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- Jun 7, 2016
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Hi all! I have some questions and am looking for reassurance/advice about my cat and her newborn kits...
Background - She was a stray I took in and was socialising/trying to get used to other people (she's extremely loving to me, but very scared of humans in general) before putting through spaying, but my flatmate let her out despite specific instructions to the contrary. Pregnancy seemed ok, birth too (I am keeping both the kittens), but then she developed a womb infection and had to be emergency spayed 24 hours after the babies were born. This is ok now that she's out of the woods, as I was planning to spay anyway once they were weaned, but the current situation has left me with a few concerns.
1) Is she producing milk? I push her nipples but see no milk coming out, and while some seem full, others are more flat... the kittens refuse to even try suckling the full ones though and latch on to the flat ones for ages. If they are latching on and returning to the same nipples, does this mean they are getting milk from them? She is a very small cat so maybe I am missing the milk droplets when I push...
I know cats can keep lactating perfectly well after spay (plus I didn't see milk coming out even before spay) but she is also dealing with the aftereffects of the op and on (kitten-safe) antibiotics etc so wondered if this stress might decrease it? I assume though that I should keep letting the kittens suckle as it will probably stimulate more production?
The kittens, by the way, are tiny but very energetic and noisy when they're removed from mum. With her they're quiet apart from when fighting over one nipple (they seem to only be able to use a couple), and spend their time mainly suckling or sleeping. They don't seem to be complaining about lack of food.
2) I am also supplementing with kitten milk replacement from the vet but they are not big fans. They seem to dislike the smell, as soon as the teat gets close they turn away. Have had a bit more success with a tiny syringe, esp as their portions at the moment are so small, but am concerned about forcing it into them. Any ideas or luck making a bottle teat more acceptable to them? The one or two times they've suckled it it made life so much easier and less stressful!
Also I know generally the idea is to feed them every two hours or so (but I also see six-seven times a day - which is right? Two hours would be 12 times a day...) but if they are feeding off her too and potentially getting sustenance that way how often should I supplement? And how much? 10% of body weight is what vet said, but 1ml x 12 is very different from 1ml x 6! And the effect is exacerbated if they're also getting mother's milk...
3) Related to nipples again; I think the reason the big bottom two aren't being used is mastitis perhaps, the vet agreed. What can I do to loosen up the milk in them and maybe get them flowing? Any success stories? I've tried hot and cold compresses once, thought maybe was starting to work but kittens seemed uninterested... might try again though.
4) The babies are small but, as I said, have lots of energy. I'm concerned the girl hadn't put on weight when I weighed her earlier today though (in a few hours they will be three days old), but she seems active and lively. Should I be concerned if I see no increase one day? I'll feel a bit better when I weigh her again in the morning if she's gained then, and my gut is that she seems pretty healthy, but what are anyone else's experiences with few-day-old, very small kittens?
Thanks in advance, looking forward to hearing from people! Sorry went into so much detail
Background - She was a stray I took in and was socialising/trying to get used to other people (she's extremely loving to me, but very scared of humans in general) before putting through spaying, but my flatmate let her out despite specific instructions to the contrary. Pregnancy seemed ok, birth too (I am keeping both the kittens), but then she developed a womb infection and had to be emergency spayed 24 hours after the babies were born. This is ok now that she's out of the woods, as I was planning to spay anyway once they were weaned, but the current situation has left me with a few concerns.
1) Is she producing milk? I push her nipples but see no milk coming out, and while some seem full, others are more flat... the kittens refuse to even try suckling the full ones though and latch on to the flat ones for ages. If they are latching on and returning to the same nipples, does this mean they are getting milk from them? She is a very small cat so maybe I am missing the milk droplets when I push...
I know cats can keep lactating perfectly well after spay (plus I didn't see milk coming out even before spay) but she is also dealing with the aftereffects of the op and on (kitten-safe) antibiotics etc so wondered if this stress might decrease it? I assume though that I should keep letting the kittens suckle as it will probably stimulate more production?
The kittens, by the way, are tiny but very energetic and noisy when they're removed from mum. With her they're quiet apart from when fighting over one nipple (they seem to only be able to use a couple), and spend their time mainly suckling or sleeping. They don't seem to be complaining about lack of food.
2) I am also supplementing with kitten milk replacement from the vet but they are not big fans. They seem to dislike the smell, as soon as the teat gets close they turn away. Have had a bit more success with a tiny syringe, esp as their portions at the moment are so small, but am concerned about forcing it into them. Any ideas or luck making a bottle teat more acceptable to them? The one or two times they've suckled it it made life so much easier and less stressful!
Also I know generally the idea is to feed them every two hours or so (but I also see six-seven times a day - which is right? Two hours would be 12 times a day...) but if they are feeding off her too and potentially getting sustenance that way how often should I supplement? And how much? 10% of body weight is what vet said, but 1ml x 12 is very different from 1ml x 6! And the effect is exacerbated if they're also getting mother's milk...
3) Related to nipples again; I think the reason the big bottom two aren't being used is mastitis perhaps, the vet agreed. What can I do to loosen up the milk in them and maybe get them flowing? Any success stories? I've tried hot and cold compresses once, thought maybe was starting to work but kittens seemed uninterested... might try again though.
4) The babies are small but, as I said, have lots of energy. I'm concerned the girl hadn't put on weight when I weighed her earlier today though (in a few hours they will be three days old), but she seems active and lively. Should I be concerned if I see no increase one day? I'll feel a bit better when I weigh her again in the morning if she's gained then, and my gut is that she seems pretty healthy, but what are anyone else's experiences with few-day-old, very small kittens?
Thanks in advance, looking forward to hearing from people! Sorry went into so much detail
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