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    Emily94's Avatar
    Emily94 Posts: 1,129, Reputation: 64
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    #1

    Jun 1, 2010, 08:30 AM
    M Auntys cat had kittens and she has a few questions?
    A stray at my auntys had kittens on mothers day, the mom cat had them on my auntys deck. My aunt asked me to go out there and see them. Her and I checked the kittens over for anything that looked abnormal (worms, parasites, etc.) all the kittens seemed fine. I brought my dog and he snuck out and started to lick the kittens and then the mom moves them. My Aunty assumes she'd never see them again (happens WAY to often out there) anyway, she called me yesterday informing me that 4/6 kittens were brougt back and there eyes are goopy, is there anything she can do about this? She also said one is much skinnier than the others but is still a good size, should this be a concern? She also noticed that only 3 of the moms nipples seem to have milk in them.. Thanks for any help!
    hheath541's Avatar
    hheath541 Posts: 2,762, Reputation: 584
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    #2

    Jun 1, 2010, 12:06 PM

    If the momma cat lets her, she can gently wipe their eyes with a damp cotton ball until they clear.

    Putting out wet food for mommy at least once a day may help her produce more milk. Most likely, the one is skinnier because siblings push him out of the way so they can feed.
    Lucky098's Avatar
    Lucky098 Posts: 2,594, Reputation: 543
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    #3

    Jun 1, 2010, 08:19 PM

    The mother seems to not be producing enough milk to feed all of her kittens. The wicked circle of life, things like that happen all the time. If this were a domestic house pet, I would suggest to take her to the vet for a check up. Sometimes, it's a shot of hormones to help with milk production.

    Is the mother cat skinny? Or does she appear to have good weight? If she is thin, you're going to want to up her feed. From my understanding, cats need the canned food, however, what you feed is definitely going to make an impact. A mother cat with kittens should be fed kitten food. Everything you feed the mother goes directly to the kittens. Load the bowl up with food and let her eat at it whenever she wants.

    Is this a wild cat? Or a somewhat tame cat? Does she mind you messing with her babies and touching them? She may not defend them because she could be a first time mom, or even a bad mom. You touching them and allowing your dogs to come near them may be stressing her out. When mothers are worried, they don't take very good care of their babies. Sometimes they can overmother them and kill them, or they can negelect them all together. If this is a wild cat with wild babies, try not to mess with them. If you want to take over, take them now and don't return them. She's probably nervous and stressed.

    Goopy eyes.. Sounds like an eye infection. I believe you can use visine on animals. Double check with a vet before you do anything. You're going to want to flush the eye though. They could very well have an eye infection and will need antibiotics.

    If you're going to take the babies and care for them, then do so. Don't mess with them and leave. If this is a wild cat, or even a semi-wild cat, she is stressing out and is probably not eating which is why milk production is slow.

    Good luck
    Emily94's Avatar
    Emily94 Posts: 1,129, Reputation: 64
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    #4

    Jun 2, 2010, 04:41 AM

    She has lived at my auntys since she was a baby (she was born on the deck as well) she doesn't mind us touching them because if you sit on the deck she picks on up and puts it on your lap and goes back and feeds or just lays with the other ones and then comes back for the one she gave shortly after (I thought this was strange). Also she had a kitten previous to this, we knew she was pregnant and one day she came back not pregnant without kittens and did not leave the deck at all for two days, she just laid in the same spot. My Aunty called me to come look for the kittens (hoping they were still alive) I found one (I'm assuming that's all that she had since there wasn't anymore in the box thing) anyway I took it back to the house syringe fed him and warmed him up and them gave him back to her. At first she didn't know what to do so I helped him find a nipple and from them on she brought him to my Aunty everymorning when she woke up. So this isn't her first litter, and her other baby was handled A LOT (she has four kids that love kittens). She is not skinny but she also isn't very fat, I gave my Aunty a bunch of wet food for the kittens but I'll tell her to start feeding it to the mom.
    Lucky098's Avatar
    Lucky098 Posts: 2,594, Reputation: 543
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    #5

    Jun 2, 2010, 09:43 PM

    That's very strange behavior.. she sounds like a bad mom. You should consider getting spayed. Some shelters or vet offices will give big discounts to spay/neuter wild cats.

    Some animals just aren't good mothers. She's too interested in abandoning her kittens.

    She could still be stressed or worried. Maybe not because of you, but over the kittens.
    Emily94's Avatar
    Emily94 Posts: 1,129, Reputation: 64
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    #6

    Jun 3, 2010, 08:01 AM

    There isn't a clinic anywhere near them and since they still consider her. A stray the don't want to put money into her. They feed her and give her a blanket, there is over 50 cats that hang out at there house some are friendly some are not and they don't want to get them all neutered/spayed because they can't afford it. I'm trying to do my best and find homes for the kittens, so far they all have homes, so next it's the health friendly ones, and then the sick ones who need that special someone who will take them.
    Emily94's Avatar
    Emily94 Posts: 1,129, Reputation: 64
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    #7

    Jun 3, 2010, 08:06 AM

    Just got off the phone with my Aunty and she's going to by kitten milk and start feeding the small one, she's also going to weigh the rest daily to make sure they don't loose weight, if they do she's taking all of them into the house and bottle feeding them.

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