My 1 month old kitten died this morning?

Question

I have been raising a month old kitten. My cat (his mother) abandoned him and his sister within 3 days of giving birth. So, sister died not long after that and sort of random too. Totally fine one day, and then gone the next. No signs, or symptoms of any illness, except they both had crusty eyes.(Which I kept clean all the time!) I know this is a sign of respitory infections. My little guy was fine last night, but when I woke up this morning he was limp and cried a bit when I picked him up. I tried CPR and my fiance kept telling me he was already dead and that his movements were just reflexes. I didn't want to believe him though. Oh it was awful!!! Anyone know if he might have been physically defective from birth and that is why momma cat, dismissed the both of them from the get go? I am still grieving a bit, so be gentle.

Answer 1

I am so sorry that you had to experience this. Sometimes, mother cats will abandon their kittens if something was wrong with them. It is part of their instinct and survival of the fittest. With her sister passing too, it makes me think that there was something wrong that you could not have known about. I have fostered many kittens in my life and have had this happen as well. I don't think that you did anything wrong. You have a big heart for trying to help these little ones.

Edit***I have worked in a shelter and mother cats and dogs will push away a weak puppy or kitten. They usually will not try to help it at all and are focused on the ones that are thriving. Again, I am so sorry for your loss.

Answer 2

I am sorry to hear of your loss. Recently I have become active in fostering kittens for the Humane Society and have learned that just about no kittens make it without the mother cat. You were lucky it made it for a month. They have even quit fostering out newborn kittens as they have so many problems, they just euthanize them if there is no other cat around to nurse them. Things just can't go right without momma cat. Very sad, I know but true. Hope you feel better.

Answer 3

I'm sorry for your fur friend loss. I helped momma cats raise plenty of kittens in my barn. I also had to bottle feed two kittens from 5 days old. All I can tell you is that I worked closely with my vet while doing this. I fell in love with my two babies and at one point I had to put one on liquid antibotics for a few days. I never seen a momma cat abandon there babies before. I had a litter of still borns once and momma cat was still trying to take care of them. They must have had a cold that finally took control of them. Its very important to monitor there weight every week. This is a tale tell sign something is wrong even though its not obvious. Again, I'm sorry for your loss but they must have been underlined ill.

Answer 4

You gave CPR to a cat? I wouldnt really even know how to start doing that to a small feline to be honest with you. Anyway- did you ever take the cat to a vet? They probably could have told you it was coming. If the mother was a wild cat, there certainly is a possibility that she had feline leukemia, which she then passed on to the kittens, which could have killed them both. Sorry about your loss, might want to try the vet sooner next time.

Answer 5

It is very possible that both kittens were defective in some way. Momma cats know this instictively, and will not feed defective kittens.
I'm really sorry you had to go through this. You did all that you could. Don't beat yourself up.

Answer 6

i know exactly what you are going through. my queen gave birth to six kittens and all seemed fine but we lost one within days the rest grew up to be healthy 23 weeks old (still going strong all barring lilbagheera he has a cold at present) we nearly lost another two but we worked closely with my vet after losing the first one as mama couldn't feed them due to a servere form of mastitis but don't beat yourself up you gave those little ones so much love and mother cats do know when something is wrong. the have gone to a safe place where they play all the time at rainbow bridge.

Answer 7

It could be that they were sick at birth and mama knew it. The fact that you gave him a month of love is wonderful. I went through the same thing with my 5 week old kitten earlier this year. He was crippled, but I raised him for 5 weeks before he passed. Just know that you gave him a great life and a lot of love for his whole life and he will always remember you.

Answer 8

I am soooooooooo sorry about your loss, unfortunately the survival rate of abandoned kittens is very low, they really need the milk from the mom for (at least)the 1st 2 wks. I don't know why momma cats abandon their babies, But Im glad you tried to foster the kits for her.

Answer 9

I had to be there to exactly know how to answer that but probably the kittens got corona or parvo virus or both. It affects both dogs and felines so the next time you have a kittie, bring them to the vet and have them vaccinated or better yet have a home service so that the kitties wouldnt be stressed out.

Answer 10

Oh honey I am so sorry. It's possible that the mama cat knew there was a problem with her babies and that is why she abandoned them. I'm sure you did your best to help the babies and now they are running around in kitty heaven. I hope that you will feel some comfort in that.