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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / July 2005Rescued mother cat
Hello - About 3 weeks ago, my husband and I rescued a litter of 4 kittens in our neighborhood. After fostering them with lots of help and guidance from our local VSA volunteers, they all have new homes. We had seen momma kitty when she was pregnant, but could never trap her or even get close. She came to our door the day after the last kitten was adopted, looking extremely skinny and messy. She has allowed me to bring her in, bathe & brush her (!) and has been eating and sleeping well for 2 days now. Our plan is to get her spayed and adopted out. My VSA contact is out of town, and we are worried that there might still be another kitten outside. Reason is, momma has 2 nipples that have swelling underneath and protrude, while the others are all flat and dry. She frequently rolls on her side and begins kneading - and has allowed me to touch those 2...nothing is being expelled, but I'm just not sure why they're puffy. Can anyone give me some advice? We've looked and looked outside, and she really is calm and relaxed on our 3-season porch -- I'd think she'd be clawing the screens if there were babies still out there...thanks for any advice you can give... > Hello - > About 3 weeks ago, my husband and I rescued a litter of 4 kittens in our [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > clawing the screens if there were babies still out there...thanks for any > advice you can give... How old were the other kittens? Queens will usually start weaning and bringing back prey to demonstrate hunting/killing techniques at around 8 to 10 weeks. I agree that she'd be fighting to get out if she still had kittens to care for even if they were in the process of being weaned. It's possible that she had other kittens that died. Hugs, CatNipped The other kittens were between 5-6 weeks when we took them in, they were between 8-9 weeks when we adopted them out. We sit outside when it's quiet at night to see if we can hear any crying, and we've been setting wet cat food out near all her old stomping grounds...but nothing seems to be touched. And she's just sleeping and purring the days away...thanks for your response! >> Hello - >> About 3 weeks ago, my husband and I rescued a litter of 4 kittens in our [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > >CatNipped > The other kittens were between 5-6 weeks when we took them in, they were > between 8-9 weeks when we adopted them out. We sit outside when it's quiet > at night to see if we can hear any crying, and we've been setting wet cat > food out near all her old stomping grounds...but nothing seems to be touched. > And she's just sleeping and purring the days away...thanks for your response! Yep, if she's not trying to get out I would say there are no more kittens that need her. Cats are the *best* mothers in the animal kingdom (remember poor Scarlet who kept going back into a burning building to get her kittens out - her ears were burned completely off but she still went back in until all her kittens were safe). Hugs, CatNipped > >> Hello - > >> About 3 weeks ago, my husband and I rescued a litter of 4 kittens in our [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > > >CatNipped > > >possible that she had other kittens that died. > > > > > >Hugs, > > > > > >CatNipped True, but what about the mother cats engorged teets. Suddenly, without warning, whitershadeofpale exclaimed (10-Jul-05 4:05 AM): >>>>possible that she had other kittens that died. >>>> [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > True, but what about the mother cats engorged teets. I think they probably should be looked at by a vet, since noone here has an answer. Could be nothing - could be a medical issue. Probably nothing serious, as you said they don't seem to be painful. jmc I would think if she's still engorged and you took the kittens you found from her over 3 weeks ago then there probably was another kitten she was nursing. It can take a while for the milk to dry up after they stop nursing and two engorged teats would be about right for one kitten. I'd keep listening just in case there still is a kitten out there but it may not have made it and that's why she's as docile as you describe. Either way I'd continue with the plan to get her spayed and adopted out as by this time she would have been weaning the kitten anyway. W >> > >possible that she had other kittens that died. >> > > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > True, but what about the mother cats engorged teets. > Hello - > About 3 weeks ago, my husband and I rescued a litter of 4 kittens in our [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > clawing the screens if there were babies still out there...thanks for any > advice you can give... She would probably be panicking and clawing to get outside if she had other kittens. It's possible that she did, but all you can really do at this point is keep an eye out for them and set out some food to try to attract them. Queens take about 2-3 weeks to dry up their milk. If nothing's coming out, she's probably in the drying up stage.  Signature-Kelly > Can anyone give me some advice? We've looked and looked outside, and she > really is calm and relaxed on our 3-season porch -- I'd think she'd be > clawing the screens if there were babies still out there...thanks for any > advice you can give... That's really cool, I did that before. I'd let her out at night, I'd even try to follow her, and hopefully find a kitten. Best to you. >> Can anyone give me some advice? We've looked and looked outside, and she >> really is calm and relaxed on our 3-season porch -- I'd think she'd be [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > Best to you. I think letting her out would be a very bad idea. The last thing anyone needs is for her to take off and get pregnant again. W > I think letting her out would be a very bad idea. The last thing anyone > needs is for her to take off and get pregnant again. > > W I second that! DO NOT let the cat out! The kitten is old enough to survive, if indeed there is one out there. -Kelly Hi Amy, I would do what you are doing -- keeping leaving food outside and take care of the mom. What a wonderful thing you are doing for that little cat family! I'm happy to hear that the mom came inside too. Good luck finding a good home for her (unless she ends up deciding to stay at your house...) Rhonda > Can anyone give me some advice? We've looked and looked outside, and she > really is calm and relaxed on our 3-season porch -- I'd think she'd be > clawing the screens if there were babies still out there...thanks for any > advice you can give... > My VSA contact is out of town, and we are worried that there might still be > another kitten outside. Reason is, momma has 2 nipples that have swelling > underneath and protrude, while the others are all flat and dry. She > frequently rolls on her side and begins kneading - and has allowed me to > touch those 2...nothing is being expelled, but I'm just not sure why they're > puffy. Sometimes the mother cat can get mastitis - an infection in one or more teats which can be nasty if untreated. Affected teats look swollen, feel quite hard and are redder and hotter than normal. Probably best to let a vet have a look to make sure this isn't the cause. Deb. Signaturehttp://www.scientific-art.com "He looked a fierce and quarrelsome cat, but claw he never would; He only bit the ones he loved, because they tasted good." S. Greenfield > Hello - > About 3 weeks ago, my husband and I rescued a litter of 4 kittens in our [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > clawing the screens if there were babies still out there...thanks for any > advice you can give...>>> Well done for rescuing the mother cat and kittens:) A feral cat will start bringing home live prey and weaning the kittens from about 5 weeks so if you leave food out any kittens left behind would have a good chance of survival . I would have her checked by the vet as has been suggested in case she has mastitis or is pregnant again Alison |
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