Foster Mom And 7 Kittens Night Time Care

[kmwolf563]

I took in a mom cat and her 7 kittens last week as fosters. The kittens are about 4 weeks old. I use a small bedroom, (about 10X11 feet) as my kitten room. Last week, they were too small to let have the run of the room. I have a large crate that zips open on 2 ends as well as the top. Mom can easily get in and out, and the kittens were safe inside. Now they are 4 weeks old and more adventurous. They are using the litter box and starting to eat wet kitten food a few times a day. When they know mom is there, they want to nurse ALL THE TIME. Over the past few days, they have been free to explore the room, with the crate open so they can come and go. At least once a day, I have zipped up the crate so that mom can have some no kitten time. There is a chair and a bed in the room so she can get up where the kittens can't go if she wants to. On Wednesday, mom had several episodes of diarrhea. Thursday was pretty good with only one time. Friday was another story, with 6 times between noon and 10 pm. My emergency contact had me withhold food during the night. I'm giving her just dry kitten food and water, which she drinks well now, and Forti Flora 1 packet a day. Yesterday was good, no stools, and she had 2 pretty normal ones last night, and a few today. About 2 hours ago she had one that was softer and then one that was almost diarrhea....She had a scheduled visit at the shelter yesterday for her distemper booster and Strongid. The kittens had Strongid as well. I hope that this new loose stool event will be short lived.
I am looking for suggestions about night time. The first week, mom was in and out of the crate several times during the night. The last 2 nights, she did not go in at all. I have a camera in the room so i can spy on them..... Would you leave the crate open so that the kittens have access to her when they want to? Or in the crate for safety. I am concerned about if mom doesn't feed them during the night will they be ok? Night time would be about 10 pm until 6:30 am. I'm leaning towards leaving the crate open. The kittens although active even when I got them were small at between 7 and 9 ounces. Now they are 13-15.5 ounces. I haven't offered them dry food yet and a few of them have tried mom's water with success. I have a feeling that if I put water in the crate that it won't be in the bowl for long.
Any and all suggestions are welcomed.

 

[Kieka]

Offer the kittens a slurry of wet kitten food and water (preferably KMR though). The kittens may eat wet kitten food on their own but you will need to supplement them with KMR to up their water intake. I know some foster parents will hand feed kittens wet food for a day or two while they get the idea. Some kittens also will only go for warmed food. Experiment a little to find the right mix. Dry food is not ideal, and could be detrimental, for kittens that young. Weigh the kittens twice a day and if anyone isn't making gains or losing you will need to up the supplemental feeding and if it doesn't turn around by their next weighing you may need to take them to a vet.

 

[kmwolf563]

I am doing a slurry of Wellness kitten food and KMR. I forgot to mention that because there are 7 kittens I also started supplementing right away with KMR by bottle once a day. Poor Mom weighs all of 7 pounds. She was less during the diarrhea spell.

 

[Kieka]

Sounds like you are doing it right. Sometimes all you can do is support and wait. Remember to check for hydration regularly by pinching the skin between the shoulder blades. If anyone looks dehydrated they need sub q fluids.

 

[trickytree]

You're doing awesome!

At four weeks plus, the kittens should be large/old enough to have free reign of the bedroom (providing it is kitten-proofed and hiding spots are not accessible). I was in your shoes I would leave the crate open. As you mentioned, Mum has a place in which to escape.

As for nourishment during the night, I would leave out fresh wet food, water and KMR. Once the kittens' teeth come in, it's time for dry/kibble. Wet food is cooked so it will not spoil overnight.

And please post some pictures!

 

[Sarthur2]

I would leave the crate open.

Mom may need meds for parasites, such as metronidazole, if she does not get over the diarrhea soon.

We would love to see pictures!

 

[kmwolf563]

You're doing awesome!

At four weeks plus, the kittens should be large/old enough to have free reign of the bedroom (providing it is kitten-proofed and hiding spots are not accessible). I was in your shoes I would leave the crate open. As you mentioned, Mum has a place in which to escape.

As for nourishment during the night, I would leave out fresh wet food, water and KMR. Once the kittens' teeth come in, it's time for dry/kibble. Wet food is cooked so it will not spoil overnight.

And please post some pictures!

 

[kmwolf563]

Oh my goodness. What a 2 weeks this has been. It has been so frustrating with the Mom, Shadow and her gi issues. She has had a dose of Marquis and 3 doses of Panacur. That was from Wednesday to Friday. Her stools HAD been more formed over a few days. Then yesterday she had a VERY soft/diarrhea stool and then another sort of formed one. I had been keeping the crate door zipped at night and open during the day. Mom can get in to nurse during the night. I was mostly concerned than the kittens would walk through her diarrhea if she had it during the night. Then last night I decided that it was time to bite the bullet and leave the crate open. At 6 am I was greeted with a formed stool in one box, a diarrhea one with a little formed stuff in the other box and over the edge onto the floor. And she vomited also. The kittens were all asleep in the crate. So I zipped them in so I could tackle clean up. I watched the recording of the night and those little bugs didn’t really settle down till 3 am!! Putting myself in Shadow’s paws, I think she’s exhausted. She’s nursing them all day. Today I noticed that they seemed a little more apt to play and leave her alone some. But as soon as she lies down she has any number from 1-7 nursed and jockeying for the nipple they want. I am reminded of my now 33 year old daughter who nursed till she was 3 1/2 and as soon as I sat down, that’s what she wanted. So, tonight they are back in the crate. With food and water. The kittens are doing well, eating wet food still with just a little KMR, drinking some water, and gaining. The biggest, Edgar is 1.5 pounds, and the smallest is 15.5 ounces. I’m thinking that when I weigh them tomorrow they will all be over 1 pound. On the 11th when they arrived, they were between 7.8 and 10 ounces.

 

[Sarthur2]

Have you tried a round of metronidazole yet with mom?

The kittens are adorable, but seven of them are a lot for mom, especially if she is not feeling well.

How are things today?

 

[kmwolf563]

We haven’t tried that yet. Just Strongid, Marquis and Panacur. Mom had a loose stool yesterday around noon with mucous in it. Since then, she had 1 during the night that was normal looking. Then 2 more today that looked good. This afternoon she had one that was a bit softer. She’s eating her dry food, drinking water well, and eating plain chicken flavored with a little Gerber Turkey baby food when the kittens eat. She’s a big pooper. In number and size. Looks like a dog was here. Ha ha. My mom last winter would pee and poop once a day only. This is different. I’m using so much litter because I’m changing it completely in the 3 boxes at least once a day. Sometimes twice depending. I have to use Yesterday’s News and I hate it.
So, I should probably update the shelter tomorrow and see if they want to give her anything else the vet should be there tomorrow although as I’ve said before, I don’t think much of her.
The kittens have discovered my short cat tree with a padded basket and at least 5 of them settle in there after they eat their food for an hour or two. That gives Mom a rest during the day. You are so right 7 are a lot of kittens.

 

[Sarthur2]

Ask the rescue about metronidazole. It works well.

 

[kmwolf563]

Ask the rescue about metronidazole. It works well.

 

[kmwolf563]

I checked with the shelter. Since she seems to be on the right track, they aren’t going to give her anything else now. She had one stool during the night and one today. Stilll a little soft but not diarrhea. Now I gave another issue. Sometimes I wonder why I do this. The kittens are about 5 weeks + old. The have been testing and then eating canned food for about 1 1/2 weeks I think. Starting Saturday I noticed that one of the 7 walked away from food before the others. Today she has pretty much refused to eat. She is still nursing from Mom. I put a little baby food turkey on and in her mouth and held my finger for her to lick. She was not interested. In the past I’ve had ones that will eat like it’s candu for a few weeks and then decide that they don’t want it. Usually the baby food does the trick. Should I worry? She’s been gaining steadily and weighed 485 grams or 1.1 pounds this morning, up from 467 yesterday. I wondered if she’s getting her premolars or molars and is sore because Saturday Sunday and yesterday she was chewing like in the back of her mouth. I don’t see any redness when I look. I’m still adding a little KMR to the food to make it easier for them to eat. I replied to my shelter person when she responded to me about Mom and told her. Of course I haven’t heard back. I may call the emergency person. We are pretty good friends at this point. This stuff just makes me crazy

 

[Sarthur2]

I would not worry since the kittens are gaining well. They can have days where they are less hungry or more hungry due to growth spurts or plateaus, just like human babies.

 

[kmwolf563]

Thanks for the encouragement. Overthinking at times makes me crazy. Lucy actually ate REALLY well this morning. She ate maybe a teaspoon of food yesterday twice which was a good sign. Her brother Edgar who is the biggest guy at 1.7 pounds decided to not be interested in food Tuesday night and part of the day yesterday. He did better this morning. They are all still nursing so at least they are getting mom’s milk too. They are super funny to watch running, climbing, pouncing on each other, and on Mom and getting taken down by her when she’s had enough.