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- Jun 14, 2014
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My cat who's about 1 year old escaped from our house and she got pregnant. It wasn't something we expected or planned for, but it happened because we just didn't get her fixed in time. She gave birth yesterday(Jun 13) to five kittens, two of them being twins. For about the first 24 hours, all was going well. She was feeding them and snuggling with them and everything. Thank god my family was awake this morning because they woke me up to tell me my cat was trying to eat one of the kittens and apparently was 'very determined' to eat it. They told me she had the kitten's head in her mouth and was gnawing on it. They're all as safe as they can be and I'm preparing to have to bottle feed them now even though they're only a day old. I don't know what else to do because I don't know if I can trust my cat with the kittens anymore. I hear it could be that she's overwhelmed being a first time mother and being so young, I can remember her being given to us after getting weaned off her bottle just like it was yesterday. I considered maybe I could try letting her raise two or three of the kittens so that they have more of a chance, but I don't think I'd even feel good leaving her alone with just two. Right now, she's in distress, I can tell. She won't stop meowing and she's been searching for her kittens. I feel bad, but I just don't want to return them to her right now.
My question is: When might I be able to reintroduce her to the kittens? When might it be safe? We're not gonna keep all of them because we don't have the room, but I'd like to be able to reintroduce her anyway and we're probably keeping one of them. Am I even doing the right thing? Is there a chance she could safely raise a couple of the kittens herself?
And what are the chances of these kittens surviving? I want to put as much as I can into it. I know I have to feed them their first week every 2 hours about 5-6ml/feeding. I know I have to sterilize everything in between uses. I know I need to wash my hands well, disinfect them or use rubber gloves. I know I need to keep the kittens warm, even though I live in a really hot area and it's in the middle of summer, so that isn't much of a problem. I know I need to give them affection too and also need to help them pass gas, pee, poop and whatnot for a few weeks. What else can I do to up the chances of them surviving?
I've read that there is something in the mother's milk that contains antibodies in the first 2 days of their lives. I know they for sure were feeding from their mother for a bit over 24 hours. I hope that makes a difference.
My question is: When might I be able to reintroduce her to the kittens? When might it be safe? We're not gonna keep all of them because we don't have the room, but I'd like to be able to reintroduce her anyway and we're probably keeping one of them. Am I even doing the right thing? Is there a chance she could safely raise a couple of the kittens herself?
And what are the chances of these kittens surviving? I want to put as much as I can into it. I know I have to feed them their first week every 2 hours about 5-6ml/feeding. I know I have to sterilize everything in between uses. I know I need to wash my hands well, disinfect them or use rubber gloves. I know I need to keep the kittens warm, even though I live in a really hot area and it's in the middle of summer, so that isn't much of a problem. I know I need to give them affection too and also need to help them pass gas, pee, poop and whatnot for a few weeks. What else can I do to up the chances of them surviving?
I've read that there is something in the mother's milk that contains antibodies in the first 2 days of their lives. I know they for sure were feeding from their mother for a bit over 24 hours. I hope that makes a difference.