Cat who doesn't feed one of her son's... Died later. why?

Question

ok so my a friend of my aunt gave her a 1 day old kitty who's mother was putting aside, she didnt feed him, she literaly pushed him aside from the other three, those she fed and "cared" about. the owner of the cats decided to give the cat to my aunt, she bought specialized milk for it and feed him on the box it sayd 2-4 ml, my aunt on the kittu's last meal gave him 5ml, and a few hours late he died. he was warm and he was well treated by my aunt.

questions:

Why his mother ignored him?

Is it my aunts fault he's dead?

Answer 1

animal have a way of knowing if something is wrong with one of there babies just like a mother bird will kick a baby bird out of the nest if it is deformed or diseased the baby most likely had something wrong with it in the first place and wasn't going to make it that all i could think it would be

Answer 2

why did his mother ignore him? probably because she was overwhelmed with cats.

is it your Aunt's fault he is dead.. honestly there is no way of knowing. Your Aunt did what she could, the best she could, and fed and kept him warm, so I'm going to say no.  Could she have aspirated food into his lungs, possibly, could he have over heated.. yea.. but raising newborn orphaned kittens is VERY VERY hard, and sometimes, even the most experienced handlers lose kittens for absolutely no knowable reason.

So many people say if a mother ignores a kitten, it is because there is something wrong with the kitten. I just don't buy that.  I've seen perfectly health kittens be ignored (I've supplemented and returned it to the nest and it was fine) and I've seen sick sick deformed kittens being nursed by their mother.  Could there have been something wrong with the kitten.. yes.  

You can't know.

You can only do your best, and be proud of your Aunt for trying!

Answer 3

there was something wrong with the kitten and the mother cat new it your aunt proved y point because it died even while being well cared for

Answer 4

well it doesn't sound like the momma cat was a bad momma or she would have not fed any of them. animals do have a sense about things we do not. there may have been a problem un seen by us with the kitten and that is why momma wasn't feeding it.

if your aunt fed the kitten and kept it warm there wasn't any more she could do.

(be aware if you are in that situation again, along with feeding the kitten with the dropper, they are unable to urinate or have bowel movements on their own,(momma usually helps with that) so you will have to help by wiping the areas with a warm wash cloth to stimulate it to go)

Answer 5

Most likely, the kitten was doomed to begin with. An animal can sense if a young one has an illness - which this one most likely did.

...the care of a kitten so young can only really by done by a professional. Without mother's milk, there's little chance of survival, if he wasn't already sick to begin with. A kitten that young needs feeding up to every half hour, and the most common mistake people make is accidentally squirting milk into their lungs, virtually drowning them. This isn't stupidity; it's like giving the care of a baby walrus to a stork.

Cats are excellent mothers - and they know best. You bet your bum she cares about her kittens - she'll defend them and care for them till death. Sadly, the runt probably had no chance of survival, even with the care of a vet. Birth defects are common. But no one's fault.

At least he was in a safe place and warm till he died, that's to be thankful for.

Answer 6

Maybe the mother cat knew there was something wrong with the kitten - maybe it was sick to begin with.  I am sure your Aunt did all she could for the Kitten.

Answer 7

It sounds like your Aunt tried her best, I wouldn't blame her. Maybe the mother ignored him because he was weak or sick and didn't want to waste her energy on him. That would also explain why he died so fast.

Answer 8

Maternal antibodies are passed in the mother's milk during the first 1-3 days after delivery. If the kitten did not receive these there is a higher chance that he would die from infection. Sorry about the little kitty, it sounds like your Aunt did everything she could.

Answer 9

your aunt did everything she could to help the kitten, you can't ask for anything more than that.  she is a wonderful human being.