I found a cat under my house and SHE adopted us. Well before i had a chance to get her fixed she got pregnant. She had 5 kittens. They are doing very well but she is so thin!! and getting thinner. If I were to see this cat on the street I would feel sorry for her!! I dont know what to do....I feed her 1-2 cans a day and I have a continuous feeder and water of dry cat food in the kitchen I know that she is eating but I am afraid that the kittens are litrally sucking the life right out of her!!
Does any one know something I can do or give her to get more calories in her? The kittens are to young to stop feeding as they are about 4 weeks.
Thank you for any help, ideas!!
2007-07-05 07:41:25 · 11 answers · asked by Megz 2 in Pets ➔ Cats
She is farel but she is VERY tame. She sleeps in our beds and barely ever leaves the house she is not as lovy as my cat, but she plays and interacts with the kids and my other cat.
2007-07-05 07:58:26 · update #1
Thank you for helping this kitty. She definitely needs you.
She most likely has worms - many stray cats have them just from living outside. It'd be best if you could get her and her kittens into a carrier and take them to a vet. The kittens probably have worms too.
The worms are `stealing' a lot of the nutrition the cats would otherwise get from eating. Once they're de-wormed, the mother will gain weight.
Meanwhile, keep feeding her as much food as she'll eat.
2007-07-05 07:45:01 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
I'm a little late but I have a very similar situation so I thought I would answer. I have a semi-feral (much more feral then yours) cat with babies. She is too feral to put in a cage just yet (I tried it was a nightmare). So there are some things you can do in the mean time. My vet gave me some worming medicine to put in mom's food. This way if mom has worms we can clear them up. Another thing I was told is to get KMR (Kitten Milk Replacement) 2nd step. It's like a formula that both mom and babies can eat and it is much better for them. Finally, make sure you are giving mommy kitten chow because it has much better nutrients. Supply lots of food all day. It will be a bit pricey for now, but so worth it in the long run. Also, when the kittens are about 5 weeks mom will go into heat. Do everything you can to keep her inside or she will have more babies. Email me if you have any questions!
2007-07-05 15:59:44 · answer #2 · answered by CC 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Pregnant and nursing cats need to be eating kitten food, as much of it as they want.
Lactation places even larger demands on the cat than pregnancy and yes, as you're seeing, they can get very skinny. Get some kitten food, dry or wet or both, and load her up with it! Preferably get something high quality, not just your stuff from supermarkets.
Are she and the kittens wormed? This is very important - if the mother cat has worms, so will her kittens. You need to go to a vet to get some proper treatment for this, they can give you stuff appropriate for kittens. Kittens should be wormed at 2,4,8 and 12 weeks of age, and monthly until 6 months of age, 3 monthly thereafter.
Be aware that you need to get her spayed once the kittens are weaned - and that if she goes outside before this time she'll get pregnant again, she's already capable of it.
Chalice
2007-07-05 10:21:49 · answer #3 · answered by Chalice 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Usually we tell people to feed the "Mothers" Kitten food until she has finished nursing the kittens. Of Course a Mother needs the extra nutrition to feed both herself and her kittens. If the kittens are 4 weeks old, they should be starting to eat kitten food as well as some nursing from the mother. You can try putting out some kitten chow (for Mother and Kittens) and hopefully the kittens will start on that and stop needing all the nutrition from the mother. Since this is a feral (wild) cat, this cat could have any number of diseases such as Feline Aids or Leukemia, that could be draining her body! You said the cat adopted you! Even though the cat seems to semi-tame, be very careful! If she were to nip or scratch you, you could become very ill! Please don't take chances! If you intend to spay this animal, please borrow a humane trap from you local animal warden, to trap the cat so it can be taken to the Vet for spaying. The trap will protect you and the cat from injury!
2007-07-05 07:53:04 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I understand different countires vets seem to give diferent advise but when my cat was pregnant i was advised to worm her so she would pass on some immunity to them and then i wormed the kittens as well but cannot remember at what age i think it may have been 4 weeks but couldn't be sure. Just call and ask your vet for advise but i would worm her and i don't think it would be a problem. She will howeverbe very skinny due to nursing the kittens and needs to eat a lot more and often advisable to give mum kitten food as it has more nutrients for her. I hope she feels better soon and enjoy the kittens.
2016-05-18 23:56:32 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's great that you are caring for and concerned about this mama cat. Try giving her kitten food along with the canned. You could also try starting the kittens on some solid food. Just mix it with warm water and see if they will eat it. Mine started on solids about that age (not the canned stuff necessarily, but the crunchy kind) and then the mama started to gain her weight back since they were not strictly nursing but getting nourishment from the food. You may also want to take her to the vet, as other suggested, since she may have worms which can be passed on to the kittens too (at least i've seen it happen with a puppy whose mama dog had them).
2007-07-05 07:55:15 · answer #6 · answered by Jen 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try to get her to eat foods for kittens (ex. Royal Canin Babycat 34 but don't change food too quickly). On the package they'll refer to her as Queen. She needs a lot of calories right now to produce milk and foods high in calories should help.
Also she might have worms. Call the vet and ask for their advice on what to do.
2007-07-05 07:52:14 · answer #7 · answered by Peekoo 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A nursing cat is just like a kitten. She might do better if she had a higher protein diet try giving her kitten food while she's nursing.
2007-07-05 07:48:39 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You may need to take her to the vet and the kittens. But, in the meantime read http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=1&cat=1388&articleid=906
Since she is a feral cat she may have roundworms or hookworms. The mother and the kittens will need to be dewormed.
2007-07-05 08:06:24 · answer #9 · answered by ? 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
good chance she may hve worms. if she eats & eats but gets skinnier the worms are getting all the food before she can absorb it. other than that it could be a fatal sickness, like feline leukemia or something. take her to the vet if you can.
2007-07-05 07:45:38 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋