For the past week or so, our cat Sushi refused to take care of her baby. She did enough for him to keep him alive but she wasn't as good of a mom as our other cats were to their babies. This was her 1st litter and she only had 1 kitty - very strange. The baby, a boy we think, was born out of the sac feet first - a difficult birth. He almost died because he wasn't birthing for many minutes until Sue kept licking him to stimulate breathing. We thought he would be fine but Sue wouldn't nurse when he's cry. We tried locking her up with the kitty but she'd just cry and claw her way out. Recently, she's been moving him around the house back and forth every few hours, either moving him on the couch beside me or in a closet, etc. The baby was cold and crying so i held and wrapped him in my shirt. He fell asleep against my stoamch, purring. I thought everything was okay. taht night, Sue brought him on our bed to sleep. He was fine. This morning, I found him under our pillow, dead.
2006-10-25 03:58:38 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Cats
Greg was really upset 'cuz he thought he smothered him. I keep telling him the baby was already sick, which I'm guessing is why Sue refused to take care of him.
2006-10-25 03:59:27 · update #1
What do u think went wrong?
Why did he - Miracle - die?
We named him Miracle because it was a miracle he survived his birth. His birthday is today - he died on his birthday at around the same time too. Born around 8:35; died around 8:30 or eariler.
When Sue realized he finally died, she kept crying, licking him and moving him back forth. The other cats kept sniffing of him but were skittish around him. They've been really good to the kitten too.
2006-10-25 04:02:18 · update #2
The mom was feeding him but I guess not enough. She had the milk - her nipples are huge - but sometimes I would them and the baby refused to eat, and the nipple was right there for the taking!
He was just sick...
2006-10-25 04:03:54 · update #3
We've been planning on getting her fixed and I've been saving up the $. At the time, we had 2 females in heat and only enough $ to get one fixed. we couldn't decide but when Sue came home pg, we took the other one Ling Ling to vet.
2006-10-25 04:27:22 · update #4
I think you`re right. Cats can sense when there is something wrong with the kitten and do what they would do in the wild, abandon them.
2006-10-25 04:03:37 · answer #1 · answered by Hamish 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
to winged_mami...yes, newborns can be bottle fed, you just have to work with them a little to get them to take it. And not milk, you need a formula you can get at almost any grocery store. Sushi's first time litter sounds as if she wasn't sure on what to do with the baby and kept moving it out of nerves or she new something was wrong and thought that moving it or bringing it to you would "fix" the problem. I am not a Vet, but there could have been any number of things wrong with it and the description of the birth could've caused fluid to get into the lungs causing a respiratory problem....sorry about the death, we animal lovers seem to fall in love with babies and it's hard to comprehend the death at such a young age and seemingly nothing wrong.
2006-10-25 11:08:49 · answer #2 · answered by sred 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Your cat isn't a bad mother at all. She is doing what nature does best. When animal mothers know something is wrong with their baby, their instinct is to let nature take care of itself.
Some experienced mothers will even kill their young if they know they are sick. Your cat just didn't want to let go but new it was going to happen.
Cats have an amazing instinct. And your new mother was doing everything right. She probably kept moving it around to find a spot for it to die peacefully. Just look at it as it was meant to be. But your cat can still be an excellent mother in the future. They live and learn just like we do.
Sorry for your loss
2006-10-25 11:06:30 · answer #3 · answered by ZORA 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like you didn't give the mom her choice of room to have the kittens.
Should of been a quite uniterrupted room.95% of the time. With a dark area to have the kittens til the kittens eyes can adjust to the light.
My sister cat had a box under a armoire, you know where a big mirror would be and many drawers for your stuff. The box was halfway covered so no light could get in. Complete privacy.
1st time mothers, not always so good too.
2006-10-25 11:03:36 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋
I'm sorry that the kitten died. That's not a good experience for you or the cat.
Call 1-800-spayUSA to see if there is a low-cost clinic near you where she can be spayed.
2006-10-25 11:48:04 · answer #5 · answered by old cat lady 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
i think he died b/c the mom was not taking care of him he needs to have a mothers love and milk to live
2006-10-31 16:22:31 · answer #6 · answered by jthizz_06 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
not all moms want to be moms
I wouldnt breed her again
really thousands of kittens are euthanized every day becuase of lack of homes so why make more? unless yours are purebred registered cats who have been to shows to prove they are worth breeding you shouldnt bred them... every home your kittens find means one other kitten doesnt find a home
2006-10-25 11:21:28 · answer #7 · answered by CF_ 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
why didnt you feed him then. That is really sad. Poor Kitty. I don't know what to say. Can you feed kitties that young>
2006-10-25 11:02:06 · answer #8 · answered by Hairdorable 4 · 0⤊ 3⤋