Newborn Kitten Emergency- Anyone???

[canoehead]

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I am fostering for the SPCA, and have a cat with 8 week old kittens, one with a 10 day old kitten, and one who just gave birth tonight and is not turning out to be a good mom.

I heard sounds of fighting, and went to investigate. The mum had her baby dangling from the umbilical cord and was trying to get away from it by jumping on the cupboard and back down. I caught her, wrapped her and her baby in a towel, and tried to settle her, but she wouldn't stay still. Eventually the placenta came out and mom was gone, I cut the cord and brought the baby upstairs where I thought mom had goen. That's also where she has nursed her sister's kittens, so I know she knows how to do it, and thought it would eb a good place for them to bond. Mom pooped in the litter box, and then went into a bedroom and had a wash, ignoring the kitten's cries.

I let that go on for about ten minutes, thinking she needs to do it in her own time, and the other mums were responding to the cries, but took a sniff and knew it wasn't theirs. Then I brought mom over to the kitten lay her down and rubbed her (she was contented with that. Then brought the baby to her, and was able to get the baby to latch on and nurse. I stayed with them for about 10 minutes, and they seemed OK, baby was still latched but not sucking much. I went downstairs, and mom got up and followed me, baby left crying in the cat bed!

Ok, I don't want to force anything, or interfere too much because nature works things out. I also don't want to (and can't with 12h shifts) be left bottle feeding a kitten from birth. Mom's contractions have stopped, it's been 30 minutes so probably that's the only kitten.

Does anyone have advice? Should I wait, try to bond the kitten with one of the other moms? What?

I've called the SPCA supervisor and she is not home.

[canoehead, BSN, RN]

Hi, I did get in touch with the SPCA supervisor, and also a woman I know who owns a farm and has done this before. My friend suggested I put kitty and mom in a crate and leave them til morning. She also said that mom could attack the kitten if frustrated enough, so it was an all or nothing deal. So I left them for an hour, and kitten was trying to nurse, but mom kept moving and there was no latch.

At that point the SPCA supervisor called and she also consulted with someone else, and they decided that it would be best to try and get one of the other moms to parent the kitten, since it's been a couple hours and kitty needs to eat. I've put the kitten in with a mom that has a ten day old, and this mom has been sniffing around trying to find whoever has been crying so much. She has allowed new kitten to be in the crate with her and her 10 day old, but new kitten isn't latching, though she is rooting.

Time really seems to be slipping by, and new kitten needs to eat or she will be too weak to keep trying. OK, so I may have ruined it with this decision, but I put mom and both kittens into a bin so I could see what was happening, and be able to assist with latching once they got settled. Foster mom wasn't happy, but I don't think she will leave her own baby, and if the kitten is allowed to sleep in the box I know she will latch with help.

The actual mom of this kitten is eating and stretched out on the sofa downstairs. She doesn't appear in any discomfort, and will be seeing the vet tomorrow morning (along with kittens and mom cat). Her belly still feels big to me, and she's had a few false starts to her labor, a few days ago she was vomiting I thought that was IT, but nothing happened.

I'll go up in a little while and see how they are doing. when I'm there I feel like I need to do something, and butting in too much is a bad idea. Frankly, I'd whip out a boob and do it myself if that was possible.

catshowlady- all 3 moms were from a family of about 15 cats, they are all under a year old, and all (we think) mated with the same male cat. They're skinny and though they are OK with people they don't seem to be used to being handled. Actual mom cat nursed her sisters kittens, even though she was still pregnant, and bizarrely I found her (pregnant cat) nursing from her sister (mom of the 8 week old kittens) this morning. Mom of the 10day old has been living seperately from them, and hasn't participated in the communal living arrangement at all.

[catshowlady]

Momcat may be stressed, or not know what to do with her own kittens. Especially since you cut the cord, etc. Instinctual behavior often results from chaining, where one behavior triggers the next, which triggers the next, etc. Cats are especially prone to chaining. Don't be upset with yourself for interrupting the birth process, it doesn't sound like you had a choice. And I've had many a kitten survive despite my interference. When I was a new breeder and worried about everything, I interfered a lot - and my mom-cats all forgave me and took care of their babies.

Newborn kittens, like humans, sometimes seem to need a day to get the hang of nursing. Just check for that cleft palate to make sure he can latch on. I can send you a pic I took of a cleft palate I had, if you need. You can give him a little energy boost if you need to, by giving him a few drops of Karo syrup from an eyedropper (or a 1cc slip tip syringe if you've got one, which is what I prefer).

If you decide to put the new babe back with original mom-cat (you might try this if she has more kits), is there a way to montor her without being in the room, like a webcam or something? I ask because I have moms that won't stay with the kits if I'm in the room. They'd rather have my attention than take care of the babies and won't lay down.

The nursing behavior is just something some cats do for comfort, even as adults. I have one big neuter that lets everybody nurse off him, even other adults, and sometimes it seems like he encourages it by licking the nurser, especially young kittens. So mom-cat may have felt labor coming on, and was nursing off her sister for comfort.

One thing you might want to do is weigh this baby. Newborns should be at least 75 grams, preferably closer to 100g. Babies less than 65 almost never make it. The tiny ones just never seem to be able to nurse well enough to get going. I weigh mine twice daily for a couple of weeks, then daily. They may lose a few grams or gain nothing that first day, but then should put on 10-15g per day.

[FireStarterRN, BSN, RN]

Keeping them locked up should be your best option. Maybe put a space heater nearby. I've had cats who have had single litters before, or just had two. I think they have less hormones and aren't as good of mothers, that's my theory.

We have a white cat that didn't know what to do with her first 'litter' of two babies, and she did the same thing, we had to catch the kitten as it dangled out of her lady parts and she was not knowing what to do as she gave birth. We had to induce her to stay in a makeshift nest we made for her, we didn't even know she was pregnant. We petted her a lot and she did get on track with motherhood. She is a weird cat, but she had other litters and knew what to do subsequently.

[canoehead, BSN, RN]

Thank you for all the replies, I really needed the support.

Last night I finally took kitten out of the crate with mom because it was not working out at all. It had been 3 hours without nursing, so I held mom's sister (who nursed her kittens AND mom) and got the baby latched on for about 5 minutes of good nursing. The adult was not interested in making this a long term thing, so it was just a snack to keep kitten alive.

I put the kitten in with the 3rd mother cat, and she wasn't happy. Luckily they settled overnight. Mother had to go in the bin to feed her own baby, and I knew she was too good a mom to not do that. I also knew that the newborn was still hanging in there, rooting away, and just needed someone to hold still long enough for him to latch on. I went in there this morning and he's latched and the little paws just fly if his nipple starts to move. Now he's got it, and he's not taking any chances.

The actual mom has not had more kittens, and I found her nursing from her sister this morning. I wonder if she was just too young to be pregnant and the stress was too much for her.

The whole fam damily goes to the vet in 2 hours, and I will get some KMR just in case. Hopefully he will say the kitten is healthy and a good size. His belly is bigger today than it was yesterday, so he must be gaining a bit.

Thanks again guys, I knew someone here would know what to do. I feel very lucky to have such a great group right at my fingertips.

[FireStarterRN, BSN, RN]

You are a big hearted animal lover, canoe!!!

[miko014]

Aww, I had no good advice so I didn't say anything, but I had to come back in here and make sure the little guy was doing okay! So glad that mama #3 finally gave in - hopefully she'll kkep it up! It takes a special person to invest so much time in animals like that - way to go, canoehead!

[squeakykitty]

I'm glad the little kitty is doing better. I hope the foster mama lets the little sweetie nurse.

[catshowlady]

A fat belly on a kit is a good sign! If he's active enough to nurse at this point, thàt's also a good sign. Keep us posted...

[Jules A, MSN]

I'm late but wanted to say thanks and bless you for helping these kitties. My guess is that this baby will turn out to be very special. Hugs, Jules

[nerdtonurse?, BSN, RN]

My kitties: Mosey, Mouse, Smokey, Pete, Cricket, Rambo and Baby all say:

"High :paw:!"

And Mollie the dog says, "Another #*@! cat....."

[canoehead, BSN, RN]

So- the final chapter.

Mom of kitten was lazing around and still had a fat belly. Still not interested in her kitten, in fact, she stayed downstairs while all the kittens were upstairs. In the past few weeks she spent most of her time playing with and nursing her nieces and nephews. clearly something was not right. I found her nursing from her sister again this morning.

the whole family went to the vet for various reasons, but the mom had a fever, and two undelivered kittens did not survive c section. The vet pronounced newborn kitten healthy and happy, and 75g. Baby kitten just wailed when taken away from the breast, I was so proud. Vet said there is no way a hungry or ill kitten would be so vigorous.

So kitten is nursing with foster mom, and mom is lurching off the effects of anesthesia. Vet says kitten can nurse with his birth mom, but why mess with success at this point?

Mom could still get septic, and she's had so much happen, she doesn't need more.

I also bought a little box of KMR so I won't be caught short again. Vet thought a supplemental feed once or twice a day would take the strain off foster mom, as she is only 5lb. I tend more towards deworming, and bringing her some extra canned food every day, along with some pastey stuff they gave me with vitamins. If mom was human the breast milk would be important enough that we'd let her nurse, but make sure she had a feast every night.

So that's my story. I'm all kittened out for now, thank goodness no one else is pregnant.

[RoxyChic]

Good. I'm really happy things are working out for you. Keep up the good work!