momma not feeding??

[kittymeri]

we had 5 kittens on the 24th and they were doing fine, they had some bitty colds for 2-3 days then were fine again. in 24 hours 2 of them died. when i touch the live ones they feel kind of cold even though i keep the room warm.

i've been observing their behavior strictly since the colds, and it seems that Momma isn't doing the best job feeding them. she lays in the box long enough to lick them and make them "go" but most of the time she doesn't stay long enough for them to eat much, or at all. she lays outside the box and repeats this behavior whenever they cry. i've tried moving them to the floor with her thinking maybe the box is too small but no luck.

2 of them are sitll rather little, and 1 is a little bigger. the one that is bigger is the one that seems to frantically try to feed as much as it can whenever she comes to lick them.

momma eats and drinks plentifully.

is this normal or should i try to supplement them at all?? i'm not sure if we have enough to have each of them looked at right away because of the ER charges.

any ideas?? i also noticed a flea on one of the kittens if that can be causing them to be internally sick or something??? i'm afraid to loose them all

 

[tnr1]

is this normal or should i try to supplement them at all?? i'm not sure if we have enough to have each of them looked at right away because of the ER charges.

This is not normal..and I'm definately concerned about the remaining 3 and the mom. It truly would be best if the entire family could be seen by a vet. Would your vet accept a payment plan??

Katie

 

[kittymeri]

they accept payment plans, but they wants 80$ down each for the emergency fee, which makes me kind of angry. i'm trying to find one that will help for cheaper but i've had no luck so far :'(

should i try supplementing a little bit until we have the money, or might that cause them to be dependant if the problem can be resolved?

 

[tnr1]

Originally Posted by KittyMeri

they accept payment plans, but they wants 80$ down each for the emergency fee, which makes me kind of angry. i'm trying to find one that will help for cheaper but i've had no luck so far :'(

should i try supplementing a little bit until we have the money, or might that cause them to be dependant if the problem can be resolved?

That is a lot of money..but given that 2 kitten died and 2 seem small and cold..I would have them seen as soon as possible. I had a foster kitten die of pneumonia which was awful and would hate for you to go through the same thing. Only a vet can determine if they are truly over their cold or whether they need medicine/fluids.

In the meantime, you will need to bottle feed them...KMR is available at the local petstore and should have directions on how you warm it up and how much to feed.

Katie

 

[kittymeri]

okay, thanks. i moved the babies and Momma into my bedroom and Momma seems a little happier there. (it's smaller and i suppose she feels safer)... this way i can keep a better eye on them and can try to keep them bundled up a bit after they fall asleep from exploring their box. (only one has widely open eyes, the bigger one)... i will ask my fiancee to see if he can't find the KMR, and if not will send him for ingredients for the 'kitten glop' because it seems healthier than a saucer of just milk and eggs swirled together.

i will post once i have some kind of answer on their health and/or Momma's health (it's her 2nd litter and the 1st were perfect).

*crosses fingers tight*

 

[megmar6853]

How old are the kittens? You need to force bottle feed them if they are under 4 weeks. I unfortunately had the experience of losing a kitten. My siamese Sarah had a litter of four kittens. I weighed them regulary and their weight was fine. Then on the ninth day one of the kittens stopped nursing. I tried to bottle feed him with KMR but he would spit out the milk. Sarah started to ignore the kitten and seperate him from the rest of the litter. His breathing was very hard and laborious. Then at about six that night we decided to take him to the emergency vet. The vet immediatly heard a severe heart defeact. She said that he would not last through the night. We decied to let them put him to sleep. He was struggling with every breath.
Please take them to the vet. It could be a heart defect in the entire litter or it could be pneunomia. You could loose every kitten. The sooner you take them to the vet the better chance they have of surviving.

 

[tnr1]

Originally Posted by KittyMeri

i will post once i have some kind of answer on their health and/or Momma's health (it's her 2nd litter and the 1st were perfect).

*crosses fingers tight*

KittyMeri...perhaps this is a sign that this should be her last litter. There are several low cost clinics in Ohio. Once she weans these kittens...I would schedule her spay appt.

Katie

 

[bengalbabe]

Yes definately suppliment them have the vet show you or explain to you how if you can. I would get a heating pad and put in in part of the box on LOW. Make sure they can move away from the heat if they get too warm but if those kittens feel cold it sounds like shock is starting to set in. Get them fed and warm ASAP!

 

[kittymeri]

the kittens were born on the 24th... so they're 15 days old today..... as far as it being her last litter, i adopted her 3 days before she gave birth so that she could be spayed and wouldn't end up a 'fertile stray' so the plan has always been to love, wean, then spay. my fiancee bought some kmr, and a weird feeder bottle thingy, and the bigger kitten took to it eagerly, the other two were reluctent until they realized that they could suck on it like on mom. in the smaller room she seems to be paying more attention to them, and more protective (she hissed when i entered, then saw who i was and purred). i hope it means she was just uncomfortable where she was, (she aims to please so she wouldn't move them herself even with company over).

we'll have the money for the vet by the weekend and i'm bundling and feeding until then, hopefully all will go well.

 

[smokeynbandit]

Good luck. Hope all goes well will be sending good luck thoughts your way. Could you not borrow the money until the weekend? I know how hard it can be to get the money together for the vet my momma cat had her babies yesterday and was panting very hard afterwards as she was still doing it this morning I decided to borrow the money to take her to the vet. Im so glad I did. she now has everything she needs to get back to a good healthy state again and my mind is at rest as I know I am doing all that needs to be done to get her on the road to recovery.