[HSK]

Since I have not had a reply, and am getting concerned here, let me make it simple.

How long can a six day old kitten be left by its mother?

[Ladyviper]

Not long, he will eventually need to eat and use the bathroom. You need to take him into a shelter or start feeding him yourself. He may still need help going potty, do this by rubbing a damp wash cloth on his behind. This may help stimulate his bowel to release.

[HSK]

Thank you for your reply.

I trapped the feral mother yesterday by piggy backing traps.
One with kittens, and the other for the mother. That way she would not harm the kittens
If she freaked out in the trap. I now have them all locked in my bathroom upstairs, and
All is well. The mother is feeding the kittens normally now.

She had them in our warehouse, but kept moving them to dangerous locations. We built a shelter to keep her confined, but after one day she would not go back in the shelter.

Our local no-kill shelter I work with, Faithful Friends, did not have any more foster homes, so that was not an option. They are going to place the kittens for me, and spay the mother when the kittens are about 10 weeks.

Taking away the kittens was only a last resort.

[tiffandsam14]

Since I have not had a reply, and am getting concerned here, let me make it simple.

How long can a six day old kitten be left by its mother?

It can be left without its mother for a while, as long as you feed it from a kitty bottle, and nurture it. Be sure to do it right.

[DocWill]

Is this question based on parental separation? Am I comprehending this correctly?
Gawd she made it simple and I am still clueless.

HSK I have wrote vast emounts on this topic. Scan thro some of the other pregnancy/neonatal questions recently asked. I have alotta answers for questions and care regarding kitty stuff.

[warlord42]

Since I have not had a reply, and am getting concerned here, let me make it simple.

How long can a six day old kitten be left by its mother?

Some advise go to the grocery store and get some goats milk and hamster feeding bottle the kitte will suck on the bottle thinking it is his mother I know this cuase I had one that was 2 days old someone threw ina dumster and now she is grown and have had kittens of her own

[DocWill]

Goats milk is for goats. If faced with feeding orphin kittens Pet Ag manufactures KMR (Kitten Milk Replacer). It comes in a powder and a liquid. The powdered form seems less associated with diarrhea than the liquid plus with the powdered form, the water content can be adjusted in the event of dehydration. WallMart carries it as well as any local vet for over the counter needs. Mix up the powder according to the directions on the can. If you are using the liquid form, you may want to dilute it with one part water for every two parts of formula. As the babies get older, less water may be used whether you are mixing up the powder or the liquid. If diarrhea occurs at any time, you should add more water to the formula to make up for fluid lost as diarrhea. Store the can of powder in the freezer after opening. Do not mix up more than a day's worth of formula. Use a blender to mix the formula several hours ahead to allow time for the bubbles to settle.
Expect to feed them every 2 to 3 hours during the day. If this is done, the babies should be able to sleep through the night.
Do not wake the babies at feeding time. Let them sleep. When they wake up hungry, they will let you know.
During feeding be sure to tip the bottle so that no air is swallowed.
Play with/rub them after feeding to "burp" them.
Occasionally small amounts of formula will come out of the nose. The baby is drinking too fast. If excessive amounts of formula appear to be coming out the nose or if you are concerned, call your veterinarian.
Maintaining proper weight gain is crucial to survival. Kittens with birth weights of less than 3.2 oz (90 grams) have a 59% mortality rate (though a less than 10% weight loss in the first 24 hours of life is considered normal). After the first 24 hours, weight gain should be steady: 0.25 to 0.35 oz per day for kittens and 5% to 10% of the birth weight daily for puppies. An accurate postal or kitchen scale is helpful during this early period to be sure the baby is on a healthy track. If the baby is not gaining weight as desired, try to adjust food intake.Infant animals are unable to take care of these matters alone and must be given help. Normally their mother's tongue does the job as she washes them. Use a cotton swab, tissue, or your finger to gently rub the baby's genital area. Have a tissue ready to catch the urine.
Rubbing the anal area as well may also be necessary if the babies do not seem to be defecating as much as expected. Watch for diarrhea. Normal infant stool is normally very loose but should not be watery.
Good Luck!

[HSK]

DocWill-
Thank you for your concern. The original question was more detailed, but after a few hours with no reply, I made it brief to encourage a response. Basically, my husband and I take care of a feral cat colony. One of the nicer females had her kittens in our warehouse. After three days, she moved them. Our warehouse is busy, and her new
Spot was in a rather dangerous location. We moved them back and created a shelter to contain her with the kittens. We let her out of the shelter that morning, but she would not return to the kittens, for fear of being locked back up again. The kittens were six days old, and I was not sure how long they could go without a feeding. The shelter that I volunteer for had not returned my call yet, and it was going on about six hours when I posted the original message. I know feral mothers often leave their kittens for longer periods than domestic cats do, but was not sure what the maximum amount of time before it would be too dangerous for the kittens. Finally, I just broke down the enclosure, and let her move the kittens to feed them. We let her move them overnight for a few days, and every morning moved them back to the safer spot. Finding the kittens every morning was getting harder and harder, so I finally decided to trap the mother by piggy backing traps. I put the kittens in one trap behind the set trap. It worked like a charm. Momma and all four kittens are now at my house, and all are doing very well. I did purchase the KMR liquid formula, but thankfully did not need to use it.
-Heather

[DocWill]

I obviously don't know where you live so I can't say for sure about your town. But larger cites and towns are adopting a new ferrel cat program to trap desex and vaccinate to be returned to where they were found. Many of these cats will never make pets due to the obvious reasons. These programs are easily located by local vets and area shelters.

This I am sorry to say doesn't help much with the kitten issue that I am sure drains you mentally at work. I am not sure I am 100% for the program its self, but there are some advantages that help to control transferable spread disease.

I do a lot of volunteer work 2 months out of a year for Key West, not looking for a pat on the back, merely stating that a lot of Vets do countless efforts to control and care for animals that go seemingly over looked by owners and financial deterrents that have brought about such situations that you have found in your life by just going to work.

Lil effort will inform you on such programs in your area. Sorry I didn't reply very fast to your original message, I work 6 pm-8am doesn't leave many day time hours with my eyes open. When I did read it I still didn't understand it much, you know us vets don't get it at first all the time, lolol

[HSK]

DocWill-
I too voluteer, but just helping out where they need me. Cleaning cages, adoption days at
Pet stores, etc. I am currently involved in the catch and release for our colony. Basically, I trap them, take them to the shelter, and as long as there are no complications, release them the following day. I am trying to control the population. I will have the mother for about 8-9 more weeks, and will try to work with her inorder to keep her. If it does not go well, I will just get her spayed and release her back to the population.
This was my first experience with kittens under 6 weeks, and was just looking for an answer as too what the max. amount of time they could be left unfed. I was trying to wait her out as long as possible, because I was afraid if I touched the kittens and fed them, that they would smell different and she might abandon them. Again, all is well at the moment, and Faithful Friends in Delaware will adopt out all of the kittens that I can't find homes for.
Thank you again,
Heather

[MrsLoha]

Since I have not had a reply, and am getting concerned here, let me make it simple.

How long can a six day old kitten be left by its mother?

Not long! As I recall, from all of the kittens we had when I was growing up, when the mother was gone more than 24 hours we would usually step in. Sometimes the kittens were fine, and we would just monitor, but other times we took them over right away. Not all cats are good mothers, and not all are ready to rear kittens. Use your judgement on their condition. There are commercial products out there to feed kittens with. Good Luck!

[Tiffinee]

Since I have not had a reply, and am getting concerned here, let me make it simple.

How long can a six day old kitten be left by its mother?

My cat had her kittens in a draw 4 days ago. She has been in and out of there ever since.Your cat will leave them now and again just to have a rest this is normal.My cat even goes outside. She don't leave them alone for longer than half an hour. Hope this helps.x

[Tiffinee]

Since I have not had a reply, and am getting concerned here, let me make it simple.

How long can a six day old kitten be left by its mother?

If your cat isn't feeding her kittens you will need to buy some formula milk and a bottle and feed them yourself.They will not be used to this for up to 3 days but will get used to it then.