Foster Kitty With 9 Newborn Kittens

I have agreed to be a foster mom for a prego kitty. She had kittens 6 days ago and there were 9 of them. The mother is very attentive but they are all so small I am worried about the smallest. Plus 3 of her nipples are not producing milk. Her stomach is raw.

I am feeding the mom whatever she will eat, kitten food. It seems like all the kittens fight for the chance to nurse but I am worried that she wont have enough milk.

Can I use some lanolin on her nipples and raw scratchedchest? Is this safe for cats? Thank you!

Coconut oil or olive oil are safe while she is nursing the kittens.

K kittymom527

Oh dear, this is critical. You need to weigh the kittens daily and keep track. The smallest will need supplementing with a syringe and kitten formula.

You'll want to separate the kittens into 2 groups: bigs and littles (5 in one group and 4 in the other).

One group nurses for 2 hours and then you rotate. The group who is waiting needs a separate box with a heat source such as a heating pad set on low under a blanket or a hot water bottle wrapped in a blanket.

You'll supplement the group that's not with mom while they wait.

I will post a thread for you to read about another cat with 9 kittens.

You need to start this right away so you don't lose any kittens.

K kittymom527

Get oil on mom immediately. Trim the very tip of the kittens' nails so they can't scratch as much.

Mom may be developing mastitis and need antibiotics. She needs breaks so you can apply a warm damp compress to her nipples for relief, in addition to the oil that you apply.

Does mom have dry kitten chow 24/7 in addition to as much wet food as she wants?

Here is the thread I mentioned:

Advice for a large litter - 9 kittens!

I have been weighing them twice a day for the last 3 days and they are all gaining. Today, some have either lost 1/10 of an ounce or stayed the same. I work most of the day so can help out when I am home, but not during the day until about 3. If I take any of the kitties to weigh them, or once I took the little one out of the room, the mom goes crazy following me and meowing at the door. I dont see a way to separate them that doesnt stress the poor mom. I will definitely try it tomorrow.
The mom is nursing them all, but I cant see that she will have enough milk. If I try to supplement them, will the mother still let them nurse?
I am so stressed about this. Its my first time fostering and think I am over my head.

You'll want to supplement all of the kittens 1-2mls every couple of hours since they are so little.

Once you post weights I can guide you better.

Can you please post pictures when you get a chance?

The smallest is 3.8 oz and largest is 6.1 oz, most are about 5oz. I am going to call my vet tomorrow as well. I am more stressed reading all these posts now. Ughh.

We just posted at about the same time.

Weigh the kittens in front of mom.

You must separate and rotate them when you are home. They will never get enough milk otherwise.

Supplement them in the same room with mom. She will learn to relax.

Is there anyone who can help you?

If not, you may need to phone the rescue for help. It's a big job. Hang in there!

She is ok with me handling them for very short periods of time. I will post more tomorrow. Thank you.

We had a litter of 8 several months back, rotating and supplementing them are key! Any time you are home I would set your alarm for every two hours so that you are able to get up and switch them. The more you can supplement and rotate them each day the better!This helps the little ones not get pushed off of the nipples. They will be fine to be all with mom the hours you are at work, but I definitely would try to get as many rotations in as you can! I could always see my runts gain more the more we rotated. Definitely a lot of dry and wet kitten food for mom! We would love to see pictures!

Best of luck with this difficult task. I'm rooting for you & the gang.

Thank you. I am a nervous wreck. I want these kitties to thrive so badly.

K kittymom527

How's it going? Have you been rotating and supplementing?

How are their weights today?

Long day. I got up and fed 6 of them before work, about 1/2 of the plunger, 3ml each. When I got home from work this afternoon I spent an hour and a half and just finally fed the last one. I haven't separated them because the mom gets too nervous but she's OK if she can see them and I'm 2 feet away. They are all exhausted and zonked out right now so I hope that means they're full. I called my vet this morning and he told me to try to supplement them about two times a day plus the mom is feeding them. I will weigh them again tonight and we'll see what happens I'm gonna try to feed them one more time tonight. Thank you for all your help and support. This is not what I signed up for and I'm truly overwhelmed but it's getting a little better.

It sounds like you are doing a great job!

Have you oiled mom's nipples and belly?

Also, did you ask the vet if antibiotics would get the 3 nipples producing that are not currently working?

Yes twice today with coconut oil. No I did not ask the vet that. I think I missed that comment. I will try to call tomorrow.

I think it can't hurt to ask. It would help if all of her nipples would work if at all possible.

Keep up the nice job!

Just finished feeding. I have not weighed them, except the runt. He gained 6/10 of an ounce from 3.9 oz to 4.5oz, that is the biggest gain yet, and he seemed starving. Ate 4 ml, twice tonight!! Now they are just napping and a few are feeding, just sucking lightly. The mom seems happy. I think they are less crazed to compete. Feeling good right now. I'll let you know how much they weigh later tonight. Keep your fingers crossed they all gain.

Any day that you can feed them more than twice will help. I think twice is the bare minimum. Clearly they need as much as they can get as often as they can get it.

How many working nipples does mom have?

It's like poor mom is trying to nurse 2 litters.

Is the oil soothing mom's belly somewhat?

I know this is a lot of work, but you should be proud of yourself for doing it.