How to Take Care of Nursing Cats

There’s nothing quite like a newborn litter of kittens, with their tightly-closed eyes and their tiny bodies snuggling up to their mother for warmth and nourishment. Although this stage passes quickly, you can help the mother cat through it with some basic animal care techniques. The mother will be more at ease and you will too, knowing that you’ve done everything you could to provide her offspring with a good start in life.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Cat bed
• Litter box
• Food and water
• Safe location

1. Provide a safe place for your mother cat and her kittens. The best way to do this is to put a cardboard box with soft rags in a room where you can close the door. Mother cats will move their kittens if there is too much traffic in a room or if they sense a danger to their newborns. For instance, place a cat bed or box in the closet of a spare room or in the bottom of a large drawer where the mother can jump in and out easily.

2. Place a litter box within easy reach of the nursing area. Your cat will feel secure if she knows she can relieve herself while her kittens are nearby and safe.

3. Offer plenty of good food and water to a nursing cat. For the first few days, she may eat little, but when the kittens are 4 or 5 days old, the mother cat will develop a ravenous appetite. At this point, feed her three or more times a day and ask your veterinarian whether he recommends a vitamin supplement.

4. Increase your nursing cat’s food value by giving her some raw hamburger or meat. Resist giving her any breads or scraps of baked goods.

5. Check for fleas on the mother cat and her kittens. During the time the mother cat is nursing, there is an increased risk of a flea infestation. Although cats can carry fleas at any time, they often lick and bite them, removing the fleas before they become a problem. However, when the cat is nursing, the fleas will travel back and forth from the mother to the kittens, multiplying, and there is little the mother can do. Before using any flea treatment, consult your vet because an over-the-counter treatment might harm the kittens or make the mother quit nursing them.

6. Check the mother cat’s nipples every two or three days. If you find a swollen nipple and no milk comes out, she may have mastitis, an inflammatory condition that is painful. If left untreated, it can spread and the mother cat will refuse to nurse her kittens. Call your vet for medication to clear up the problem.

7. Speak in soft tones when you enter the kitten nursery, encouraging the mother cat to stay in the box with her kittens and petting her to keep her calm.

Tips & Warnings

• For the first two weeks, handle the kittens rarely. After their eyes open, you can hold and play with them but until then, removing them from the box may make the mother cat decide to move them.