4-Week Old Kittens, Mammy Gone Missing

Shivers26

I have 4 kittens and they are a month old. Their mother has been leaving them for a couple of hours at a time for the past week or so but she always comes back in when the front door is opened.
She has been out since at least 4pm today and she has not come back yet. I am really worried. She is a lovely, tame cat but my sister took her in as a stray and she was pregnant when she moved in and she has been staying at my house for about a week now.

Basically what I want to know is what should I do with the kittens if she doesn't come back. I had not even started trying to wean them yet. I have left a small dish of kitten food and water in with them but they don't know what to do with it. I got them to take a tiny bit of water off a spoon.

Has anybody any advice for me?

MaryK666

Its unusual for a momma cat to leave kittens this young so I suspect that something may have happened to her. Hopefully I'm wrong and she'll come back soon.

The most important thing right now is to make sure that the kittens don't get dehydrated as this will kill them quicker than a lack of food. In the short term you can try them on some milk but warm it very slightly when you take it out of the fridge as they dont like it cold. It may be necessary to spoon feed them in the absence of a bottle but if you have a babies bottle or an eye-dropper in the house, clean it well and try that instead. If you can get to a pet shop tomorrow you can buy some lactol which is specially formulated for them and is better for their digestive systems than milk.

They may be able for some very soft catfood but nothing with chunks in it. If you have some handy then mix a small amount with a few drops of milk and again, if necessary, feed it to them on a spoon.

Hopefully their mother will be back before the morning but if not, you'll need to take over the job of feeding. Best to feed them every 6 hours and once you introduce them to solid food, they should be better able to cope without the mother.
Just make sure to keep getting fluids into them and hopefully, they'll be fine till their mother returns.

lorebringer

MaryK666 wrote: »

In the short term you can try them on some milk

Please don't give them milk (as in cows milk), it'll run through them and make any dehydration problems worse. Give them a little water to do them until you can pop to a vets to get specifically formulated kitten milk. Water will do them no harm and keep then hydrated.

When you start to wean them, keep using the kitten milk but make a paste with some dry food (kitten food preferably) by soaking it in the milk until mushy. To get them to feed from a bowl, give them just the milk first (if they will not touch it from a bowl, a dropper, syringe or a feeding tube - ask the vet about these - will help get the milk into them) until they are comfortable lapping it up and then gradually switch over to the food/milk mix, and then to mushy food totally. They will need to be fed every 5/6 hours.

Hopefully, their mother turns up from the blue (and all will be well) but if she doesn't, at 4 weeks they have a really good chance at survival if they have been well cared for until now and are fighting fit. Just to note, it would also be a good idea to worm the kittens to make sure they are clear and aren't dealing with a worm burden. A vet will be able to advise you on this and also give you a good wormer suitable for kittens. Also, 4 weeks is also a good time to start introducing the kittens to a liter tray, you shouldn't need to stimulate them to go to the toilet (which is another thing off your list!). Just place them in a liter tray after you feed them.

Good luck!

Shivers26

The kittens are in great condition but they are obviously fretting for their mother at this stage.

I will get some more water in to them this morning and will go to the vet later this morning for the lactol and something to feed them with. Thanks for the tip regarding worming, I wouldn't have thought of it with everything else going on.

Mammy cat still hasn't turned up and i'm just concerned in case someone took her into their house. Is she is any danger from mastitis or anything because of not feeding? I left a dish of food outside my front door and the door is open so fingers crossed she turns up.

Thanks a million

Shivers26

She just came home
So relieved.

I can't thank you enough for your advice because I wouldn't have known what to do.

porker36

shes a bad mammy cat glad to see she came home shivers

IvySlayer

I wonder if she was looking for somewhere to move them?

Just a guess!

Shivers26

IvySlayer wrote: »

I wonder if she was looking for somewhere to move them?

Just a guess!

I don't know? Is that usual? I've never really had cats before. They are so independent compared to dogs.

I guess i'll still have to have a plan for weaning them soon and litter box training them.

Relieved to have her home. I was just worried someone took her into their house or worse.

crazy cat lady

Hi,

I'm glad mamma cat turned up safe and sound! We looked after kittens that were found at appx 10 days old, the mother was dead quite close to where the kittens were found. One died but the other 3 are still alive and very healthy. The one we kept is lovely, although not very vocal!

We are actually thinking about getting a kitten in the near future, so if you are looking to rehome any of the kittens please would you drop me a PM?

Thanks a mil!

jjll

yeah keep an eye on them mine moved them alot !!!mine has gone 2 weeks now im hoping she comes back we moved kept here in fr 2 weeks then let her out she came back for 3 nights then disappeared im hoping she comes back

doctor evil

Shivers26 wrote: »

She just came home
So relieved.

Please keep her in until she is spayed, orphan kittens are a lot of work in case anything happens to her. She will object to being kept in but its for her own good! Ignore the pleading meows and keep them in the same room (less hastle)

Cats can be aloof but they can give so much if the tim is put into them.

If she was a stray she may have FIV or feline leukemia, these viruses effect each differently. Some show no signs and live long with it while others not so. They can be looked for with a simple blood test.

Little_Focker

Its not that unusual for a mother cat to leave her kittens - there could be a few reasons for this ie she might not have enough milk for them plus some cats just get fed up of the kittens at a very early stage, happened to someone I know - the cat had kittens down the yard but after about 3 weeks the mother cat was constantly up at the house and wouldnt go down near the kittens at all, poor things were starving so they had to hand feed them with the Lactol for a few weeks until they started on solids.

Keep an eye on her and watch how she is with the kittens and make sure you see her feeding them - dont assume just coz she's back that she will be looking after them.

Shivers26

She took to looking after the kittens great but in the last week or so she is leaving them for longer stretches (even just to wander around the house) - they are getting big now so feeding them can't be easy for her, she is constantly starving herself as well.

She will most definitely be going for a spay asap.

I want to thank you all again for the advice in this thread, it was really invaluable to me.