Expert: W - 8/16/2008

Question
Hi!  I have 2 female cats that had babies about 3 weeks apart.  The older kittens are now about 5 weeks and the younger kittens are 2 weeks.  This morning my children discovered that one of the younger babies had died.  The mother of the younger babies doesn't seem to have any interest in them and now I am thinking that the baby who died died because of starvation.  The mother has moved the kittens to different places everyday and now she is never around them.  The mother of the older kittens is now taking over and tending to the younger kittens.  My question is, is this a bad thing that the mother of the other kittens is taking care of the younger kittens?  And if so what can I do for the mother to take care of her babies?   Thank you for taking the time to read my questions.


Answer
Hi Crystal
There is a possible problem that the mother of the younger kittens feels threatened by the older mother so may have abandoned her kittens.
If the older mother has milk and will feed the kittens then let her continue to do so. If you feel concerned about how much food the younger kittens are getting then you could supplement them with kitten milk fed through a syringe.
I am sorry that you lost a kitten, did it look starved, if not then it may have died from other causes.

Regards

Ray