Nursing Moms and Kittens

PicturePhoto credit: Cathy Laramie
Congratulations on your new arrivals! Fostering a mama cat and her kittens is a rewarding experience. You’ll watch mom care for her babies, teach them important kitty skills, and see the kittens grow through their adorable stages into unique personalities before heading to their forever homes. After the kittens leave, you’ll have some one-on-one time with mama before she is spayed and placed as well. Overall, this is typically a 3–4 month commitment.

If the kittens were born in foster care, please send your VOKRA contact the details on the newborns

At this stage, mama cat is responsible for feeding and caring for her kittens. Your role as a foster is to support her by ensuring she has everything she needs to stay healthy and comfortable. This includes providing easy access to a litter box and unlimited access to food while she is nursing.

If your mama is not coping well or isn't caring for her babies needs, please contact the mom and kittens team  immediately.​ 

In the Days Following Birth

During the initial days after the birth, the mama cat will rarely leave the nest. After 3 or 4 days she will start spending a little time on her own outside the nest while the kittens are sleeping. Mama will generally hurry back to the nest if the kittens cry or if she senses any kind of threat.

Monitoring Kittens

Make sure mama cat is comfortable with you being around and handling her kittens. If she is protective, schedule check-ins when she is distracted.
Kittens’ tummies should be plump after feeding. Check them often in the first few days to ensure each is getting enough to eat.
Daily weight monitoring is essential. Download a weight chart (button below) and weigh kittens at the same time each day. They should gain about 10–15 g per day. Contact the mom and kittens team if any kitten is not gaining or is losing weight

If your mama cat has a large litter of kittens, or she isn't producing enough milk, she may require your help giving supplemental feedings to the kittens. Please contact the mom and kitten team and refer to Bottle Feeders for more information.

Monitoring Mama

​Mama Cat: Warning Signs

Email the Moms and Kittens team if mama:
  • Stops eating
  • Is lethargic or feverish
  • Vomits or has diarrhea
  • Shows mastitis (hard, warm nipples)
  • Has heavy or smelly discharge
Change bedding as needed; some bloody discharge for up to a week is normal.

Environment

.Creating a Safe, Comfortable Space for Mama and Kittens
  • Change bedding regularly to keep the nest clean.
  • Keep mama and kittens isolated from other pets—new moms can be very protective.
  • Expose them to normal household noises (voices, TV, radio, vacuum) to help them become well-adjusted.
  • Be aware mama may move her kittens around 2–3 weeks. Block off areas you don’t want her to use, or recreate preferred conditions in a better location.
  • Set up a small enclosure when kittens start exploring (~3 weeks) so mama can easily access them while they stay contained.
  • Encourage good litter box habits by keeping kittens in a limited space with at least one litter box per kitten. Expand the area gradually, adding more boxes as needed.
For detailed litter training tips, see the Kittens Section

Weaning Kittens

  • Weaning Starts at 5 to 6 weeks
  • Use only a very small glass, china, stainless soy sauce dipping bowls as bigger plates or bowls they will walk in.

Start to mix a bit of wet food and a tiny bit of water in the syringe and feed without the nipple, this will be messy, but only for a day or so.

To encourage a kitten to make the shift from syringe to bowl, mix the wet food with very little liquid so that the kitten will not aspirate,  dip your finger into the saucer/bowl and let the kitten lick the slurry off your finger. The slurry should stick to your finger.  Gradually lower your finger to the bowl and  your kitten to the bowl — patiently — until they learn the process
 
They will get 1 heaping Tsp. at this stage every 4 hours.  Then increase food by half at 6-7 weeks.  At 8 weeks they will get a heaping Tablespoon every 4 hours.  If you overfeed they will get very loose stool.
 




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Photo credit: TM