My Cat Just Had One Kitten And Im Wondering If Hes Getting Enough Milk And Will He Survive?

[Oliviapatricee]

My female cat just gave birth yesterday. She had one kitten that was born breach and did not make it and about 15 minutes later she had the 2nd one that was fine. Very small in my opinion. I havent got to weigh him yet but im working on getting a kitchen scale. Her breasts are extremely hard and the two on the bottom look like they're the most full but he wants her boob at the very top of her chest and that's the only one he will feed on. My cat is getting the hang of it but i have to manually put him on that boob in order for him too latch and feed. A lot of the time she will lay there and sleep but sometimes she just squirms and moves and licks her boobs while hes trying to eat.. im wondering how i can tell if hes getting the milk out?

 

[golondrina]

Welcome to TCS. The best if not the only way to be sure that the little one is getting fed is by weighing him/her. Weigh your kitten daily, preferably at the same time each day, using a kitchen or postal scale. Kittens should gain about ½ ounce every day or 3 to 4 ounces perweek.

 

[Oliviapatricee]

I dont have a scale. But i will get one right away. I believe he was a premature kitten as he was pretty small but he was one of two in the womb so its strange that he would be so small.
Heres a photo of him

 

[Oliviapatricee]

MOD NOTE: Some duplicate information as this post was moved from another thread.

So yesterday at around 345pm my cat went into labor. She gave birth too a tiny kitten that came out breach and passed away. 30-45 mins later she had a healthy kitten that was bigger in size. This kitten is alive but my cat will not feed it. I lay her down and let the kitten latch but my cat just gets up or squirms and goes and lays somewhere else. The poor baby kitten just wants to feed and instead its laying beside me in my bed on a heating pad. My cat couldn't care less, shes more concerned with laying in the livingroom with the male cat that got her pregnant. Is she just not a maternal cat or whats going on? I have to manually put him on her boob to feed him and hold her down for 20-30 mins every couple hours to make sure hes fed... i need some advice she is driving me nuts.

 

[Kieka]

Weighing him is the best way to know if he is getting enough to eat. Weigh him every day around the same time. If he isn't nursing enough you will have to take over with bottle feeding and likely cleaning him up (read, pottying) him after. The Kitten Lady has some great YouTube videos that helps on this subject.

These articles will also help, Weighing Newborn Kittens (and How This Could Save Their Lives) Hand Rearing Kittens: What You Need To Know To Save A Newborn's Life.

Mom could go into heat and get pregnant immediately. So if you have Dad in the house and he has not been fixed you need to keep them separate. Dad should be neutered as soon as possible and kept away for a few weeks until his system is clear of residual sperm. If Mom doesn't take over care of the kitten, she should be spayed as soon as possible.

 

[Oliviapatricee]

Weighing him is the best way to know if he is getting enough to eat. Weigh him every day around the same time. If he isn't nursing enough you will have to take over with bottle feeding and likely cleaning him up (read, pottying) him after. The Kitten Lady has some great YouTube videos that helps on this subject.

These articles will also help, Weighing Newborn Kittens (and How This Could Save Their Lives) Hand Rearing Kittens: What You Need To Know To Save A Newborn's Life.

Mom could go into heat and get pregnant immediately. So if you have Dad in the house and he has not been fixed you need to keep them separate. Dad should be neutered as soon as possible and kept away for a few weeks until his system is clear of residual sperm. If Mom doesn't take over care of the kitten, she should be spayed as soon as possible.

Yes thank you. Shes allowing him too nurse and i do believe he has grown already in the last 2 days. Dad is not interested in mom at all but mom just wants to be away from the kitten. I read this happens in single kitten litters where one kitten wont hold her interest

 

[StefanZ]

You can perhaps borrow a scale from a neighbor?

Kitten looks decently haired so prob not much premature just smallish. Still the margins are thin.

 

[Wonderfulcat]

We had a cat a few years ago that we stopped using for breeding because she wasn't a good mother. Some cats just don't get it. If you want your cats to breed and this behavior continues I would recommend getting this female neutered and get a new cat for the next litter.

It can also simply be first-time difficulties and the mother needs some time to figure it out. Is it her first kitten? How old is she?

 

[Oliviapatricee]

We had a cat a few years ago that we stopped using for breeding because she wasn't a good mother. Some cats just don't get it. If you want your cats to breed and this behavior continues I would recommend getting this female neutered and get a new cat for the next litter.

It can also simply be first-time difficulties and the mother needs some time to figure it out. Is it her first kitten? How old is she?

Shes starting to get better. I realize that after shes eaten and drank and used the litter box shes a lot more willing to lay with the baby. She is 2 years old and this is her first litter. By the size of her during her pregnancy we thought for sure she was having 4 or 5. Shes still huge and has a big belly.. we are wondering if she still has babies inside and might deliver them when theyre ready and maybe thats why shes acting the way she is?
Shes a great mommy dont get me wrong. She cleans him and stimulates him too go to the bathroom and she sleeps with him all night as long as im in the bed. Which is another thing... if im not in the room is when she leaves and lays down in the living room. Almost like she doesnt wanna be in the room without me.. this is all new to me also. Ive done this with dogs so much but never my own cat so i guess its all a learning experience. Will weigh the kitten today. Hes definitely grown since birth its very evident.

 

[StefanZ]

Sounds good!

 

[Wonderfulcat]

Shes starting to get better. I realize that after shes eaten and drank and used the litter box shes a lot more willing to lay with the baby. She is 2 years old and this is her first litter. By the size of her during her pregnancy we thought for sure she was having 4 or 5. Shes still huge and has a big belly.. we are wondering if she still has babies inside and might deliver them when theyre ready and maybe thats why shes acting the way she is?
Shes a great mommy dont get me wrong. She cleans him and stimulates him too go to the bathroom and she sleeps with him all night as long as im in the bed. Which is another thing... if im not in the room is when she leaves and lays down in the living room. Almost like she doesnt wanna be in the room without me.. this is all new to me also. Ive done this with dogs so much but never my own cat so i guess its all a learning experience. Will weigh the kitten today. Hes definitely grown since birth its very evident.

It sounds like she isn't such a bad mother after all. She simply needs you.

I remember my parents had a cat that gave birth to 2 little kittens and I was sure there were 5 in there. But it didn't take days before the other 3 kittens arrived. They were stillborn later the same day. I can't tell if there can still be more kittens in your situation but I read in a different forum just now that someone's cat had 3 days between 2 births. The first kittens were tiny and probably born a little too early. It could also be explained by more than one father or simply more than one day with ovulation.

 

[golondrina]

In doubt about the possibility that she may still have babies in her tummy it would be safer to have a vet examine her. Delayed births is common and may not be a problem but you don't want her holding back dead kittens.

 

[Kflowers]

When you take her to the vet, you could take the kitten with you and get him looked at to be sure everything is good. I'm certain it is with the kitten, but mom still looking pregnant is troubling.

 

[talkingpeanut]

You can't trust that mom and dad won't be interested in mating; mom can go into heat at any time, and it could be a silent heat that you don't notice. You really do need to keep them entirely separated.

Would you like help finding a low cost spay/neuter clinic in your area?

 

[Sarthur2]

How is the kitten doing?

Please get your cat spayed when the kitten is 8 weeks old. Do not allow her around unneutered males in the meantime.

 

[jen]

Yes thank you. Shes allowing him too nurse and i do believe he has grown already in the last 2 days. Dad is not interested in mom at all but mom just wants to be away from the kitten. I read this happens in single kitten litters where one kitten wont hold her interest

You really need to keep the tomcat away from the mother. He will get her pregnant the second he is able to which is fairly fast after giving birth. What breed are your cats? I assume this is an intentional breeding and the male is still intact?

 

[Wonderfulcat]

It varies how fast the mother is ready to get pregnant again. In my experience it doesn't happen fast. When our bengal had a litter of kittens she wasn't near any male cats but she surely didn't sound like she wanted to, either, even though month after month went by. Our male was brought in to say hello a couple of times but he wasn't welcome.

But there are some females that are ready after a few days so you can never be too sure. If I were you I would definitely keep the male and female in seperate rooms for now.

What is your plan with the cats? Was the breeding intentionally and do you want them to have a new litter of kittens later? If not I'm on the neuter-team.

 

[Oliviapatricee]

So mom and baby are doing very well. She wasnt pregnant with anymore babies. Her baby is growing 0.5-0.7oz every day. I believe it is a female and ive named her Willow. Moms name is River. Im debating on keeping her because she really is a miracle baby. Mom is a Nebelung cat which ive read is kind of rare. And dad is a Persian/Siamese. Im wondering when will i know of the kitten will be longhaired or shorthair? Dad has a plush medium coat and mom is fluffy so im not sure what to expect. I can already see an undercoat in the baby just like what mom has. Heres some photos.

 

[Oliviapatricee]

You really need to keep the tomcat away from the mother. He will get her pregnant the second he is able to which is fairly fast after giving birth. What breed are your cats? I assume this is an intentional breeding and the male is still intact?

It was intentional yes. I wanted her to have one litter before i fixed them. It took her 4 months to get pregnant as the dad would not mate with her he wasnt interested for months. So i thought it would never happen. Hes not even a year old yet so we thought he was just too young and didnt know what to do but then she stopped going into heat and got bigger. She will be fixed as soon as the baby is 8 weeks

 

[Kflowers]

We had a cat who had one set of kittens, she came with them. We kept the mom and the kittens. She lived to be 19, outliving all of them. She took care of them every minute of their lives. It was wonderful. A lot of mother cats mourn their kittens who are taken from them.