Cat just gave birth...but she is not feeding her three kittens...wtf.what should i do?

Question

we found her under the bed with three kittens.we got them together and she picked them up to move them she wouldn't feed so we bought kitten formula we attempted to feed them but the mom Deedee was all over them and stared to meeeeow a lot.we put her in the bathroom with her kids but she was trying to break the door down ad we let her out whats going on how do i do this i want the kittens to live...and i work at petco.so i can get any matrial.

Answer 1

If she refuses to feed them, do what you did and isolate her while you feed them.  then let her have them back, and keep encouraging her to nurse them.

Is she very young?  Is this her first littler?  If she is overly young she may be clueless as to what to do.  The maternal instinct usually doesn't kick in until later.

Answer 2

i know this sounds a little odd but you might want to just gently hold her down and put the kitten on to nurse.  sometimes it just takes a while to get the hang of it.  if she doesnt take over soon though i would start bottle feeding them every few hours.  it might be too that she is just feeling really stressed at all the commotion and cant get calm enough to take it all in.  she will get the hang of it eventually.  try and just leave her somewhere private and just check on her every so often.  give her a chance to be alone with them and her mothering instints should kick in.  it sounds like she is trying to mother them though, so just cautiously give nature a chance to work before you step in.  good luck.