Newborn Kitten Emergency- Anyone???

**canoehead, BSN, RN** · Apr 22, 2009

Hey, I know I'm not supposed to post this in this forum but I am desperate. Please, does anyone have any ideas? After about 30 minutes of mom not paying any attention to her baby I put her and the baby in the same crate so they would at least be together. Maybe she'll clue in if she can't just walk away.

mustlovepoodles, RN · Apr 22, 2009

I'm not a cat expert, so you can take this with a grain of salt if you like. Sometimes mothers don't do their job. Either they're immature or didn't get proper mothering themselves. You can't make her lay down and nurse this kitten, and I know you don't want a bottle kitten! I believe at this point I'd try to sneak this kittie into the other mother's box. Maybe put the baby at the farthest end, under her leg.

My daughter used to raise gerbils and they are usually great parents. but we had one young mother who was really a piece of work--she mistreated and even ATE her babies. We had to step in and remove the remaining pinkies. thankfully we had another Mama who was divine. We put the new babies in behind her and they wiggled their way over to her. It didn't take too long to get them latched on.

I know gerbils and cats are not the same, but I'm just bringing it up to say that mammals can sometimes foster another's litters. My sister raises sheep and she has a few times had to put a strange lamb to an unrelated ewe. They don't like it, but Sis works with them until the lamb can at least get on his feet and maybe a week or so of colostrum.

Good luck. I hope your kitten makes it.

nerdtonurse?, BSN, RN · Apr 22, 2009

Hey canoe....

Unless things have changed since you posted, mom may not be taking to the baby...I've seen it happen when a cat has rapid cycle litters....

If she's still not letting the kitten latch on after an hour, it's time to call someone else at the SPCA and tell them the kitten needs bottle feeding, and with your schedule you can't do that. It can also be that something's wrong with the kitten. We had a SPCA foster do pretty much what you're describing, and it turned out the kitten had a birth defect, and catmom rejected it. I got my mom to bottle feed it around the clock, and the little thing is now a 11 pound healthy cat that has my dad wrapped around his paw; his only remaining deficit is weakness in the L hip.

RoxyChic · Apr 22, 2009

Hello! A couple of things... Mom only having 1 baby seems fishy. X-Rays should be done to be sure that is in fact the only kitten. As for trying to get the mom to want to nurse the baby that is pretty much impossible. If she wants nothing to do with the baby then thats about it. Maybe you can try again with getting one of the other mom's that recently had babies to nurse the kitten. If all else fails, bring the kitten to a local vet and give it up to the technicians. We get about 20 kittens every spring and they all find homes and are cared for. Don't feel guilty about giving the kitten up. We work at a place where we can bring our animals, we understand how hard it could be if we couldn't do that and had to give constant care.

If you do decide to keep the kitten there are a lot of things you should know. First of all the kitten should be on a heating pad. Sometimes at work when there is no heating pads left we pop and IV bag into the microwave for about 2-3 minutes and wrap it in a towel and use that. Also, the kitten at this age can not deficate or urinate by itself. It needs to be stimulated. So, what I do is get some gauze wet it with some water and gently wipe the around the orifice and lady parts/member. This will make the kittens think, "hey I have to pee!" and then they release whatever they have. Also, the kitten needs milk. Unfortunately, sythetic mothers milk is not every close to being half as good as mother's milk as I'm sure you know. This cuts the likelyhood of your kittens survival by half. So if the kitten does pass away within the next couple of weeks it is probably not your fault. You can buy kitten milk at Petsmart, its called KMR. Ask the sales associates for it and they'll show you where it is.

I've been a Vet Tech for 7 years so this stuff is second nature for me. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask. I'm more than willing to help you out.

justiceforjoy · Apr 22, 2009

She's scared! Just stay with the mommy as much as you can and give her lots of attention while getting the new kitty to latch on.

netglow, ASN, RN · Apr 22, 2009

Canoe... used to work at a vet... many years ago (OK, highschool) anyhoo... is baby totally with us? baby needs licking and lots of stim... to her mouth and to her rear end esp. This to stim her to breathe/suck. You gotta get her and take a soft wash cloth and do it then... try to sweet talk mom also. Keep warm! Call an ER vet, tell them who you are, and that your supervisor is not reachable, I can't fathom they being so uncaring not to give ya a tip or two.... also don't count on there not being another kitten.

JSDNP · Apr 22, 2009

Hi,

Very stressful, worrying that the kitten will starve and die, because Mom is not doing her job. I went through this with a mother cat; here's what worked for us:

Take the Mom and the kitten into a quiet room, perhaps your bedroom. Settle them and help the kitten latch on. Mom may let her nurse for a bit (as you said she did before), then run off for a bit. Be persistent. Keep bringing Mom back to the kitten, and pet her while the kitten nurses. You may need to buy some kitten formula and bottle feed, but keep at it with the mother cat for another day, or two.

Good luck!

I love my cat! · Apr 22, 2009

Is the new mom kitty a young new mom? I am asking because if she is (and it is indeed her first litter), she may indeed ignore the kittens and have zero interest in them. I have seen this before.

Also, since she is in a new environment, she may just be a bit frightened by her new surroundings. Now she has kittens and she may be more stressed.

Try to place the mom and kittens in a quiet, darker (not pitch black though) room. Provide lots of soft blankets and make sure mom has her food/water and access to a litter box. She may calm down and start caring for them.

If new mom is still ignoring them you may have to intervene and feed the kittens with a little bottle. You mentioned the 12 hour shifts, so a new foster home will need to be found for the kitties until they are on solid food. Then you can get them back

Contact the Vet and ask them what you should do if mom doesn't care for her kittens.

Also, make sure mom doesn't have any complications from the birth. She could be in pain or sick and as a result, is not caring for the kittens.

Good Luck!! You are a very sweet and kind person to be taking in orphaned cats and kittens!

catshowlady · Apr 22, 2009

You have been given excellent suggestions by PPs. Get mom and babe into a small crate. Put the crate in a dark, quiet room. Cats like to nest in secluded areas. She may end up taking to the kitten if she can't just leave it.

You absolutely must keep this baby warm. Newborn kittens cannot regulate their body temperature for three weeks. Keep the nest area 90 degrees or so for the first week, 80 degrees or so the 2nd & 3rd weeks. Try a heating pad under *part* of the nest area. I like Snuggle-Safe discs for this purpose.

Do your best to get the kitten to nurse from mom-cat as much as possible. Newborn digestive systems can only absorb antibodies from mom's milk over the first 24 hours, so this is a critical time to get passive immunity. Newborn milk replacers just aren't as good.

If he's not getting a good latch, open his mouth and look at the roof of its mouth for a cleft palate. You'll also know a cleft if you get milk out of the nose when attempting bottle feeding.

You'll probably not get good luck getting the other moms to accept the kitten unless they have a kitten within two weeks' age of the new kitten.

Mom-cat may not be done yet. The feline uterus is bifurcated into two horns. Sometimes kits are born from one horn, and then there is a delay before the kittens are born out of the second horn. Longest time I have seen between kittens is 12 hours. Try feeling to see if there are still any kittens moving in her abdomen.

And, mom-cat may know that something is wrong with the kitten, and that may be why she is refusing to nurse it.

I haven't saved a kitten yet by bottle-feeding. You can try tube-feeding it, but it does seem really traumatic at first.

Don't beat yourself up if this baby dies. Kittens can have a pretty high mortality rate.

I'd be happy to elaborate on any of this if you need.

Good luck to you and kitties,

catshowlady, breeder of Burmese cats

goofygreyhound · Apr 22, 2009

I'd try to sneek this one in with the mom who either has fewer kittens, or the youngest kittens. After it starts to smell like the others, she won't notice. Also, meanwhile, keep calling the ASPCA contact, as she may have a great idea or be able to bottle feed it or have someone else bottle feed it if the foster mom situation doesn't work out. Good luck!

ohmeowzer RN, RN · Apr 22, 2009

you have gotten alot of good advice !! how is the kitty? you should go to a great cat web site called,,,, the daily kitten .com..... i am cat lover and i read your story and glad you posted it here. i just love all the advice. please keep us posted on how the new family is doing. i send prayers and hugs your way.