A bit of an emergency for the Two Old Fools

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Hello jjthink,

Thanks for the really detailed advice. We've never had kittens before so your reply was enormously useful. MumCat has been booked in for her op next Friday, and I'm quite anxious about it. I don't even know if she's house-trained and she doesn't come into the house, so how do we keep her quiet? Would it be OK to shut her in the shed? Seems very drastic.

The kittens are getting their first injections at the same time.

Oh, and why shredded newspaper, not kitty litter?

Victoria
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You're most welcome Victoria.

Due to the anesthesia and the surgery itself she'll be pretty low key when they let you take her home (here it's usually the day after the surgery with females but it's possible that if she has the surgery early a.m. they'll send her home with you that evening).

Set her up indoors someplace quiet and safe, on soft comfortable bedding without small loose fibers (e.g. a smooth blanket folded many times so it's cushioned, rather than fuzzy kind that fills the dryer vent with stuff when washed), ideally with natural light so she can snooze in the sunshine if she desires, not too hot and not too cold, and with all her needs close at hand. Ideally there should not be the opportunity to jump up on anything, as the idea is to keep her stitches from coming apart. If there is a small spare room, e.g. a bathroom, or whatever, this would be perfect. And again, it won't be for long...a week at most. If she's not used to being indoors, eventually she'll get frustrated but at first she'll be exhausted and probably sleep a lot. If you can, I would add a drop or two of Rescue Remedy to her water for its calming effect - they make a pet version now without an alcohol base: http://www.rescueremedy.com/pets/
It's great to have handy for the visit to the vets as well. Give beforehand.

The reason for the shredded newspaper is so that the little litter granules don't get stuck in the incision. Once the incision is healed over, regular kitty litter is just fine. Check her incision daily to make sure it's not becoming very red or hot. If so, infection.... Usually this will not happen so don't worry. Even if it does, it's fixable. Just call the vet as soon as you notice. The reason she should be kept indoors under your supervision until she's 'out of the woods' is that if she was on the loose and developed an infection she may go off and hide and the results could be dire.

Generally it's best if you can let a mama cat stay with her babies for a minimum of 10
weeks and ideally 12-14 weeks before separating them or spaying mom - the kittens will be much better adjusted which can make a world of difference over the course of their lives, both mama and kittens will have less separation anxiety at that point, and mama will be better recovered from giving birth and nursing the kittens (both of which take a lot out of a mama cat). Sometimes waiting that long to spay mom/mum just isn't possible, such as when a mama cat is out in the general population and is at risk of becoming pregnant again.

Sorry this isn't shorter!! I meant for it to be, then thought of this, that and the other thing.

JJ
 
Hello jjthink,

How kind of you to take the trouble to spell it all out for me. I shall follow all your advice to the best of my ability.

The kittens are staying with us, and MumCat, until August when the little sisters will be flown to their new homes in Germany. They will be 16 weeks old then so they'll be here with their Mama for a nice long time.

After her operation on Friday, should we keep the kittens away from her for a while? They are all eating kitty food now, and lapping milk and water, but still have an occasional suckle when she lets them, and often go to her for reassurance.

Victoria (new kitty mother with lots to learn)
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