# Mum losing interest in 3 week old kittens



## Fuzzball (May 16, 2007)

The kittens turned 3 weeks on Monday and since the weekend the mum has been spending less and less time with them during the day, she just leaves them and goes off to do her own thing leaving the kittens crying. Ive tried them with milky food, they will take it from my finger but are not interested in it any other way. They normally live upstairs but would it be ok to bring them downstairs during the day (putting them back up with mum if I went out and at bedtime) to handfeed them meat and milk? Will mum reject them completely if I move them? Is it too early to move them - dont wanna scare them. I have a spare dog crate that I intend to use when they move downstairs so I know the dogs and other cats wont be able to hurt them, I just dont wanna move them if its too soon.


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## Shell195 (May 31, 2007)

Personally I would put the dog crate upstairs and put mum in with them. Have you checked she has any milk? Cats are usually very maternal and adore the kittens(unless she is coming in season again). They are to young to wean completely. Go out and buy a replacement milk(Cimicat/ Lactol etc) and make it up as directed.I would encourage them to lap.Put some on your finger and when they are licking gradually move your finger downwards towards the saucer of kitten milk until they are actually taking the milk out the dish. When they can lap gradually mash a bit of kitten food with the milk.You could also try tiny bits of cooked chicken.Put it in their mouths and see if they will eat it. Is mum getting enough extra food and fluids as this all aids lactation?


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## Shell195 (May 31, 2007)

Sometimes over handling can make mum say "You have them then" Try not to keep picking em up and leave in the nest where they belong with their Mum. Another week or so and they will be much easier to wean and Mum wont mind as much. Good Luck


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## Fuzzball (May 16, 2007)

They are in a dog crate upstairs now, its a huge one so mum had plenty of space to get away from them but she isnt happy, she has milk and will happily feed them if I make her feed them. I keep the kittens nails short so they dont irritate her whilst they feed, and yes she is coming back into season and tarting with my neutered boys. She spends most of her day staring out the window and watching all the unneutered toms pass by! 

Should I just be forceful and shut her in the crate and let her out for short periods throughout the day? Im at home most of the time during the week so it wouldnt be a problem, I just hate it when she sits there meowing away because she wants to get out!

She has a large dog bowl of water available all day and she gets it changed often as she likes her water fresh (and she only drinks filtered water - she's very picky!!) Also a bowl of dry kibble down all the time, she's on science plan kitten at the moment as the stuff from the vet gave her a bad tummy and natures menu meat, about 6 sachets a day. Also any cooked or raw meat left over from the ferrets. She eats throughout the day so dont think she is going hungry, and she definetly has milk, I check every other day.


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## Shell195 (May 31, 2007)

No point in locking her in if all she does is cry. Maybe its just her coming in season then. All you can do is let her do her bit and top them up by teaching them to eat


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## quizicalkat (Jul 7, 2007)

Fuzzball said:


> They are in a dog crate upstairs now, its a huge one so mum had plenty of space to get away from them but she isnt happy, she has milk and will happily feed them if I make her feed them. I keep the kittens nails short so they dont irritate her whilst they feed, and yes she is coming back into season and tarting with my neutered boys. She spends most of her day staring out the window and watching all the unneutered toms pass by! quote]
> 
> why would you cut their nails? - I think that would fall into the catergory of 'over handling'
> 
> ...


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## Fuzzball (May 16, 2007)

I was advised by my vet to cut the kittens nails when they went for a check-up at a week old so they dont make mum sore. 
I dont overhandle them, they get moved morning and evening when I change the bedding and sometimes I have to move them to change mums food/water during the day but I dont make a point of picking them up to cuddle. Mum will happily lay on the bed to feed them whilst I am cleaning the dog crate out so I dont think she gets stressed with me moving them.

Yes I know she cant go anywhere near an unneutered male and she's an indoor cat anyway, it was a completely unplanned litter and she was took in for a pre-op check to be spayed where they thought she was pregnant and I didnt have the heart to abort them. She will be neutered once the kittens are weaned and the vet says she can be spayed.

I rang the vets for advise who also asked if she was producing enough milk so they are all off for a check-up this evening which the vet advised. Also to check that mum isnt rejecting the kittens for any other reasons. They also gave me the number for their kitten fosterer who suggested putting the dog crate at window height and near the window as its the window she is more interested in. I have moved the bed and put the crate on top of that in the hope she might adapt. She also mentioned that she may be getting too hot as they have a blanket in the cardboard box so now they are on just newspaper. I have shut her in the crate and put a plate of cooked chicken in with her which she is enjoying and the kittens are happily suckling whilst she is busy. Will keep an ear out to see if she starts crying.


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## quizicalkat (Jul 7, 2007)

Fuzzball said:


> I was advised by my vet to cut the kittens nails when they went for a check-up at a week old so they dont make mum sore.
> I dont overhandle them, they get moved morning and evening when I change the bedding and sometimes I have to move them to change mums food/water during the day but I dont make a point of picking them up to cuddle. Mum will happily lay on the bed to feed them whilst I am cleaning the dog crate out so I dont think she gets stressed with me moving them.
> 
> Yes I know she cant go anywhere near an unneutered male and she's an indoor cat anyway, it was a completely unplanned litter and she was took in for a pre-op check to be spayed where they thought she was pregnant and I didnt have the heart to abort them. She will be neutered once the kittens are weaned and the vet says she can be spayed.
> ...


well it's new new one on me and I have bred a few litters:lol2:

sounds like you are doing everything you can - maybe she's just a baggage - it happens - looking forward to pics: victory:


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

quizicalkat said:


> well it's new new one on me and I have bred a few litters:lol2:


It's a new one on me too! Never heard of it and I bred cats for 18 years. I never clipped a kitten's claws until they were weaned and running around the house!

I have to be honest I handled all my kittens from the day they were born. They were weighed every evening and handled on a regular basis and my queens never objected after the first couple of days. I think the queen's disinterest is maybe more to do with her possibly being in season and having a higher priority - we all know that cats, compared to many other animals, are 'driven' when they are in season.

Summer or winter, my kittens were on vetbed. Of course by the time they were 3 weeks old they were coming out of the kittening box into the kitten pen, but they always slept on the vetbed, so I don't understand the hot bit either really!

No offence to vets (sorry Debbie :grin1, but I think when it comes down to getting advice on problems like this, you get better advice from a breeder who's speaking from first-hand knowledge than a vet if that vet has never bred cats and so is speaking from theory!


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## fenwoman (Apr 15, 2008)

Fuzzball said:


> I was advised by my vet to cut the kittens nails when they went for a check-up at a week old so they dont make mum sore.
> I dont overhandle them, they get moved morning and evening when I change the bedding and sometimes I have to move them to change mums food/water during the day but I dont make a point of picking them up to cuddle. Mum will happily lay on the bed to feed them whilst I am cleaning the dog crate out so I dont think she gets stressed with me moving them.
> 
> Yes I know she cant go anywhere near an unneutered male and she's an indoor cat anyway, it was a completely unplanned litter and she was took in for a pre-op check to be spayed where they thought she was pregnant and I didnt have the heart to abort them. She will be neutered once the kittens are weaned and the vet says she can be spayed.
> ...


Well I happen to think you are overhandling them too since you handle them several times a day which is way more than I ever handle them if I ever end up having kittens from a pregnant foster/rescue. I don't handle at all, not ever for the first 48 hours. After that once to check sexes and that'sit, hands off totally and let the mother get on with it.
Can't you just leave the crate open but the room door closed so that mum has a chance to sit away from the kittens while still being able to keep an eye on them? I know mine would not be happy to be so closely confined 24/7 . Why would you even want to risk the kittens health by taking them to a vet surgery at only a week old for a 'check up'? They have no immunity from cat diseases which abound in vets places. And another one 2 weeks later? Yes, you are mucking about with them way too much. I can't see why you need to change the bedding twice a day, mum will clean up after the kittens and why would you have to move them to refresh food and water? If they are so near to the water bowl there is a real risk of getting in and drowning.


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## vetdebbie (Jan 4, 2008)

feorag said:


> No offence to vets (sorry Debbie :grin1, but I think when it comes down to getting advice on problems like this, you get better advice from a breeder who's speaking from first-hand knowledge than a vet if that vet has never bred cats and so is speaking from theory!


no offense taken - we vets all know breeders have their funny little ways and it's easier to let you all get on with it!:Na_Na_Na_Na::mf_dribble:


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

vetdebbie said:


> no offense taken - we vets all know breeders have their funny little ways and it's easier to let you all get on with it!:Na_Na_Na_Na::mf_dribble:


Thank you! : victory: Not sure about the "funny little ways" mind!!! :whistling2:

BTW Fuzzball, saw their photos in the photo section - they're cute and looking good!!!


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## Fuzzball (May 16, 2007)

They were taken for a check-up at a week old as the black girl was incredible small and I was worried for her, im sure if I had posted on here about it you all would have recommended a vet so for my own peace of mind I took her to make sure she was fit and healthy and just the runt.
She was taken to the vets last night to check for any reasons for her not wanting to be with the kittens, as it turns out she has a bit of a temperature so we are dealing with that now and she (not the kittens) is going back again this evening to see if things are improving. Mum was happy enought to sit and feed the kittens on the vets table so cant be too bothered or stressed about the whole thing. She is also definetly back in season, my normally shy and timid cat was talking and tarting in her carrier to every cat she could see or hear.
I was once again reminded to keep their claws cut, I asked the vet why he recommended it and he said it was in his training and that all the vets at the practice would recommend the same.

She is shut in the room with the crate door left open, but she spends most of the time sat at the window out of the kittens way. The vet suspects her feeling a little under the weather though is the reason for that so at the moment she is allowed to stay out and she gets shut away every 2-3 hours for half an hour and she doesnt mind, a bowl of meat persuades her to stay in there. I sometimes have to move them when I change her water or feed her as I take the bowls out to wash them, and sometimes when I get back they are in the bowl space so have to move them to put the bowls back.


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## devilsofdarkness (Mar 26, 2006)

without being too forward...are u going to be looking for new homes for the kittens when they are old enough?/


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## Fuzzball (May 16, 2007)

As much as I would love to keep them all im not allowed to so yes when they are old enough they will be looking for new homes. The grey & white has a home lined up already.


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

Hate to say it, but I still absolutely disagree with your vet and all the vets in your practice if they are saying clip the kittens claws at this early age!! It's really rubbish!

Did you weigh your kittens at all - if you did I was just wondering what weight the black kitten was?


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## Shell195 (May 31, 2007)

Never heard of cutting kittens claws before. Different if they are running round and catching on things but not when still in the nest.I used to breed Siamese and never did it and when we have nursing queens in the shelter weve never clipped the kittens claws either. I know puppys can really damage the bitch when nursing but never known kittens to do any damage. Their claws are that tiny surely you risk cutting the quick .


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

That's what I was thinking! Tiny claws, very easy to cut the quick, especially if it's not something you do on a regular basis. I used to clip my kittens claws, but not until they were 6 weeks +.


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