Maine Coon had 6 kittens- one isn't gaining weight...

[LeesaB]

Thank you so much! I thought that might be the case but after the one newborn didn't gain weight for 2 days and then died (never going above newborn weight), I have been hyper vigilant. Really want all of these guys to make it.

 

[LeesaB]

I just wanted to acknowledge your post. I am sorry that I don't know the answer, other than to consult the vet. However, there are some breeders on the Site who would know a lot more about nutrition. Bless you for being so caring about your kittens! Just out of curiosity, is Big Foot going to remain the name of the one kitten? I think that is so cute!

We will keep calling him Big Foot for now. When he was born, I noticed that he and 2 other kittens were moving in a clump. I was worried I had conjoined kittens. Turned out the umbilical cord of light gray was still attached to a piece of the placenta and wrapped around 2 of the other kittens. We took them to emergency and she was able to untangle them. Only Big Foot was injured. He had 2 lacerations on his leg that were sewn up with surgical glue and an extremely swollen foot- thus the name. His foot looks normal now but the name stuck!

 

[LeesaB]

Weight updates: well the one who lost 7 grams now gained 24 grams today so you were indeed right. However the 2 smallest ones (white stripe and white muzzle) only gained 4 grams and lost 1 gram. I think those are girls probably vs the bruiser boys. Please let me know if you think they still look fine or if we should start doing alone time/supplementing. They are 1 week old today. Actually White Stripe was born 5/1 but the rest of the litter was born 5/3 so just going by that date.

Date	Big Tabby	White Muzzle	Big Foot	Light Gray	White Stripe
5/3	129	123	129	135	117
5/4	158	141	144	162	127
5/5	174	158	158	178	141
5/6	197	182	192	200	172
5/7	219	207	206	231	191
5/8	251	220	237	262	209
5/9	276	233	263	255	218
5/10	297	232	280	279	222

 

[StefanZ]

Weight updates: well the one who lost 7 grams now gained 24 grams today so you were indeed right. However the 2 smallest ones (white stripe and white muzzle) only gained 4 grams and lost 1 gram. I think those are girls probably vs the bruiser boys. Please let me know if you think they still look fine or if we should start doing alone time/supplementing. They are 1 week old today. Actually White Stripe was born 5/1 but the rest of the litter was born 5/3 so just going by that date. View attachment 379909

Begin with this alone time, if you havent started yet.

The two smallest on when the biggies are sleeping midday, and change them, now and then..

Rotating is a common trick in such situations.

If this dont helps or they are falling down, begin supplementing.

Why not at once? Because supplementing HAS some risks, even with decently experienced caretakers.
Also, as you are this good with weighting, YOU will immediately notice changes.

 

[LeesaB]

No, I didn't start alone time yet... will do so now. So Zoe typically rests outside the nesting area. I will bring them over to her. Not try to do it in the nesting area as the biggest ones always seems to wake up and take over. How many times per day? I was thinking of trying to do this 3 x for the remainder of the day. It is 3:16pm in CA. I agree about supplementing as a last resort. These little ones are definitely nursing but I think they are just getting trampled on by the big boys who now are so much bigger. I thought Big Tabby was 2 kittens this AM!

 

[LeesaB]

So just tried bringing the 2 kitties over to her and White Stripe definitely did some nursing. White Muzzle not so much. However, Zoe became agitated pretty quickly and tried to pick them up and bring them back to the others. Maybe a better solution would be to remove 2 or 3 of the bigger ones from the nursing area...

 

[LeesaB]

So just tried bringing the 2 kitties over to her and White Stripe definitely did some nursing. White Muzzle not so much. However, Zoe became agitated pretty quickly and tried to pick them up and bring them back to the others. Maybe a better solution would be to remove 2 or 3 of the bigger ones from the nursing area...

If you could give some advice about how this is typically done... we also thought to move the bigger ones by her butt when it is nursing time during the day. During the night, we can let the Lord of the Flies situation resume...

 

[LeesaB]

So we tried again and just moved the bigger ones off the nipples. Got the 2 little ones to nurse. Guess we will just continue to give them special attention whenever we can during the day and hope tomorrow shows better results.

 

[LeesaB]

So this morning I got up and Zoe wasn't at the door as she always is, waiting for food. The other cats followed me upstairs and she is just sitting on the carpet and doesn't run to the food bowl. Just continues to lie there. She doesn't eat a thing and doesn't even want chicken scraps I bring to her. The kittens are downstairs and hungry - a few are screaming- so I carry her to them and they all nurse vigorously and she licks them a bit. She is definitely not acting like herself...She has NEVER not wanted to eat. Maybe it has something to do with the bee sting on Saturday. It is a bit past 6 AM here so will send a message to the vet and see if we should bring her in. My son said he saw her nurse them at midnight so maybe they went all night without eating.

 

[LeesaB]

Update- Zoe has been in there with them nursing and licking for 3 hours. She was comatose for the first 2 hours but now seems a little peppier and even heard her purr. All of the kittens are nursing well.

 

[Sarthur2]

Bee sting? Did I miss something? Glad she’s better though!

 

[Maurey]

Bee sting? Did I miss something? Glad she’s better though!

Mother Cat has swelling on one side of face

 

[Sarthur2]

For future reference, cats can have 12.5mg of Benadryl for a sting. It’s 1/2 of a 25mg adult human dose. Reduces swelling and eases itching.

 

[LeesaB]

That is good to know. Well, my son told me she threw up around midnight and I also discovered a mess in the litter box and on the wall. So I assume she had an upset stomach and this is not related to the Saturday bee sting.

 

[LeesaB]

Update: after 6 hours straight of being in there with the kittens and not eating a thing, she got up and had some wet food. She seems peppier and is now purring so I assume it was a stomach bug. Poor Zoe.

 

[LeesaB]

Bad weight gains today. Not unexpected due to Zoe's illness. The one bright spot was White Stripe gaining 15 grams and she was one of the ones who needed it. Let me know if you think we should try to supplement yet. White Muzzle is nursing now. I think the weight loss is just because they went all night without nursing.

Date	Big Tabby	White Muzzle	Big Foot	Light Gray	White Stripe
5/3	129	123	129	135	117
5/4	158	141	144	162	127
5/5	174	158	158	178	141
5/6	197	182	192	200	172
5/7	219	207	206	231	191
5/8	251	220	237	262	209
5/9	276	233	263	255	218
5/10	297	232	280	279	222
5/11	297	226	278	272	237

 

[LeesaB]

So weight gain is better today. Still feel Zoe isn't 100% and the 2 smaller kittens are not doing nearly as well. Supplement yet?

Date	Big Tabby	White Muzzle	Big Foot	Light Gray	White Stripe
5/3	129	123	129	135	117
5/4	158	141	144	162	127
5/5	174	158	158	178	141
5/6	197	182	192	200	172
5/7	219	207	206	231	191
5/8	251	220	237	262	209
5/9	276	233	263	255	218
5/10	297	232	280	279	222	1 week
5/11	297	226	278	272	237	Zoe sick
5/12	311	230	298	292	233

 

[Sarthur2]

The kittens seem okay overall, but I think you might want to get Zoe checked out. Maybe she needs a Vitamin B or calcium injection, or maybe she has an infection.

Is she normally nursing during the night? If not, you need to give all the kittens a supplemental feeding during the night.

 

[LeesaB]

I think Zoe ate something bad and it upset her stomach. She is quickly regaining her appetite. Just had 2 cans of kitten food. Yes, she is nursing the kittens normally at night- it was just that one night with food poisoning- she didn't nurse at all I think. I am glad you think the kittens are okay. They are all trying to nurse but the bigger ones are much stronger. In fact, yesterday Zoe got up and the biggest one wouldn't let go and she ended up dragging him around while he was latched onto her teat.

 

[LeesaB]

Just had to share that Zoe has regained her appetite and all of the kittens had good weight gains! Yay!

Date	Big Tabby	White Muzzle	Big Foot	Light Gray	White Stripe
5/3	129	123	129	135	117
5/4	158	141	144	162	127
5/5	174	158	158	178	141
5/6	197	182	192	200	172
5/7	219	207	206	231	191
5/8	251	220	237	262	209
5/9	276	233	263	255	218
5/10	297	232	280	279	222	1 week
5/11	297	226	278	272	237	Zoe sick
5/12	311	230	298	292	233
5/13	321	255	324	310	252