What to Do if a Mother Cat Won't Nurse Her Kittens
https://www.thesprucepets.com/cat-wont-feed-newborn-kittens-554851Your first step should be to take the mother and kittens to the veterinarian as soon as possible. If you can discover the reason why a mother cat won't feed her kittens, you may have a better chance of getting her to start nursing them. Or, you may need to step in and care for the kittens yourself.
Potential reasons for rejection:
- Illness in the Mother Cat
- Sick or Deformed Kittens
- Large Litter of Kittens
- Immature Mother Cat
In the meantime, you must find a way to feed the kittens since they need to eat every few hours with the exact frequency depending on their age. This is usually done
by bottle-feeding kitten formula. It is also essential to
provide motherly care to newborn kittens. Keep them warm and help them urinate and defecate.
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xo,
Amber
Amber Freiwald
Maddie's Fund
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Original Message:
Sent: 06-24-2021 09:44 PM
From: Tammie Bucholz
Subject: Getting Queen to take in her kittens?
I have a young mother that was trapped with 4 day old kittens. Two were brought in 2 days prior and she had 2 with her when she was brought in. She wont come out of the crate she is in to take care of her babies. I have her in a quite room and I put the kittens on a blanket in front of the crate hoping she would come out when they cried. She didn't. She just let them cry. I put the kittens in the crate with her and I'm waiting to see what she will do. She is not hissing, and she let me put a blanket in with her. What do you suggest we do to get her to take care of them again?
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Tammie Bucholz
Santa Paula animal rescue Center
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