Pregnant Cat Keeps Meowing and Hasn’t Eaten Much

[haykaw.v2]

Your cat’s breathing does not sound normal to me. It sounds like snuffling through a clogged nose, so perhaps she has an upper respiratory infection? Antibiotics would cure it. If not — a deviated septum?

I’m with you in thinking a vet visit is needed. Let us know what the vet says.

Are the kittens gaining weight daily?

haykaw.v2

vet says it’s purring and it’s apparently normal since she is a nursing mom. i don’t know how true that is. the vet i went to seemed kind of annoyed.. i really want a second opinion from a more equipped vet but my parents would instantly dismiss me. the doctor said my cat had a fever (39.9 degree celsius), the vet says it’s because my cat stressed about the whole appointment. my cat had no signs of infection in the uterus. i was advised to take her temperature 3 hours later and i got a reading of 39.2 celsius. not sure if it’s accurate because it’s my first time checking a cat’s rectal temp.

about the kittens, i weighed them this morning around 7:00 am. my vet appointment was 10:30 am and we got home by 12:00ish. i immediately placed them inside the tent to nurse. i weighed them at 3:00pm, kitten #1 was 197.1 grams this morning and was 194.9 grams at 3pm.

10:36pm (now)
kitten #1 is currently 196.2. he only gained 3 grams in 24 hours.
kitten #2 is currently 205.8. he gained 10.3 grams in 24 hours.
kitten #3 is currently 175.2. he only gained 1.4 grams in 24 hours.

im abit worried about these numbers..i’m also worried that momma cat might not be producing enough milk.they are currently nursing as i’m typing this. nvm they stopped suckling after 7 minutes

 

[haykaw.v2]

momma cat was not very attentive to the kittens after we got back home from the vet. i had to force her to stay in the tent to nurse the kittens for the whole afternoon. i had to guide the kittens to the nipple because they just didnt wanna latch on. there are only 4 nipples that seem to have milk as far as i know. two nipples on the top and two nipples on the bottom, and the nipples are close to one another. the kittens would end up fighting for the nipple.

 

[haykaw.v2]

help! theyre not latching for thst long!! only around 5 minutes. one is not latching on at all!! i might have to pull an all nighter to make sure theyre suckling…

 

[Sarthur2]

How about hand feeding with a syringe and kitten formula as a supplement to nursing?

 

[haykaw.v2]

if i handfeed the kittens, i should stimulate them every time i feed them right? is there a schedule for supplementing and nursing kittens that i could use for reference or is it just every 2 hours? i’ll be using royal canin babycat milk

it’s now 5:01 am that i weighed them.
k#1 195.8
k#2 205.5
k#3 179.6

 

[haykaw.v2]

when i stimulate them to pee and pooo nothing comes out. T-T

 

[haykaw.v2]

they latched for about 7 minutes or so, one is still not latching. i weighed them just now

around 7am
k#1 196.3
k#2 208.3
k#3 181.4

can constipated kittens gain weight? haven’t seen them poop in a while. 8 days maybe. and mother is going to different rooms to rest. i’m really anxious and i haven’t even eaten breakfast yet… i tried supplementing them but they keep refusing it.

 

[Sarthur2]

Weigh once per 24 hours only. Your kittens are 8 days old and the smallest is already over 6 ounces. They only need to weigh 4 ounces at one week, so they are doing just fine! Mom is also clearly stimulating them and cleaning them up.

 

[haykaw.v2]

their weights
yesterday (10:30 pm)
k#1 - 196.2
k#2 - 205.8
k#3 - 175.2

today (10:31 pm)
k#1 - 206.6
k#2 - 211.3
k#3 - 184.9

k#1 gained 10.4 grams
k#2 gained 5.5 grams
k#3 gained 9.7 grams

are these good? theyve been nursing from mom. i’m especially curious if kitten #2’s gains are ok. i tried supplementing them but they keep refusing it. i got about 0.1 ml or so of formula into their mouths. the more they tasted the formula, the more they wanted to drink from their momma so i just let them latch on. pheww.

 

[Sarthur2]

Yes, the gains are fine. Kitten #2 weighs almost 7 1/2 ounces — about the size of a two-week old, so doing great!

 

[haykaw.v2]

hello again. in need of guidance

their weights (PHT)

yesterday - june 8
(10:30pm)
k#1 - 256.5 (+7.6 g)
k#2 - 278.0 (+6.8 g)
k#3 - 241.5 (+9.5 g)

today - june 9
(10:30pm)
k#1 - 264.6 (+8.1 g)
k#2 - 276.9 (-1.1 g)
k#3 - 254.6 (+13.1 g)

kitten 2 suckles for less than 4 minutes. he meows a lot and his meows sound different.
momma cat has this weird hard part in her stomach. should i start supplementing kitten 2 right away? i’ve been able to get a few drops in his mouth

edit: i was only able to feed him a few drops of milk but he just kept screaming so i laid him next to momma and now he is suckling.i’m going to sleep, i’ll check on him in 2 hours

edit 2: he suckled for 9 minutes in total

another thing, he also has this weird thing on his belly. i think it’s what’s left of the umbilical cord. it feels and looks dry. all of his other siblings don’t have their umbilical cords anymore. will it go away on its own?

 

[haykaw.v2]

here’s a photo

 

[Sarthur2]

Umbilical area looks like it is healing.

Can you elaborate on the “weird hard part” on mom’s stomach? Is it a lump? Does it involve any mammaries? Where on her stomach is it? Can you get a photo?

The kittens’ weights are fine. No one needs supplementing at present, not even kitten 2.

 

[haykaw.v2]

Umbilical area looks like it is healing.

Can you elaborate on the “weird hard part” on mom’s stomach? Is it a lump? Does it involve any mammaries? Where on her stomach is it? Can you get a photo?

The kittens’ weights are fine. No one needs supplementing at present, not even kitten 2.

hello, so sorry for the late reply! i’ve been busy with school. i might have overreacted with the “weird hard part” bit. it’s underneath the skin (lower right nipple) so it isn’t visible/noticeable on camera, it can only be felt. i’ll try taking a photo tomorrow. the bad part is that she has an eye infection only on her left eye. i bought eyedrops for her as advised by my vet, hopefully it resolves in the next few days.

another thing that’s been worrying me is the kittens’ weights.

weight gains on june 13 ~ 19 days old
10:30pm *before the eye infection
k#1 303.2 (+12.4 g)
k#2 311.2 (+6.8 g)
k#3 299.4 (+14.1 g)

-
k#1
day 20 : 305.5 (+2.3 g)
day 21 : 310.4 (+4.9 g)
day 22 : 314.5 (+3.9 g)
** should i be worried about kitten 1’s gains? the runt (k#3) got ahead of him by a couple of grams
-
k#2
day 20 : 325.1 (+13.9 g)
day 21 : 326.1 (+1 g)
day 22 : 336.2 (+10.1 g)

-
k#3
day 20 : 307.1 (+7.7 g)
day 21 : 324.4 (+17.3 g)
day 22 : 331.3 (+6.9 g)

i do have to note that they are all very active. playing with one another and walking around exploring the room. could this be the reason for less weight gain?

 

[Sarthur2]

They are all in the range. Probably just busy and having a growth spurt, cutting their baby teeth, etc. As long as they continue to gain, they should be fine. I hope mom feels better soon!

 

[haykaw.v2]

hi again! i would like to ask, how soon can the kittens be weaned? they’re turning a month old in a few days and are very active. one is even drinking water! i don’t know if i should be amazed or worried.. another is curious about momma’s litterbox but keeps trying to eat the litter, is there any possible ways i can stop him from doing it? i have a separate litterbox for them which has tofu litter instead of the clumping litter i use for their mom’s.

 

[Sarthur2]

You can put a mash of pate and formula on a flat plate any time to see if/when any kittens are interested. Kittens are more likely to begin eating mush around 5-6 weeks, but there’s always that one who is ahead of the pack.

Once they begin eating, you’ll want to start putting them in their litter pan before and after meals several times a day. You can take a little paw and show them how to dig.

Here is Kitten Lady on both:

 

[haykaw.v2]

hello! a little update on the kittens. they are about 5 weeks old. they have started using the litterbox since last week. k#3 (bambi :3) is the only one who pees and poops, while the other two only pees inside the litterbox, which has me concerned.


so this morning around 9am i had left for school and i came back around 8pm and i see black poop inside the litterbox! i have no idea which kitten did that.

a few minutes later bambi passed a really dark brown stool. (2nd picture)


my parents told me to wait it out before going to the vet and even blamed me because i began weaning them early, when really they just took interest in their momma’s food. i use whiskas junior wet cat food pouches. but i plan on switching to kitcat kitten mousse once i run out of those whiskas pouches. could this be dehydration? maybe a sign of constipation?

 

[haykaw.v2]

i was out for dinner then i saw more dark poop. i don’t know if it was from multiple kittens..
edit: i also do have to mention that bambi also takes interest in eating momma’s dry food in the morning.


also any advice, all three of my kittens may have earmites, as they all have specks of brown dots and itch their ear A LOT. not too sure if it’s just dirt or fleas but both mom and my other cat had spot on flea treatments.

 

[Sarthur2]

You can clean the kittens’ ears with cotton balls dipped in soapy water for now until they see the vet for treatment.

The poops are a bit dark but appear fairly normal. Add extra water to their wet food for extra moisture, but it sounds like they are doing well overall.