Kittens

[josaphine32]

Can anyone give me any advice, I dont think i will be doing this again..... Scrappy had 5 kittens yesterday planned and i already have loving homes, But we are first time Parents, I have read loads of books but would love advice from anyone who breeds Kittens please, I never slept a wink last night!!!

Scrappy decided to have her kittens in my room in the wardrobe.... Its far too hot up there she is panting about and keeps getting out of the box with the kittens, We have tried to stroke her with a damp flannel to cool her off and i have put a fan in the room that is away from them to circulate the air. she is eating well, havent seen her washing the kittens much but i know they are suckling well.... kept me awake all night..... how long can i leave scrappy out the box before the kittens get cold? also how can i settle her. we keep putting her back in the box after 1/2 hour or so and keep stroking her...all she wants is for you to stroke her..... i will be a nervous wreck by the weekend

[kita1]

I don't know much about cats but have seen plenty of litters born on a farm I was around when I was a kid and they seemed to cope fine without any human interference whatsoever, we had one cat come every time it got pregnant, had the kittens (feral) and left.

I would say that mum knows what she is doing, after all in the wild she would have to leave for more than 1/2 hour to catch food etc. I would let her settle of her own accord and tend not to interfere too much.

If everyone is eating and suckling OK then I would think that everything is fine.

Most of the cats I see sunbathing seem to love the heat, my sisters old cat has been spending the last week of hot weather in her greenhouse of all places, even when she carries him out he goes back in after testing all the other places round the garden! And he is black!!

Is this her first litter? I am sure you are far more worried than mum is, she is probably cursing you for putting her back in with the kittens!

Seriously I would try not to worry, I am sure that if anything was seriously wrong you would know about it, try and enjoy the experience.

[danapie]

If you think the room she is in is really to hot, then i suggest moving her and her box of kittens to another room. But if its really not that hot, leave her there. She will pant. She just had kittens and her hormones are out of wack and shes hot becasue she has to lay by her kitts to feed them. Dont worry about putting her back in the box. She has maternal insticts and will stay out as long as she feels she needs to with out starving the kittens. Let her be the mom and all will be fine. Once the kittens are a few more days old, she will start leaving them for longer periods of time.
Also, make sure she is stimulating the kittens to go potty by licking them.
Dont pannic. Everything seems fine. If you have any more questions please feel free to e-mail me. [e-mail]

[Tammera]

sounds to me like she is still in labour is she continues panting, if shes to hot id have thought she will move the kittens, i remember when my cat had kittens under my bed, we moved them to where we could watch them and keep an eye, and she moved them back again.

if she continues to pant, if take her and the babies to the vet, to make sure she hasnt got a baby stuck, and to make sure they are all healthy.

like danapie said make sure she is licking their private parts otherwise they wont go pee. if shes not doing this you really need to get vet advice as she may need to be tought what to do. my mum had to do this when her dog had a suprise puppy. you can also get some wet cotton wool balls and rub their bits to make them go wee if you feel they havent done this.

[josaphine32]

Tammera, Thanks she has just moved them to behind my bed, i was going to block it off but thuought that would stress her more,

Hopefully she might settle now, she stopped eating again yesterday and wouldnt get in the box, but i read last night on the net that it is normal i think i am beeing a bit over protective, but she is a good mum.

Thanks everyone for all your advice