*HELP* Nursing Queen not eating/kitten issues

Yeehaw2020

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My female 2.5 year old gave birth to 3 kittens 3 days ago. The first 2 came 2 hours apart and the third came 9 hours later, breached.

Everything seemed fine, until that night I noticed my queen had left her kittens. I found her by herself and she had thrown up a clear watery liquid in 2 different spots. I brought her back to her kittens and she laid with them.

The next morning she was not with them again, so I brought her back to them. Shortly after she came back out of the kitten room and meowed at me telling me something is wrong and her whole demeanour had changed. She was still and stiff and her skin seemed to be shivering, she was also doing this weird flick motion where she would quickly stick out her tongue...

We took her to the pet hospital and they did an ultra sound and x-Ray to be sure she got all her kittens out. There were no more kittens. The vet mentioned seeing fluid in her uterus. I’m not sure if that’s something to worry about, she didn’t seem worried about it? She said she had a bit of a fever at 39.6 and they did see some bacteria in her discharge. They figured it was too early for any left over placenta to be causing problems, as her kittens were only 1 day old. They gave her sub fluids and sent us off with an antibiotic pill safe for nursing, but she needs to take it with food. (The vet also said if her temperature went down she may not need the antibiotic)

When we returned home from the vet she was very dis-interested in her kittens. She threw up a dark brown stinky vomit. I fed her kittens for 2 meals and then brought momma back in. After some coaxing she seemed to realize these were here kittens and she resumed her mothering duties. She drank some water, her temperature had gone down to 38.8. But no eating.

Today, (May 19) I’ve been trying all of her favourite foods, heating them a bit for more smell, I gave her some tuna juice through a syringe, I went and bought some Rebound appetite stimulant from the vet, but nothing seems to make her want to eat. I have noticed she really does the weird tongue movement when I bring smelly food around. A breeder I know told me that her sense of smell is distorted, but I can’t find anything online about that... Her temperature dropped to 38.5.

She threw up the stinky brown vomit twice again today and I have noticed she will leave her kittens alone about 30 minutes before she vomits. Then she needs to be coaxed back to her kittens or she avoids them completely, even allowing me to syringe feed them in front of her.

I’ve been able to forcefeed a bit of KLM/goats milk to her, as well as a bit of Rebound, but it really stresses her out when I do this and she leaves her kittens. I have a hard time getting anything in her mouth when she’s not with them, as she’s much more relaxed when with her kittens.

She is still bleeding from her vagina. I don’t think the amount has decreased any since giving birth, but doesn’t seem to be “too much”. It’s a deep red colour, a bit brown. I’m not entirely sure how much she should be bleeding still.

My plan is to take her back to the pet hospital tomorrow am but they didn’t really know what could be the problem. I was recommended to go to another pet hospital where there is a reproductive specialist and they can apparently ultra sound the uterus better than the hospital I went to...

Does anyone have an idea what could be my girl’s problem?? Please help!!
 

Sarthur2

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Oh dear, it sounds like she definitely has an infection. What antibiotic is she on? She needs to take the full course of antibiotics, but she may need it as an injection to get her started since she is unable to eat or keep food down.

It also sounds like she needs medicine for nausea. My guess is that she either has an infection in her uterus or a urinary tract infection. She may also need calcium. And, she may need something for pain or inflammation so she can rest.

Do take the kittens with her today to the vet, and let us know what happens. She may need to be hospitalized for a couple of days.

I’m so sorry this is happening. Poor mama, poor babies, poor you! Hopefully they can find out what’s wrong and get her on treatment and she will turn the corner soon.
 
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Yeehaw2020

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Oh dear, it sounds like she definitely has an infection. What antibiotic is she on? She needs to take the full course of antibiotics, but she may need it as an injection to get her started since she is unable to eat or keep food down.

It also sounds like she needs medicine for nausea. My guess is that she either has an infection in her uterus or a urinary tract infection. She may also need calcium. And, she may need something for pain or inflammation so she can rest.

Do take the kittens with her today to the vet, and let us know what happens. She may need to be hospitalized for a couple of days.

I’m so sorry this is happening. Poor mama, poor babies, poor you! Hopefully they can find out what’s wrong and get her on treatment and she will turn the corner soon.
Thanks for your reply!

I am sitting outside the pet hospital (covid sucks) waiting for them to tell me the results of her blood work. The doctor mentioned she could be low on calcium, she could have mastitis and he will give her nausea medication.

She isn’t on an antibiotic yet as I have not been able to feed it to her. I can’t remember the name but it’s a little pill that’s safe for nursing queens. The doctor just recommended I crush the antibiotic, mix with water and feed it to her from a syringe.

I’ll update when I get some answers from her blood work...
 

Sarthur2

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Any news yet? I’ve sat in the car outside a vet office several times already during this pandemic. It’s frustrating not to be able to go in with our pets, but better safe than sorry.
 
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Yeehaw2020

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They did get her blood work back and it shows high white blood cell count (infection) and she is a bit low on calcium. So she’s waiting now for an ultra sound from a reproductive specialist to try to find or rule out any placenta left behind. If there is placenta they’ll be giving her a med to pass it. She has gotten an anti nausea shot and is on fluids now and will be sent home with sub fluids tonight once we have the ultra sound results. The vet recommended that I crush her antibiotics, mix them with water and feed them to her from the syringe.

Does anyone have any suggestions how to syringe feed a cat who doesnt want to be syringe fed? Lol
 

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You need someone to hold her tight while you syringe a little at a time so she can swallow. The antibiotic will be bitter, so mix honey into the water to sweeten it. But can you not just pill her? It seems it would be easier and quicker.

Make sure you get nausea meds to take home. Is the vet giving her a calcium shot?
 
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Yeehaw2020

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You need someone to hold her tight while you syringe a little at a time so she can swallow. The antibiotic will be bitter, so mix honey into the water to sweeten it. But can you not just pill her? It seems it would be easier and quicker.

Make sure you get nausea meds to take home. Is the vet giving her a calcium shot?
She is not eating, and I would have put it in her food... I’ve never had to give her a pill but from her reaction to my force feeding her I know she’s going to hate it. When you say “pill her” what are you suggesting I do exactly? She sure doesn’t like the syringe so I’ll try anything else!

The vet didn’t mention a calcium shot. I can’t remember the specific numbers he gave me but she’s like 0.2 under the low end of normal... is that enough to warrant a shot?

He did not mention nausea meds to take him so I will ask, thank you.
 

jefferd18

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She is not eating, and I would have put it in her food... I’ve never had to give her a pill but from her reaction to my force feeding her I know she’s going to hate it. When you say “pill her” what are you suggesting I do exactly? She sure doesn’t like the syringe so I’ll try anything else!

The vet didn’t mention a calcium shot. I can’t remember the specific numbers he gave me but she’s like 0.2 under the low end of normal... is that enough to warrant a shot?

He did not mention nausea meds to take him so I will ask, thank you.


Pilling a cat is putting the pill in the back of her throat, shutting her mouth, and stroking her throat until she swallows. No cat likes it but that way it is done and over with.
 

Sarthur2

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:yeah: Exactly! She really needs the antibiotic to get better so you need to make sure she gets it one way or another. And she needs the pill whether she’s eating or not. Nausea meds will help her keep it down.

And the nursing depletes her calcium, So you’ll need to give her some kitten formula if the vet won’t give her a calcium shot.

It sounds like she may need a nausea pill each day until she gets better, so ask the vet.
 
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Yeehaw2020

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Pilling a cat is putting the pill in the back of her throat, shutting her mouth, and stroking her throat until she swallows. No cat likes it but that way it is done and over with.
I watched a couple videos on YouTube and tried to pill my cat. It’s like she locked her jaw. I tried multiple times and she would not budge. So I crushed the pill and added it to some milk replacement the vet gave me and I was able to syringe feed it to her. That was much easier for us so we will do it that way.

When I went to pick her up the vet noticed that she had already passed a rather large piece of placenta and showed it to me. I am amazed it came out within 2 hours of the shot. So now I am hopeful that she will improve each day with antibiotics ❤
 

jefferd18

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I watched a couple videos on YouTube and tried to pill my cat. It’s like she locked her jaw. I tried multiple times and she would not budge. So I crushed the pill and added it to some milk replacement the vet gave me and I was able to syringe feed it to her. That was much easier for us so we will do it that way.

When I went to pick her up the vet noticed that she had already passed a rather large piece of placenta and showed it to me. I am amazed it came out within 2 hours of the shot. So now I am hopeful that she will improve each day with antibiotics ❤


I'm sure she will- she is in good hands. :grouphug:
 
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Yeehaw2020

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I'm sure she will- she is in good hands. :grouphug:
Any advice on how to get her eating again? She does this strange tongue flicking motion whenever I bring food around, like the smell is irritating to her. She was given an anti nausea shot and I was really hoping that would clear up this problem but she’s still totally dis-interested in food.
 

jefferd18

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Any advice on how to get her eating again? She does this strange tongue flicking motion whenever I bring food around, like the smell is irritating to her. She was given an anti nausea shot and I was really hoping that would clear up this problem but she’s still totally dis-interested in food.
On top of the injection she may still need anti-nausea meds. I know my cat did when she suffered from a bout of nausea. Also, infections also can hamper a cat's appetite. She's on an antibiotic- right? That may take awhile to kick in.
 

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The tongue flicking means she is nauseous. Did you get nausea meds for home? She will eat when she feels less nauseous. It could be a couple of days before she feels better. Make sure she stays hydrated.

How are her kittens doing?
 
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Yeehaw2020

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MOD NOTE: post merged from another thread

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My Queen had her kittens 6 days ago. She retained a portion of a placenta that caused an infection in her uterus. At the hospital she was given a shot to expel the placenta. The next 24 hours she did not improve so I put her on IV for 24 hours and she’s been much better since. But during the time she was sick she left her kittens a lot and I had to begin feeding them.

She’s now on an antibiotic, an appetite stimulant and an anti nausea med.

Her kittens are doing well, but I’ve been feeding them every 3 hours or so, as they are still suckling on mom.

My question is, if I scale back my feedings slowly could my queens milk production increase to match the needs of her kittens? Or will I have to keep feeding them every few hours? I know they are getting some milk from mom, as they sometimes have gained weight since my last feed...

Thanks!
 
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Yeehaw2020

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Oh I should mention that my queen is now a loving momma again and does not like to leave her babies or let me feed them either!
 

Sarthur2

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Continue feeding them for now. Hopefully as the kittens continue nursing, mom will produce more and more milk, but since mom is still recovering and on meds, you should continue to supplement for a few more days.
 
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Yeehaw2020

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I’ve been feeding the kittens every 3 or so hours and they’ve been doing great. My queen however seems to be getting tired of her babies being more excited for my milk than hers. She picks them up and moves them away from the edge of the box where they are meowing for me...

Is there a “best” way to do this? I’ve been feeding the kittens outside their box, but right next to it, sitting cross legged with the kitten right on my leg, right where momma can see them. My queen really hates when I weigh them because they squirm and meow... she often tries to come get them and bring them back to their box. If they are calm and quiet she’s usually more calm.

I assume that shutting my queen out the room while I feed her kittens would have a bad outcome...
 

jefferd18

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I’ve been feeding the kittens every 3 or so hours and they’ve been doing great. My queen however seems to be getting tired of her babies being more excited for my milk than hers. She picks them up and moves them away from the edge of the box where they are meowing for me...

Is there a “best” way to do this? I’ve been feeding the kittens outside their box, but right next to it, sitting cross legged with the kitten right on my leg, right where momma can see them. My queen really hates when I weigh them because they squirm and meow... she often tries to come get them and bring them back to their box. If they are calm and quiet she’s usually more calm.

I assume that shutting my queen out the room while I feed her kittens would have a bad outcome...
Why is she not allowed to nurse her own kittens? I know she was sick but it sounds like she has recovered and wants to be a mom again.
 
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