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- Apr 28, 2012
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I am fostering a stray mama and her five 2-day-old kittens. I just got them yesterday. I really don't know anything about the mama. They told me she was a stray/feral. When the shelter gave the family to me the mama and all 5 kittens were in a crate. The mama was in the back and the babies were in the front. The shelter worker reached in and held a couple of the kittens and the mama seemed ok with it.
I brought them home and put them in a quiet bathroom away from people. I checked on them a few hours later and the kittens were still in a pile at the front of the cage and the mama was at the back. They didn't seem like they had moved in the last 3 hours. I nudged the kittens towards the mama and they all crawled to her and started madly nursing. Since then I have seen them nursing multiple times, so I think that she is taking good care of them.
I'm worried about the mama, though. I have had them for 24 hours and I don't think she has eaten or drank anything. I know she is very scared. She doesn't go ballistic, but when I reach into the crate she growls and swipes at me. But I think she is too scared to come out and eat. How long can she go without eating while she is nursing. When should I be concerned? I can't touch her or really even see her very well since she is huddled in the back of the crate.
I don't think she is feral, but she is very scared and probably not used to being around people. It has only been a day and her babies are very new so I'm hoping she calms down and warms up a little. Any tips for how to help her would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Kerry
I brought them home and put them in a quiet bathroom away from people. I checked on them a few hours later and the kittens were still in a pile at the front of the cage and the mama was at the back. They didn't seem like they had moved in the last 3 hours. I nudged the kittens towards the mama and they all crawled to her and started madly nursing. Since then I have seen them nursing multiple times, so I think that she is taking good care of them.
I'm worried about the mama, though. I have had them for 24 hours and I don't think she has eaten or drank anything. I know she is very scared. She doesn't go ballistic, but when I reach into the crate she growls and swipes at me. But I think she is too scared to come out and eat. How long can she go without eating while she is nursing. When should I be concerned? I can't touch her or really even see her very well since she is huddled in the back of the crate.
I don't think she is feral, but she is very scared and probably not used to being around people. It has only been a day and her babies are very new so I'm hoping she calms down and warms up a little. Any tips for how to help her would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Kerry