Expert: Jessica - 12/15/2010

Question
My cat just gave birth to a white kitten yesterday afternoon, but she gave birth on the floor and the baby was crying and she was just in the basket, staring at the kitten. whenever she comes near to the kitten, she'll hiss and growl at it. The mother cat licked the kitten but it does not let the kitten drink its milk. And then the next day(today), the mother bite the kitten's neck too hardly and the kitten is bleeding.. I REALLY NEED HELP BY TOMORROW LATEST PLEASE!!!

Answer
Hi Sabrina,

I'm sorry you're experiencing this.  I suspect that this probably has not had a happy ending.  Unfortunately, we rarely understand why mothers reject their kittens.  Mothers can sometimes sense when a kitten or litter is unhealthy, and they will either abandon or harm their babies because of this.  Other times, the mother is experiencing pain or poor health that causes her to be an unfit mother and treat her kittens aggressively.  Perhaps there is a problem with the delivery of the rest of her kittens that's causing her immense discomfort (I strongly recommend that she see a vet).  In some cases, it's a matter of a young mother and inexperience.  

Whatever the case, there is nothing we can do to force a mother to accept the care of her young.  The best we can do is to try to recognize when a mother is not caring for her babies properly and remove the kittens.  Then, we need to find another cat who is nursing to raise them as her own, or hand-raise the babies using a bottle.  Special kitten formulas are made for this and are sold by veterinarians and at most pet stores.  The kitten will need to be kept warm and will need to be made to urinate and defecate.  If the injuries on his neck were superficial, then he still has a chance of survival if he eats soon enough.  However, he would need to eat right away.  If the kitten is still with you but still hasn't eaten, try to rub some corn syrup on his gums right away, and then go out and buy him some kitten formula (goat's milk is the second best thing).  This should be warmed up and fed every two hours with an eye dropper until he's able to grasp the nipple of a bottle.

If he's still with you and you need more detailed care information after his first feeding, please write back!

Best wishes!

Jessica