Nursing cat concerns...

[Minette37]

Hi there!

First off I'm a new user and want to thank those that run this site, as it has been useful to us before.

We're concerned about our small cat Minette (little cute cat in French) and her 4 kittens (3 weeks old). She has gone from having a huge appetite to not being interested in her food anymore, other than wanting treats for the last 2 days. We're not big fans of treats but they were introduced to her by our pet sitter a few months ago, unfortunately.

Minette is a rescue cat who sadly had all her teeth pulled by the shelter... so eating + food have always been an issue with her. We often make her homemade stuff with supplements added but she's going through so much food that we can't keep up and mostly give her canned wet food and dry kitten food. The problem is she has suddenly become disinterested in all types of food, despite asking for it, even snubbing tuna, egg, cat formula milk, etc. She might take a bite or a lick but that's it. She only wants treats, and occasionally takes a bite of wet or dry food. As I write this she's drinking water, which is hopefully a good sign. Is it a concern that she eat only mainly treats?

Behaviour wise she hasn't really been acting strange, other than running sporadically around the house from time to time, but she's done that in the past as well with no kittens. In general she seems to be taking good care of her little ones, no distress on her end, there hasn't been too much kitten crying going on, she's cleaning herself, etc. So all her other behaviour seems normal. She did have one stillborn and there seems to be a little runt in the litter, but she's still giving it attention so we're not too concerned.

Then this morning I was reading and decided to check her mammary glands. I noticed that some felt hardish. I started to massage her on her underside and she seemed to like it, even purred. I also tried a warm compress and while she certainly wasn't completely at ease she did let me do it for a minute or so.

So all that to say that we're not sure if we should be concerned, or if there are any other things we should watch out for before visiting the vet.

Thank you all in advance for your concern

Matthew and Myriam

 

[Sarthur2]

Oh, how adorable they are!

It sounds like mom may possibly be developing mastitis. She may need a round of antibiotics. Can you get her to the vet?

Also, treats do not provide proper nutrition over the long run, so she needs to eat her cat food and get treats as the occasional snack. Have you tried Gerber turkey baby food? Most cats love it! However, most cats eat less once they are no longer pregnant.

Do you plan to get Minette spayed eventually?

Keep us posted!

 

[StefanZ]

It depends a little on what the treats are. Some do contain quite a lot of nourishment, so as long she eats it, its not sheer emergency.
BUT a noticeably lesser appetite is concerning if its more than a day or two. She nurses the kittens too...
(weight the kittens daily, be sure they add daily)

So continue with enticiing her to eat - goats milk is always a good supplement. Wet cat food is very good. And these baby unflavored food mentioned are good...

And yes, a visit with your vet is probably necessary. Even if your home treatment is sound as far as it goes.

ps. Be ready to handraise the kittens, if she becomes any worse!

 

[Minette37]

Thank you both for your quick and thorough responses.

After massaging mum this morning she nursed the kits and the hardness now seems gone (?). I think she was just swollen from not having nursed during the night and perhaps it was due to constipation as she doesn't normally eat dry food. Plus having no teeth is sometimes problematic for her digestion, we've noticed. I feel like she ate more dry food in the few days before her hunger strike so that might be the cause. So far today she has accepted a new band of kitten food (smaller pebbles and perhaps tastier) and taking a few bites of her wet food as well. Progress...

Now the problem seems to be the little runt... it always gets pushed off by its siblings and when there is a chance to nurse it goes off in another direction or starts crying or playing. I was hoping it would drink today but it doesn't seem like it so I gave it some cat and kitten milk in a pipette. It resisted a lot, had a drop or two and passed out from exhaustion. It seems a bit cold so I wrapped it in a blanket with the head sticking out and isolated it from the gang in a box close by. Mum seems to have acknowledged there's a problem and has tended to it in the box, but not sure if it's drinking. I've called our vet and waiting for him to get back to us....

Sorry for all the details, any advice is appreciated. We hope mum and runt will be okay

Ps. she was supposed to be spayed when we got her from the SPCA but alas, she was not! We will likely have no choice as there is a new by-law that all cats must be spayed and neutered in our city as of Jan 1, 2020.

 

[Sarthur2]

This kitten must be given 1-2 mLs every 2 hours. She must also be kept warm with an actual heat source - mom’s body, a heating pad set on low under a blanket, or a rice sock microwaved and wrapped in a towel. Kittens cannot digest food when they are cold, and a blanket is not enough - they need an active heat source.

Are you able to weigh this runt daily? She must gain 6-10 grams per day. It sounds like her condition is perilous right now.

 

[cataholic07]

If she needs more wet food due to lack of teeth you can mix kibble with kmr until its soft KMR is great for nursing cats and she would probably eat more. I find most cats LOVE KMR

 

[Minette37]

Great! Thanks for all the feedback. Kitty is close to the hot water bottle but doesn't like being on it. We was able to get some KMR and started bottle feeding the little guy (or girl?). It doesn't like it at all but it's the only choice it's got at this point as mom cat is orienting most of her energy on the other 3 (she does still clean it). She tried to nurse it twice alone in a box this morning and little runt is not quite understanding how anymore. I'm wondering if it may have some sort of infection. I am unable to weigh it now though I try to get my hands on a scale, good idea.

Uyyy it's quite a nerve racking situation cause we don't want it to die obviously, but part of the stress is that it's sleeping a lot/very weak, and when it does wake up it's kind of in a panic and doesn't wanna drink. Wish us luck!

 

[Sarthur2]

Please use a needleless syringe or eye dropper so that you can go drop by drop in the side of the kitten’s mouth. It sounds like it is too weak to suck a nipple on a bottle. Weak, tiny kittens need to be fed with droppers or syringes.

Here is a helpful video:

Syringe Feeding — Kitten Lady

Minette37

 

[StefanZ]

Thank you both for your quick and thorough responses.

After massaging mum this morning she nursed the kits and the hardness now seems gone (?). I think she was just swollen from not having nursed during the night and perhaps it was due to constipation as she doesn't normally eat dry food. Plus having no teeth is sometimes problematic for her digestion, we've noticed. I feel like she ate more dry food in the few days before her hunger strike so that might be the cause. So far today she has accepted a new band of kitten food (smaller pebbles and perhaps tastier) and taking a few bites of her wet food as well. Progress...

Now the problem seems to be the little runt... it always gets pushed off by its siblings and when there is a chance to nurse it goes off in another direction or starts crying or playing. I was hoping it would drink today but it doesn't seem like it so I gave it some cat and kitten milk in a pipette. It resisted a lot, had a drop or two and passed out from exhaustion. It seems a bit cold so I wrapped it in a blanket with the head sticking out and isolated it from the gang in a box close by. Mum seems to have acknowledged there's a problem and has tended to it in the box, but not sure if it's drinking. I've called our vet and waiting for him to get back to us....

Sorry for all the details, any advice is appreciated. We hope mum and runt will be okay

Ps. she was supposed to be spayed when we got her from the SPCA but alas, she was not! We will likely have no choice as there is a new by-law that all cats must be spayed and neutered in our city as of Jan 1, 2020.

Dont be sorry for all the details. Its Red Alert on with the runt kitten, and you must give it your all now before its too late.
You had got good advice, ie handfeeding with kmr or goats milk, and be sure its warm, not only blanket but also a heat source.
IR-heat lamps, such as rheumatic people use, or they use in lizard terraries, may be useful too in some variations. Perhaps some neighbour do have?

Good momma tries to give it especial individual attention. Its a good sign, momma hasnt lost hope for this kitten.

A tip with such runts, is you let her nurse when the siblings are sleeping. So it never needs fo fight off the siblings to get to a good teat.
But as Sarthur mentioned, it may be so its become to weak now to even suckle properly, so for a while you must make sure he gets enough by handfeeding. Let it try to nurse too, its comfortable if nothing else.
If and when he gets enough? You see it by weighting! Every 12 hours now as long as its critical...

Also, get home glucose sugar /dextrose. If you cant (its difficult to find in USA) you can use white caro syrup, it contains much glucose. Honey is too an alternative.
Likewise, Good if you have Pedialyte, best is flavorless pedialyte for children. It contains salts and glucose.
Why? 1. Glucose sugar / caro can be used to give some extra strengh for weak kittens whom lost energhy. just put a droplet on their gum. Or smear a sweet solution on the gum.
2. You can dilute powdered KMR with pedialyte instead of water - gives some extra calories for free.
3. If there is emergency, say they kitten too cold for normal feeding because it cant digest properly, you can give some pedialyte or glucose sugar water solution. This doesnt need to be digested, so it works also in cold kittens or in kittens (and humans!) where the digestion has stopped. Its no remedy, but it will buy you some time till the body is warmed up or the antibiotica has began to work.

 

[Minette37]

Thank you both for the advice.... kitty was having respiratory problems last night and absolutely wanting nothing to do with milk, any which way I gave it, managing perhaps 15 drops all day. It cried a lot when I tried to feed it and panicked, even leaving the heat source. I therefore rushed it to the emergency vet and it was diagnosed with likely a pneumonia, with an extremely low chance of survival (tube feeding, iv, antibiotics, etc.) and of course, thousands of dollars. The vets recommended euthanization... a tragic ending.

I'm terribly sad that we didn't react quicker (by isolating it so it could nurse alone, bottle feeding sooner, or bringing it to the vet sooner), though I'm not sure the outcome would have changed. Mom did try to isolate a kitty early on in the first week (perhaps the same kit?) so it's possible she already knew it had a weakness. We put it back with the pack and mom didn't resist, perhaps a lesson that we shouldn't interfere much in kitten care. Oooof! Very sad, and many lessons learnt... a reminder that life is fragile and not to take anything for granted.

Thank you all for your support once again, you've been wonderful

I guess this will be it's obituary. Described by my grandma as the little "Friccicarello", Napolitano for perky, energetic, and euphoric. Also described as "the little active friendly superstar."

 

[Sarthur2]

I’m so sorry. RIP little kitten.