Expert: Norman Auspitz - 9/1/2009

Question
QUESTION: I am concerned about the large litter that a cat I took in had. There is 9 kittens.  I weighed them last weekend and most were around 150 grams or more.  One was only 100 grams.  I am concerned that over time the mother will not have enough milk, or may get sick from having to feed so many kittens.  I have her on wet kitten food and have started to mix in a paste supplement that has calcium and other nutrients.  Someone stated that I should consider bottle feeding some of the kittens or to find another surrogate mother to take a few of them.
Any thoughts?

ANSWER: Stephen,

It would be a good idea to bottle feed those that are smallest, so they can catch up.  I assume by now they are about 10 days to 2 weeks of age?

Once they hit 3-4 weeks of age, you cans tart the weaning process.

I would not worry about mama having enough milk.  As long as you are feeding what you are feeding, she should be OK.  

Unless one or more of the kittens begins to go downhill, even with your supplementing, I would not worry about a surrogate mother.  There is no guarantee the surrogate would take care of another queen's kittens.

If you have any questions about how much the kittens should be fed, or what to use, or their rate of growth, please come back to me with a follow up.

Please let me know how it goes.

Best regards... Norm.



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Just a quick follow up. Is there any need to be concerned about feeding a kitten in addition to them getting their mother's milk (ie., I was going to supplement her feedings with one or two of mine, for the smallest ones).

Answer
Stephen,

Just make sure you do not overfeed.  If you offer the nurser, and the kitten is full, it will usually refuse the nipple.  They should be rolly polly and fat without feeling individual ribs.  If you can feel the backboine and ribs, the kitten does need to eat more. In this case, you need to be persistent about getting it to nurse.  Usually, if you can supplement the smallest ones and they gain some strength, they will usually do better.

Best regards... Norm.