Questions About Inexperienced Cat Mom

[cihanthepanda]

Hello lovelies
my cat gave birth which this time 9pm tonight will have been exactly a week ago

The first couple of days she was inseperable, the slightest wail from the kitten and she would be back there in a flash to nurse her

Now, as of midweek - i dont see them much together unless theyve put them there

Ive been giving her food right next to the kitten, just to get her in a position for the kitten to feed thats how concerned i was

And earlier i gently lay the cat down and put the kitten on top for her to milk from her

Now the cat is fine theres no health problems she got check up tuesday

I dont know if its because she is a first time mum but she doesnt seem to realise if she doesnt feed the kitten often enough - kitten dies, its a no brainer!!!!

But at the moment im literally almost forcing her to feed the kitten by putting her in an unatural position just so kitty can feed

The cat is fed tons of good healthy food, so shes hardly low on milk (she adopted a ten week old kitten several weeks back and feeds her CONSTANTLY like theres no tomorrow - despite me discouraging it she loves breast feeding a ten week old that isnt even her, but her own baby she doesnt even feed half that much)!

Now this isnt total rejection she does lick the kitten quite a bit - and when the kitten squeals she does look concerned

But the infrequency of her feeding the new kitten concerns me.

Any advice please?

Much love!!

Edited to add - kitten is healthy she got checked out wednesday with the cat,
and kitten is even partially starting to open its eyes!

 

[StefanZ]

Its wise to weigh the kitten every day. If it adds 10+ grammes a day - good, if not may be necessary to supplement.

The effective nursing as such in a healthy kitten is literally minutes. Rest of the time is mostly for comfort.
And the warmth if its chilly.
,

 

[cihanthepanda]

oh i keep the kitten in a fleece clean kitten house, super warm and our room is warm too
i do need to say that im at work for long hours 12 hours a day, so god knows what happens then

 

[di and bob]

Yes, I would weigh the kitten daily. If it is gaining, no worries. In the meantime, put her kitten with her when she is feeding the 10 week old, that would give him some time with her. She only has to feed him for a couple weeks more, then he should be old enough to start eating some on his own. Pick up the kitten once in a while and make it meow, (I LOVE the way those tiny little tigers hiss at you!) she may get more concerned. Maybe she feeds the older one because it is more persistent and follows her around. When hers gets old enough he can get to her easier too.

 

[talkingpeanut]

Your cat does not have an emotional attachment to her baby or motherhood. Ideally she has instincts and hormones that help her to take care of the baby, but she might not. Don’t put human emotions on her.

If she isn’t caring for the kitten, you may need to take over and bottle feed.
Weighing the kitten daily will help you to find out if you need to intervene. What do you mean by holding your cat in an unnatural position?

I know you mentioned that she got out. Are you able to keep her 100% inside now? She can already get pregnant again. It’s essential that she stays inside.

 

[cihanthepanda]

Your cat does not have an emotional attachment to her baby or motherhood. Ideally she has instincts and hormones that help her to take care of the baby, but she might not. Don’t put human emotions on her.

your serious?
cats dont get emotionally attached??

 

[talkingpeanut]

your serious?
cats dont get emotionally attached??

Not in the way you are thinking. She may bond with a kitten or another cat or a human, but she is not thinking that she has an emotional or motherly responsibility. There is no desire to have babies beyond a hormonal drive.

 

[cihanthepanda]

Not in the way you are thinking. She may bond with a kitten or another cat or a human, but she is not thinking that she has an emotional or motherly responsibility. There is no desire to have babies beyond a hormonal drive.

so cats have absolutly no love or loyalty to their kittens
i dont understand

 

[talkingpeanut]

so cats have absolutly no love or loyalty to their kittens
i dont understand

Cats have instincts that help them to care for and protect their kittens, hopefully, which you might consider love and loyalty.

It's important not to put human emotions on your cat, though, because emotions are not what drive cat behavior. She does not have a desire to parent like you might have to be a mother. Cats can't conceptualize what parenthood means or means for them. Cats have a hormonal desire to mate, but not to be a parent. Your cat will actually be happier once she is spayed and doesn't have to be driven by hormones.

Some important questions:
Can you please explain what you mean about holding her down to feed the kitten? Are you keeping her inside 100% of the time? Are you weighing the kitten each day?

 

[cihanthepanda]

Hello so three and a bit weeks ago my cat gave birth to one beautiful black fluffy kitten
She feeds him, nurses him (its a he i checked)

anyway we are into week three, eyes open ears open - teeth showing, can start to walk albeit sorta tumble around, but the newborn is perfectly healthy

However, the kitty simply hates it when i pick him up even gently,
when i gently move her to look at me, he meows and turns away
he doesnt even like looking at me

when i gently with one finger stroke his head or tummy - every other older cat or kitten ive had love it because they go into purr mode, or gently nibble on my finger mode
but this one doesnt show any emotion back at me apart from a meow and turn the other way

Is this normal?
he was born three saturdays ago which makes him three and a half weeks old.

any responses would be great

much love

 

[aliceneko]

I'm not a kitten expert so please correct me if I'm wrong; but I would think that this behaviour is normal for a kitten who hasn't had any human interaction. Three week old kittens are probably quite easy to socialise though as I read that if kittens are older than 12 weeks, socialising becomes increasingly difficult. I've heard that for young kittens, putting them on your lap or holding them firmly in a blanket is a good way to socialise them. You should make sure your kitten feels comfortable around humans eventually by spending a lot of time with him and playing with him.
I stayed with a couple in Spain who were cat lovers (they owned 11 cats in total and ended up building an extension for their cats!) and rescued a three week old kitten (who was one of the most beautiful kittens I've ever seen) and by the time we visited her at five weeks, she was completely socialised. Before she was rescued, she was a stray so she was feral considering they also lived in a very rural part of Spain.

 

[cihanthepanda]

I'm not a kitten expert so please correct me if I'm wrong; but I would think that this behaviour is normal for a kitten who hasn't had any human interaction. .

thanks so much for your reply
how do you mean not had any human interaction
the mother (mary) lives with me in my one floor flat
and well, the kitten has been around me since she was born - i helped mary deliver her
and ive been near her watching her several times a day since she was born
so its not like this is the first time shes seen me lol

 

[susanm9006]

Three weeks is still pretty young to appreciate human contact. What you want to do is to sit quietly next to the baby when he starts to explore outside of his nest. His natural reaction is to check out the smell and warmth of this big human thing sitting next to him and next thing you know you have a kitten playing on your lap.

 

[Willowy]

Pick him up every day, gently touch him all over, including his tail, ears, and paws. So that he gets used to being touched. Other than that, just do what susanm9006 says. At 3 weeks they don't usually show any affection toward humans, it's all about eating at that age, lol. By 4 1/2 or 5 weeks he should be showing some interest in you.

 

[kristenann]

Several months ago I rescued a completely feral, absolutely no human contact ever, 6 week old kitten. It took no time at all to socialize him and he is now the sweetest baby ever. Keep on trying, 3 weeks is plenty young!