Expert: Ali - 6/19/2009

Question
My mother cat just had 6 kittens on Tuesday. She is being a very good mother and is nursing them but, she is not lactating... nothing seems to be coming out. Is there something I can do? I have been feeding them about every 4 hours with a syringes but I work 40 hrs and I'm afraid they are not getting what they need.

Answer
Jessica,

Have you taken mom and the babies to the vet? Sometimes the vet is able to give a hormone injection that will cause mom's milk to come in. Ultimately newborn kittens really should be fed on demand or every 1 1/2-2 hours in the first 3 1/2 weeks of life at which point hand raised kittens must start the weaning process and gradual introduction to solid food because kitten formula really is a poor substitute for mom's milk and growing kittens need more nutrition than formula alone offers. I normally recommend that kittens nursing from their own mother or an adoptive mom be allowed to stay with mom for at least the first 10 weeks of life so that mom can discipline them where appropriate and teach them basic life skills they'd need to be functional kitties. If at all possible it's best for kittens to have mom's milk, but sometimes mom just isn't able to produce milk in spite of any treatment by the vet so there's a possibility that mom won't be able to produce the milk required to nurse a large litter. In the event that mom begins producing a bit of milk I'd suggest making sure that you allow them to nurse on mom to get whatever milk she has to give and supplement the babies with formula to make sure they're getting enough nutrition to grow and develop normally. Since you work full time hand raising a large litter of kittens can be difficult, at this time of year there are many moms with their litters or lactating queens admitted to shelters, maybe you'd be able to foster a mom that's lost her babies and is willing to adopt these newborns. Since some vets take in stray cats brought in by good samaritans you may want to consider asking around vet clinics to see if they have 1 or more lactating queens that might be willing to adopt some or all of these babies as a way to take some of the load off of you - it's important to realize that if a queen has a small litter or she's lost her babies she may not be able to feed 6 kittens adequately on her own, but some of mom's milk is definitely better than none. Hand rearing orphaned kittens is time and labor intensive, however it's also very rewarding. I can provide you with information about hand rearing these babies, nutrition, kitten development, behavior and some common issues you might see if you must raise these babies by hand without a mom who is able to produce milk. If mom is able to care for her kittens, but she's unable to feed them it would be best to allow the babies to stay with mom and feed them whenever necessary, this means that mom is able to care for the kittens and help teach, socialize and discipline the little ones so that they can be happy, health, well adjusted cats as they get older.