Newborn kitten UPDATE!!! They are nursing!!!! PICS ADDED!

[ARose4Heaven]

Went away for the weekend with 1 very pregnant cat locked in the mudroom with a nice cozy basket and food/water/litterbox.

Came back tonight to a DISASTER!

Blood, water, and cold wet newborn kittens EVERYWHERE! I found kittens on top the big Igloo Cooler, in mason jars on my shelves, in boxes and on the floor. NONE in the basket. A bloody scarred momma cat wandering the room just frantic. I quickly collected kittens and dipped them in warm water to warm and stimulate them. Patted them down to dry as much as I could and put them in with the momma in a closed kennel so she would settle down and care for them. I have 4 out of 5 still alive, 45 minutes after discovery. I didn't get here quick enough for the one in the mason jar, the momma hadn't been able to clean it, and it suffocated in the birth sac. I am not sure that she is done having kittens yet...she is awfully restless.

I am praying she is able to get them nursing. I do have a kitten bottle, but no formula. Since I don't know how long they laid before I found them, I am praying it hasn't been too long for the natural nursing instinct.

 

[Saltysteele]

unfortunately, momma's want to have kittens where momma's want to have kittens, not necessarily where we want them to. it would appear she was all over trying to find a spot that was suitable to her liking, where she felt was a safe place.


was this her first litter? i'd pick up some kitten replacement milk ASAP, in the event momma doesn't accept them/feed them.

 

[ChickenDreamer]

Just wanted to say I'm thinking of you. Hoping them lil babies make it

 

[ARose4Heaven]

She seems to be settling down in the kennel, and washing the kittens. I haven't seen any babies nursing yet. I am thinking they are just exhausted from the trauma of thier birth? Momma keeps trying to get me to let my Pomeranian in with her. She has an strange attachment to that furball dog. I am not letting him in though, I don't trust him with the babies, and don't want them confused who is momma. He just lays outside the kennel watching his pal, and unable to help her.

This is her second litter. The first time, her momma and sister both had kittens at the same time, and this cat wasn't the best momma of the bunch. All 3 of them mothered kittens in tag-team style then. I don't have a back-up momma cat this time. I don't have anywhere out here in the sticks to get kitten formula before morning, so am hoping they start nursing once they get fully dry and warm.

As if cat disaster isn't enough, I found one of my 2 week old leghorn chicks dead in the brooder when I got home too. It was the smallest, and hadn't been growing any bigger. It seemed healthy enough when I left, but just didn't grow. I guess, that is the way, sometimes they just fail to thrive. The other 10 are OK. One had escaped, and was trying to nest with the 12 week olds. Luckily, they didn't harm it.

 

[bucket04]

If they are still not nursing, I would put her in a box that you can get access to her, (open topped) calm her down by talking sweetly, and pet her gently while getting her to lay on her side. Place the babies in the proper area to find milk. To get the babies on the mommy's nipple, try squeezing the nipple till a drop of milk comes out, and then put the kitten's nose or mouth up to it. Sometimes that's enough to stimulate it to nurse.

I hope they "get it" soon!!!

 

[ChickenfootDuckbutt]

some momma cats are just not good moms for whatever reason.

as a second timer she should have been abit less nervious, atleast somewhat knowing what to do.

we had a cat when I was small, having had outdoor farm cats all my life as it were, her mother was the best mother you could have asked for(as was her grandmother, her great grandmother ect.), very protective, of her kittens, portected them from EVERYTHING I recall loosing a few chickens due to the momma cat attacking and as a result of said attack, killing them as they got too close to the babies.(and our 150 lb rottwieler x at the time quickly learned to give mother and babies a wide girth) as her kittens grew, momma from hell would become momma from hell x 2, a process she repeated 4 times until we finally had her spayed.

well, you can imagine that out of those four litters, totalling 17 kittens that of the 4 we did not find homes for out of the four litters (2 males and 2 females) that the females would have been good moms due to their raising, one cat Arora, was, she was her mother all over again which sadly she met her end, protecting a litter of kittens from what we think was a coyote or wild dog), but the second female Chili just was not cut out to be a mother.

Chili's first litter was so memorable that it still bothers me, mind you I was 11 at the time and Chili ofcourse was one of my favorite cats, me being fond of torties. her first litter she had 3 kittens, we gave her a box in our shed as got close, another on our porch and she had the whole barn...where did she have her first litter?, in the middle of our front yard, in the pouring rain no less! we were gone to breakfast with family and came home to 3 tiny screaming soaking wet kittens and a momma Chili who acted as if she couldn't care less about where they were, my mother rushed the little things to the box on the porch and tried to get Chili to come to them, she would not, she acted as if she had no idea what they even were, for TWO days she ignored them I remember trying to bottle feed them but they would not take (I never could get kittens to take bottles, I've done rats, rabbits and a litter of foxes, but never could get kittens to take a fake bottle), only one kitten lived, the only male, named Hazzard for obvious reasons (to this day that cat has mommy issues I swear by it, he and Chili CANNOT get along, every time he sees her, he attacks her)

Chili's second litter the following year went slightly better, 5 kittens born in a slightly better place...on the bare ground BUT under our porch this time, Chili was a bit more motherly nursing and cleaning the kittens but was never protective and lost three kittens to predators, the surviving two somehow made it long enough to take them and find them homes, then Chili was spayed.

which by contrast, Chili's older sister Aurora has never lost a kitten, and infact one of her 2 year old daughters is due within the week(the feral queen I have mentioned) that was Auroras only bad quality, having the kittens where we could never find them, and they all grew up feral.

watch your new momma closely, just because one minute she is acting the part, doesn;t mean tomorrow she still will be

if she is cleaning them, and stimulating them to go to the bathroom though, it might be ok

 

[cazyaniamllover]

i am so sorry about you mommy kitty i have three mothers odler two had 3 litters each third one of roisie (one of the two) kits well stipes the 3rd mother in all she alway start giving birth on my dad or by him firrst litter 5 kits one die (and these are her brothers

) second litter same thing but not brothers 5 kits one die all had upper reisty almost three die give one to a lady give two to these ladys. but her mother roisie alway had bad luck with kittens first litter 6 kits 2nd 4 kits last 8 kits (5 alive 3 died) we allways try to get her to give birth in my moms clostiest nope under the bed in the middle of the night (scares the hecks out of you) well little kitty stipes fouth kit on first littler her sister had to help and try to keep her calm my mom had to cut the cord on two and i was 9 or 10 in 3rd grade so i was freacking out not helping much and her sisters kittens being a pain in the butt have to get a bath. her second litter give birth in the day 4th grade/5thgrade summer went smoothly but wow she yelled.last litter rossie had eight kept my up all night and i faild that test in 6th had to take alot away beacause so many was so tiny three die

we give away the runt the one that was slightly sickly because the bigger ones were a meanieface to him the lady know and want him because she could trick her cat who lost all her kittens (stop eating,drinking slowly dieing) called my mom every now and then thanking her both are alive and happy. but my cats stop being good mothers after their second litters. our older cat name Wazz had five kitten the same time that her sister Fuzzy and five too Wazz 4 out of five die while Fuzzy let her have some time with her own five while she goig out and eat and poo but Fuzzy want bye bye and then thier mom die sort saved my life some how

but if mommy dosn't be a mommy to them you have to be mommy...or daddy
have a eye dropper/ear dropper (ear droppers are my faviertie because of the angled)
hot water bottle with a towel
vet number on the phone
kitty/small puppy shampoo-maybe
warm wash clothes/towels
boxes
towles

the eye dropper/ear dropper if they don't take the bottle you have to fouse feed them be careful because they stomght may have some proplemeple
hot water bottle for heat(i don't use these alot) for heat they can drop tremupties they need to be warm
vets for anything bad happening again and you don't know how to do it
warm wash cloth if they need help if they have a poppy butt or crusted eyes
boxes because if one get sicks or upper reisttty promples it speeds like fire (we been having that promloms alot) this is also where the hot water bottles,towels, and droppers comes in handy
because you wnat the kitten to be cofty but want the others to be safe call the vet ASPL it hurts seeing one die resul a little kitten saw her breathing when my mom thought she was die she die at the vet later that day
the shampoo if you need to wash them as i said they do get poppy butts and we had once had a kitten name Buggiezy because her eyes are as big as cows and got poo all over her and littemate
hope this help PM or whatever easlo there is if you need some more help with them

hope you mommy and babbies are okay

 

[ARose4Heaven]

Good news!!!! All 4 babies still alive, and momma seems to be taking care of them! I saw 2 nursing, and others were warm and resting!!!

Last time she had kittens, it was in the driveway under the van. I am so glad I had her locked up this time! She's a farm cat, and not thrilled about being confined to the house.

 

[ARose4Heaven]

The "cooler cats"

 

[ARose4Heaven]

Abbie and her 4 surviving babies. She's turning out to be a great momma!!!