Expert: Jessica - 10/9/2009

Question
Hi Jess

I will be asking a fair heap of questions. And my 'U' button is kinda broken so i might be missing out on the letter. So there are nfortnately 2 baby kittens left and another one is getting weaker. and can the mother cat not prodce milk or have problems prodcing it? i am really sad and so are the rest of my family. PLZ help. yo are our only change.

Answer
Sorry to answer so late. My grandfather passed away.

Yes, mothers can certainly have trouble producing milk.  It can be due to nutritional problems, which in this case may simply be that her growing body has too much of a demand for the nutrients she's taking in to use any for creating milk.  

But cats can also have problems with milk flow.  Milk flow is encouraged by a hormone called oxytocin.  If cats don't seem to be producing milk when their litters are born, the queen should be brought to the vet to determine if she is a good candidate for a synthetic form of oxytocin, called Pitocin.  A shot of this will often stimulate milk flow.

You can also give the mom some kitten formula to add fat and protein to her diet that may help her produce milk.  And she should eat a high-quality kitten food until the age of one year.

It's possible that the babies were born prematurely due to the mother's young age, and if so, this is probably why they aren't thriving.  The kittens can appear normal and healthy at birth, but with an underdeveloped heart and lungs, the babies begin to fade after a few days.  Other causes for Fading Kitten Syndrome, as the phenomenon you are experiencing is called, are infections and a conflicting blood type with the mother.  Sadly, in babies this small, there is very little that can be done.  Feeding formula can resolve the problem if it is a conflict with the blood types, but beyond that, kittens who are just a few days old are very difficult to save.