Need kitty advice

[justginger]

Our newest foster cat is in the process of having her kittens now. We''ve been through another birth, and fostered a mother with 2 day old kittens before, but I''ve not experienced this problem before. The cat doesn''t have enough nipples. She has one, to be exact. Maybe 2, but I''m not certain about the functionality of that one. The others are there, sorta -- they''re completely flat. It''s obvious her milk has come into those mammaries, but there''s simply no nub for the babies to suckle from.

Has anyone seen this before? Will they eventually "pop out" (crude, I know)? Or am I really going to have to handfeed these kittens every 2 hours for the next week, every 3 hours for the week after that, and every 4 hours for the week after that? That equals a whole lot of time off work...

TIA for any info, as I just can''t seem to get the wording correct in order to get any hits on Google.

 

[redfaerythinker]

I did a quick google search and from what I found it''s not uncommon for a cat to have more kittens than she can feed. So it looks like you''re going to need to be prepared for some bottle feeding. I also found that the flat nipples may not be a problem. linky it''s the second question down on the page. Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

 

[innerkitten]

I don''t have any advice to give but wondered if there was any news and how the cat/kittens were doing? Maybe the group you fostering for will have some ideas. GL.

 

[justginger]

I weighed the kittens after they were first born (around noon), then again before bed, and again in the morning - two maintained weight, two had lost. The two that had lost were a significant amount (to me anyway - about 1/8th of their entire body weight). I did attempt to bottle feed them the correct milk replacement, but they just shrieked. They were taken to the vets early today. Momma cat has a temp, so probably a low grade post-partum infection. The kittens won''t nurse from her at all at this point - they''re attaching to the two nipples she has, but not actually drawing any food out. They''re currently being handfed in the kitty hospital overnight and tomorrow while I''m at work - we''ll re-evalulate in the afternoon.

I think they''ll have to be fed by hand every 4 hours - which means taking a 1 1/2 hour lunch every day to get home and feed them, then working late every night to make up for it!

I''m hoping that now they''ve got the hang of nursing from a bottle, they''ll be able to start nursing from her -- then I''ll only have to supplement her food, and not be the sole provider!

 

[y2kitty]

You are a very kind person to take care of these kittens.

 

[innerkitten]

Hang in there! I hope the kittens and mommy cat are okay.

 

[justginger]

Everyone is home from the hospital, happy and healthy. The kittens will be able to go all day (while I''m at work) without having their feeding supplemented. Right now, I''ll be feeding them at 6/8/10 pm, and 2/6 am. It''s going to suck getting up in the middle of the night, but bless their cotton socks, they''re just too cute to go hungry.

There are two dark tabbies, a gray tabby, and a solid black one. I''ve only attempted to sex the black one, as someone is already interested in adopting it, and I think she''s a little girl.

 

[justginger]

Another photo

 

[tyty333]

Holy cuteness...they are adorable! Sorry you have to do all the feeding. I''m sure babies and Mommy appreciate all your hard work!
Hang in there.

 

[charbie]

yay! more pictures!

 

[elrohwen]

Have you called your vet? I would call just to talk to them about it and see if it''s normal or not.

 

[innerkitten]

I''m glad things are going better. They are so cute! Yes we need more pics!

 

[Blackpaw]

Oooh they''re sooooo gorgeous JustGinger

good on you for making sure they get enough nourishment

 

[MichelleCarmen]

oooh, so cute!