My cat just had kittens? WHATS THE BEST THING I CAN DO TO HELP HER and her litter?

Question

My cat just had kittens? WHATS THE BEST THING I CAN DO TO HELP HER and her litter?

Answer 1

Make sure her and the kittens have a safe, secluded area to be in. Don't move them though if the mother has already chosen her place, then leave them alone. Mother cats instincts will be all you need. You will want to approach the kittens slowly, depending on the mother, about a week from now. Make sure mom has plenty of food and water nearby. Enjoy your babies.  

Answer 2

Mama know exactly what to do...and what is best.

Just provide her with a safe, quiet, cool place to take care of her babies.  Then give her the space she needs.  It's better if you limit any human contact for a few days.  

Answer 3

1) KITTEN FOOD do not give her adult food she needs the extra vitamins that only kitten food has.

2) do NOT give the momma cat or kittens people milk as a matter of fact cats are lactose intolerant

3) when she feels comfortable yes handle the kittens as much as possible it makes them into nicer pets and makes them not turn feral (meaning wild)

Answer 4

if this is her first litter she may have a hard time because mother cats usually do with their 1st litter.make sure you watch that sfe is feeding them,if not you may have to take over until she gets the hang of it.you can go to any pet store and buy baby animal pet milk,feed them every few hrs just like a baby,then you need to take a warm cotton ball and rub it in their private area so they can pee,i know it don't sound fun but it has to be done for the 1st couple of weeks in order for the babies to learn to empty their bowels and bladder.i hope i have helped i have raised many kittens by hand and it is a neat exp.good luck

Answer 5

One thing is to keep their environment as quiet as possible as loud noises can be very upsetting for animals. Mother cats are pretty good at taking care of their babies.

Answer 6

extra food, & put them in a quiet place, start hunting 4 homes.

Answer 7

give the mother her space.and when she needs attention she will come to you.but let her be the mother of her kittens and you stand back and watch.

Answer 8

Help Her feed the cats, then sell some as they will take some space of your home

Answer 9

Best tip is to just leave her alone and make sure she is comfortable she knows what she is doing her motherly instincts will kick in just let her be and admire them from a distance for a while til she is comfortable with you being near them.she will be protective of them for a while  

Answer 10

Change the bedding every couple of days and make sure mama has clean water and food.  New Moms are tired and hungry. She'll handle the rest

Answer 11

Leave her alone---she probably knows instinctively what to do.

Be SURE no other house-pets get near her or her kittens. Her biggest concern is protecting her kittens right now.

For a few weeks, they should be in a dark environment with her, until their eyes open.

She needs good food and water nearby for herself so she doesn't have to leave them for long.

Let her handle things, and keep things quiet so she can take care of the kittens in peace.

Go over to catster.com and ask for advice, too.....

Answer 12

dont listen to daz. just leave them alone dont touch them and your cat should be fine just talk softly to her and calm her down dont try to feed her she will eat in about 24 hours after she knows their ok, you cant sell or take them any where for 6-7 weeks and at 5 weeks they start to eat dry food. and last,have fun

Answer 13

If by any chance she stops feeding them then u gotta feed em with milk

Answer 14

Avoid messing with her any more then ABSOLUTELY nessecary.

Cats and kittens need privacy during the first week of life, and outside influence can be a health hazard. Once she's done giving birth, change the bedding, and I recommend using a soft but thin towel over layers of newspaper for a while.  

Answer 15

Do this:

1) Make a comfortable, large box for your cat.  Line it with a sheet you don't need anymore or an old towel.  Put the box near your bed or in an area that is free of commotion -- a place she can feel Safe and Secure.  

2) Cut a U shaped hole in the box so that your mama cat has sufficient room to jump in and out of the box.

3) Cover the box with a sheet to darken the box, but leave the U shaped opening clear for mama.

4) Put the babies and the mama into the box and speak soothingly to the mama.  Tell her that she can keep her babies in this box.

5) Put dry food and water outside of the box -- so the mama knows it is Her Box.

If the mama tries to move her kittens, gently put the kittens back into the box.  Do this a couple times if needed.

If mama cat Refuses to make this move, then set up a comfortable area where she gave birth in the first place, clean and free of commotion.

6) Always be super nice to mama.

The babies will have their eyes closed for about 8-12 days.  

7) Give the mom lots of Love and Good Food.

The mama will feed the kittens; you don't have to worry about that for a while.

8) After about 3 weeks, carefully cut a lower-case-n shaped hole in the bottom of the box (while the kittens aren't in the box, of course!) and replace the kittens in the box.  They might poke their heads out and try to walk around.  They may cry a lot -- that is totally normal.

9) At about 4 weeks old, you can start trying to ween them onto solid foods.

I like to use a mix of 50/50 prepared Plain Rice Baby Cereal and canned cat food.  Make the RBC with warm water and mix it together like oatmeal.  

Put some into the kittens mouth and see if they take to eating.

10 Gradually (over the course of say 2 weeks) reduce the amount of RBC you add to the canned cat food.  Add in some dry food sometimes and see if they are ready to chew it yet.

11) Don't adopt out your kittens until they are AT LEAST 6 weeks old, and its best to wait until 8 weeks.

As for whether or not you can handle the kittens, that depends on the nature of your mama cat.  I've had cats give birth a lot in my life and have ALWAYS handled the kittens from day 1.  As long as you are careful and handle them with confidence (hold them so they don't feel vulnerable), then holding them is fine.  They will be more sociable cats the more you hold them.

Mama cat might want you to put them back, but she'll soon realize that you are OK and can hold them.

Hope that helped!

Answer 16

feed you cat well, give her lots of water, dont mess with the kittens too much though its a good idea to handle them each to look for problems or defects. After you have examined them, leave them alone a while. Examine them daily but dont bother them constantly. Keep mom inside and healthy, when they are older go get them to a vet and have them check on. Then spay mom after the kittens are weaned. Be sure the kittens go to a home that will spay and neuter them also.