter was able to lock her back in the room. A couple days ago, she went missing for over 32 hours. We brought the kittens inside and gave them some goat milk and offered them cat food because my girls had said they had seen the kittens eating a little bit of the regular food. Three of the kittens were very lethargic so we gave them extra tlc. I kept their area heated with an extra heater and was more diligent in offering them milk. By evening, all of them seemed much better, except the tabby. She was a little better, but not as much as the others. By the next evening, mama cat was at the back door waiting to get in. We brought her in, but she showed no interest in her babies. After leaving them all alone for a bit, I finally held her down so the kittens could nurse. A while later I saw her nursing them of her own free will and I saw the little tabby eating so I went to bed thinking all was fine. The next morning the tabby was dead. I just assumed she was weak or something else was wrong, but she really did appear to be getting better. The rest of the kittens were doing fine, being playful, nursing from mom when she let them. I only let my kids visit the cat family once or twice/day so that mama wouldn't be too frightened. The kids said all the kittens were doing good and from what I saw, they all seemed fine. This morning, another kitten was dead. It was one of the original weak kittens, but she was really fine and recovered from what I could tell. She played and acted the same as all the others. Is it possible that we just have a really sensitive mama cat? Could she be killing them on purpose or do they only smother the babies if they are truly sick? I don't know this, it's just what I've been told. I let the mama back outside and she hasn't come around looking for her babies, but now they have diarrhea and I don't know if it's the goat milk, cat food, or if they are truly sick. I have never had this problem with cats. We have had cats for over 10 years and usually get them fixed, but we do have a mama that didn't get fixed in time and end up having a litter of kittens every few years. The mamas are always very laid back, take care of the babies, let us see and play with them and don't move them around. They always have them in the bed that we make for them and seem content. Like I said, I think these kittens are between 6 and 8 weeks. They use a litter box and are much friendlier than the mama. Should I keep the mama from them? If I do, is goat milk ok for them or is that what's causing the diarrhea?
