Vets, Vet techs or cat lovers HELP!?

Question

I brought a cat a few weeks home knowing she may be pregnant (I think someone just dumped her in my neighborhood because I had never seen her before)
Well sometime between last night and today she had her litter under a bed in the guest room. Well I kept checking on her and the last time I went in I heard a cry away from where she was with the others...and looked on the other side of the bed, there it was meowing and cold really cold with the cord and such (trying not to be gross)still attached & removed that with scissors, so I warmed baby kitty up and put it back with her, and Momma keeps pushing it away. It appears really healthy to survive that long away from her other than a paw that's turned inward like clubbed feet in humans. What should I do, I can not just sit here and let her let it die, it is really strong still. Should I remove it and feed it myself with formula from the store? Has anyone been through this? Any advice would be appreciated as I am desperate to help them!

Answer 1

The mother cat is rejecting this kitten. Cats have an instinct about which kittens are defective, and they reject them in order to reserve their milk and attention for the kittens that have a better chance. Also, it is a hold-over from when cats lived in the wild, and a defective kitten would attract predators with its crying or not be able to keep up later when the mother would move her litter.

Usually, the mother cat is correct, and the kitten she is rejecting has a serious, usually fatal, defect. You have noticed that the kitten has a club foot. It may have other defects that are not as apparent.

I agree that you can't just let it die, but it may die despite your best efforts. My suggestion is that you try to hand-rear it with KMR or similar kitten formula. Hand-rearing a newborn kitten is very difficult. There are numerous sources of instructions online.

About once a day, try putting the kitten back with its mother and see if she will accept it. Kittens lay claim to a particular teat when they first nurse, and they always go back to that teat. Observe which teat is unclaimed and put the kitten to that one.

You can try putting the tiniest dab of vanilla on the neck of each kitten including the rejected one, in hopes the mother won't be able to tell the unwanted kitten from the others.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Answer 2

It's also possible they forgot to call you because they got too busy. If the clinic did the Elisa test, they'd have had the result in 15 minutes, so it sounds like they did the Western Blot test, which has to go out to a clinic. That takes a little while for them to be notified of the results, and the clinic may not have gotten back to them on this yet. Don't stress. Yes, FeLV can be passed by the mom, thogh it's very rare. Most of the time FeLV is passed by body fluids in a close contact environment--and it's not as contagious as was thought even a few years ago. But really there's nothing you can do and your cat is the same cat you have had these past weeks. Just wait. If you want, go over to YahooGroups and join up with the feline leukemia group and talk to the owners over there.

Answer 3

Well, you can go to a vet or a petsmart and get the kitten milk replacement and a syringe to feed the baby. Ask them for help on how to feed baby.
Momma doesn't want it because its deformed and kitties are hardwired not to let the deformed live. You'll have to be momma now. Keep baby warm and make sure to feed her, Every 2 hours is the norm I think. You might need some help with that.
Good luck.

Answer 4

Try to distract the mother by chin rubbing and face petting while you set the kitten to one of her nipples. It needs to eat at least once, the first milk has important things in for newborns. Keep the kitten warm and call the vet in the morning. You can see if the cat will accept the kitten in a few hours, too. But with a club foot, the mother may sense even more wrong with it internally and still reject it.

At least you can give it the best chance. Can't hurt to try.

Answer 5

I wish you and the babies luck. Sometimes nature just has it's ways of keeping population down. Called survival of the fittest.
It may pull through if you keep checking on it and making mother comfortable with it, you may even have to feed it yourself. I read an article that breeders sometimes have the "clubbed" feet issue or even twisted legs, and it said it usually correct itself so maybe this is not as bad as it seems.
Maybe she had it in a panic and could not get to it in time or was tired? But if it's warm, fed and mother did not kill it then all is good at this point.
Best wishes to you and them.

Answer 6

Try to get the mom to nurse the baby, even if you have to hold the mom so the kitten can suckle. It is very important for the kitten's immune system to have colostrum for at least the first 48 hours of life. If you are still having trouble and mom won't nurse within an hour, I would start with a milk replacer rather than let the kitty starve.

Answer 7

I'm no expert, but I have been in this same situation before. I found a cat, that had her kittens in my storage room, and she was a really really young mother, so she had no clue as how to take care of her babies, she just left them there while she roamed the neighborhood. I bottle fed them formula, and kept them wrapped in blankets for warmth. They lived for awhile, but finally gave up the struggle... they just needed their mom's love and they weren't getting it. If she is just ignoring this one kitten, that means she knows something is wrong with her, and is casting her away from the other babies ... basically to die, because she is the weakest one. Just because her mother is rejecting her does not mean you have to stand by and watch it happen. Scoop her up, away from the other kittens, get her in a blanket, and in a box, or basket, and bottle feed her formula. In my opinion it is very important that you keep her away from her mother, brothers, and sisters until she is strong enough to fight for herself. I would definitely call a vet and ask for their help.

Answer 8

I think you should definately take her to the vet and have her checked out. This should be done ASAP because this kitten may not have alot of time. Vets will usually know how to take care of kittens, even without parents. I found my 2 kittens under a neighbors porch, comepletely abandond by their mother. They are full grown and healthy right now, all thanks to us bringing them to the vet.

Answer 9

Awwww sweetie. My cat had three litters before I had a chance to get her fixed. I don't think the little one is going to make it. Nature lets mama know that the baby is sick and she is not going to give it her energy/attention. You can love it, but don't get too attached.

Answer 10

did this just happen now?

Ok, KEEP IT WARM (very important) and dont feed it regular milk from your refridgerator, bring it to the emergency vet as soon as possible or if you are really desperate, the police would probably tolerate a call from you. They could deff. help.

GOOD LUCK!