Now I'm worried about the last kitten. The mother cat seems to be a little rough with her when cleaning, and has started to bite her or hold the kitten down by placing her mouth round the kittens neck or tummy. Can anyone tell me why or if this is normal? She seems to still feed her, but that's only if I lie her down and place the kitten near her nipple, as I'm worried she won't feed her if I don't tell her its time. Hope someone can help me, as we don't want to loose this kitten. We are keeping her due to the loss of her brother an sister, and we have called her Lucky!! :-)
2007-07-22 22:15:05 · 8 answers · asked by debbied 1 in Pets ➔ Cats
Firstly,. sorry about the loss of your kittens, make sure the tom can't get back in and finish off the last little one and if the mother feels safe to stay where she is, let her stay, don't move her. It sounds as if she may be rejecting her last kitten after the loss of the rest of her litter, take her and kitten to the vets and have them checked over to see if there's any medical reason for her to be so difficult over feeding, it may be that she has excess milk from the sudden loss of two kittens and is feeling grotty about it, nature should dispose of the milk after a while but for now she may have too much, your vets should be able to help with that. If need be you may have to hand rear her, again the vets will be able to help you with that.
Hope this helps and Good Luck
2007-07-23 01:24:51 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Mother cats are very rough with their kittens, this doesn't sound unusual.
I hope the tom didn't get at your cat, she's already capable of becoming pregnant again. Do get her spayed when the kittens are weaned (between 6-8 weeks of age)
I doubt the mother or kitten needs to be shown when to suckle, this is an instinct for both of them that shouldn't have been erased by a marauding tom. The worst that would happen is that the mother will have become anxious by the intrusion and maybe trying to hide her kitten away - is she content to stay in the same place as before?
Chalice
2007-07-23 05:53:19 · answer #2 · answered by Chalice 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
My cats kittens are now 9 weeks old and ready to move on. The mother was quite young and to me seemed very rough at times but it is their natural way.
Re the tom cat - the tom who got the mother pregnant is unlikely to be this tom and this tom is probably wanting to mate with her; by killing her kittens she will quickly be ready to mate again. It is VITAL to make sure this tom cannot get to the last, vulnerable kitten. Keep the pair of them safe and the mother will do a great job. If the kitten is having trouble feeding, or the roughness of cleaning happens at nursing time, you might like to check the mum out - since she went from 3 to 1 kittens in an instant she might have over-full nipples and over-produced milk, causing her to be tetchy and sore and thus unhappy with feeding at all. Check her for hard swellings and also check her for hot swelling, which would indicate mastitis and a trip to the vet would be necessary. If there are swelling but not too hot and not too hard then nature will reduce the milk produced quite quickly.
2007-07-23 05:32:34 · answer #3 · answered by Mandy C 3 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Make sure the tom cant get to the kitten again, mom is being fine with the kitten, what seems rough to us is actually quite normal, they carry them with their teeth as cant pick them up like a human!
Dont worry about the way the mom grooms her, and just keep putting the kitten to moms belly to feed and she should be ok.
2007-07-23 05:20:12 · answer #4 · answered by mereidmell 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The other answers are bull. The fact the litter was only 3 is really alarming. Mama cat is rejecting kitten. Usually this happens when kittens are born with defects. Tom cat kills when it senses weakness as well. To save this kitten might not be possible unless you take charge. I suspect the bloodline might be sibling mating.
Watch and regulate mama and kitten contact. If the kittens eyes are puss filled and\or crusty, it may be a genetic disease.
I really understand loving the little babies........BUT you might have a birth defected litter. You might have to take over the feeding and care a mama cat does to help this kitten survive.
Early human interaction can cause "cat cannibalism" as well. But, let's save Lucky! Create a nesting area for Mama cat. A 10 day kitten does not move much. It should have just opened her eyes. If you noticed a lot of discharge from her eyes...it might be birth defected. Feed condensed milk through an eye-dropper if mama cat will not feed unless you force.
Take this baby to the vet. WITH mama cat. I suspect you might lose this one too. Optimistically, her name is Lucky! If you can watch ALL day, maybe.
Good Luck!
2007-07-23 06:07:04 · answer #5 · answered by MOI 4 · 1⤊ 5⤋
1stly, you can attempt to manually feed the kitten by milking your cat and feeding your kitten with a syringe. you may want to keep the kitten away from the mother if possible, as some animals are unaware of parenthood and might eat/kill their babies, even if they are vegetarian/herbivore [e.g. hamsters].
however, if you do not wish to seperate the cats, you can do something about your cat's claws and teeth to prevent injury in the kitten. =)
2007-07-23 05:22:10 · answer #6 · answered by Derpyderp 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
this is normal but if you sence it is to rough then stop it. How did two get killed on your watch, do you not have a door that closes?
2007-07-23 05:21:25 · answer #7 · answered by firenice 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Seek advice from ur vet. That would be best...x
2007-07-23 05:33:07 · answer #8 · answered by ♥ 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋