Expert: Norman Auspitz - 7/10/2010

Question
QUESTION: Our cat gave birth to 4 kittens 12 days ago. she is great with taking care of the kittens and feeding them. but starting from the 6th day, she won't eat much at all. she seemed like she was hungry and she meows for food. but when i gave her kitten milk, kitten canned/dry food or adult canned/dry food, she only eats a little. I am guessing that she is hoping to get friskies canned food which i got 5 cans for her right after she gave birth since i didnt had time to go pet store yet. But i know it's not a good choice for her and the kittens, so im giving her blue buffalo kitten dry food now which was recommanded by the sale attendant at petsmart. I wanna feed her high quality food now since she was just given adult dry food the entire time when she was pregnent and she ate so much, her bowl was always empty no matter how much we fed her.

So far i think she's doing fine with producing milk. kittens are well fed and growing fast, hardly hearing them cry or whining. these two days, i tried give her whiskas cat milk and she started drinking all of it. also i tried to moisten the kitten dry food by adding hot water to release the flavor, and she will eat a little. but still way not enough for a nursing cat(3-4 times more).

I'm just worried that if there's anything wrong with the mother cat? what should i do to make sure she gets all the nutrients she needs to produce the milk for kittens? also, i dont wanna give in and spoil her to just buy her unhealthy canned food again.

please help me figuring this out! thank you so much!

-lav

ANSWER: Lav,

First of all, the mama is probably not happy with the choices for foods.  Eventually she will eat what you give her to eat, but you have to weigh that against getting nutrition for the nursing.  We generally feed a nursing queen about double what we normally feed when she is not nursing or pregnant.  Since we already add vitamins/minerals/herbs, the usual fare that she always gets is what we feed (just more).

Until the kittens are about 4 weeks, they are not going to eat mama's food, so they should be OK.

I would make sure she gets extra calcium (you can add some ground bone meal) and, maybe, some good vitamins like Kitty Bloom.

Cats do not like change and foods they are not used to are a change. Some cats do not mind, and some will go on a hunger strike.  It is most important she gets plenty to eat to support the nursing.  It is only for another few weeks, after which the kittens can be weaned and get used to eating the foods you want them to eat.

I hope this helps.

Best regards... Norm.



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

QUESTION: thanks so much for the help! so should i try some other brands' can food or should i just buy her the grocery store friskie which she prolly want? or should i try mix the blue buffalo kitten dry food with the can food? i gave her the dry food we used to fed her when she was pregnent, she didnt eat much either. is it really good to give her "in gravy" friskie cans??

-lav

Answer
Lav,

At this point, see what she will eat.  There is always the possibility she is off her food because she has a medical issue, so a visit to the vet may be in order, especially if she is not eating what shje was used to eating before she got pregnant.

We use the Friskies canned pudding (pate) style foods to vary the flavors of the mix we usually give. At this point any cat food she will eat will be a good thing.  She really does need to get nutrition, and I would see what the vet finds. If there is a medical issue, it would be wise to wean the kittens and begin whatever treatment the vet suggests.

Best regards... Norm.