Mother not interesting in kittens

Re: Mother not interesting in kittens

Anonymous — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 18:33:52 GMT

[quote user="Kimbo1985"]

[quote user="frog and cat mad!"]

[quote user="StephB"]

Be sure she's warm (23-29C),

[/quote]

To me this is far too cold for a cat

[/quote]

I presumed this was room temperature not the cats?

[/quote]

You presumed correct! :)

Re: Mother not interesting in kittens

Anonymous — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 18:33:07 GMT

75F in the cool area of the kennel and 85F in the opposite side of the kennel is more than warm enough! mum will be putting off her own heat in most cases and shouldn't be over heated. Never had any problems with the many years of breeding I've done so far, so can't be too cold? :)

Re: Mother not interesting in kittens

Kim Buckley — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 18:12:49 GMT

[quote user="frog and cat mad!"]

[quote user="StephB"]

Be sure she's warm (23-29C),

[/quote]

To me this is far too cold for a cat

[/quote]

I presumed this was room temperature not the cats?

Re: Mother not interesting in kittens

Steph Worsley — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 18:11:22 GMT

[quote user="StephB"]

Be sure she's warm (23-29C),

[/quote]

To me this is far too cold for a cat

Re: Mother not interesting in kittens

Kim Buckley — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 18:01:20 GMT

The kittens were only bought in last night and they are at least 3-4 days old so I presume born naturally and they are all a good weight and look healthy so she must have been doing a good job before they got seperated. Her temp is normal and she is producing milk, I think she is just taking her time getting to know her new family. She is in the cat ward and there is nothing else in there at the moment so it's very quiet and relaxed and she seems happy enough. I did have a towel over the front of the cage but she was constantly trying to peek out so I've taken it away and now she is quite chilled out in her comfy bed I've made her. Hopefully the CPL will find a foster home over the weekend so she can go to them. Got to do an FIV/FeLV test on her tomorrow. Should be fun. Thanks for all the advice

Re: Mother not interesting in kittens

Anonymous — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 17:56:08 GMT

[quote user="Kimbo1985"]

After all that mum is finally suckling and washing kittens! Phew! Mum seems perfectly healthy, just inexperienced and wanted fuss all the time. Kittens are very keen to feed and are all curled up asleep at the moment. I'm not to sure about the story behind them but I think the owner is in hospital and the mum got shut inside whilst the kittens were outside somewhere. The CPL are sorting it all out. I'm just going to spend all my spare time watching them all because they are just so cute and mum starts purring as soon as somebody gives her fuss.

[/quote]

ah just read this! good to hear let me know if you need any help. :)

Re: Mother not interesting in kittens

Anonymous — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 17:55:15 GMT

I would check that she's actually producing and her temp. Another thing I would do would be to get some colostrum drops into her and into the kits and be sure you're with her when you try to feed her. She may even prefer being in a home environment instead of in the kennels. Keep her in a large dog crate and cover the crate with a large blanket or sheet. Be sure she's warm (23-29C), if she's not producing milk for the kits then I would intervene and bottle feed. Be sure the kits have been checked over and are weighed every day at the same time so you can get an idea of weight gain. Sometimes they may be feeding and you don't know it. Only way to tell is if they are putting on weight (5-10g per day is ideal). If they aren't feed every two hours and be sure to get some nutridrops(colostrum) into them for the first week or so for extra energy. If mum's not eating well glucose may be helpful for her for energy which in turn may make her more happy to feed. Did she have the kits naturally? Was she given any oxytocin to induce or encourage milking?

Re: Mother not interesting in kittens

Kim Buckley — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 17:52:50 GMT

Re: Mother not interesting in kittens

Mrs Dot Dot — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 16:39:19 GMT

Have you taking mums temperature etc? is she ok inherself? Is she producing milk?

Re: Mother not interesting in kittens

Maisy — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 16:18:44 GMT

Are the kittens trying to suckle or do they not seem interested either? Some very young cats can take a while to get the hang of being a mum, others just won't be interested at all though so they will need bottle feeding. Do the kittens have an owner?