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Cats/is it safe for older kitten to be near newborn kittens?

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Expert: - 8/1/2010


Question
Hi,about 12 weeks ago I took in a momma cat and her newborn kitten. While waiting for a spot to open up at a no killshelter, the momma became pregnant again and gave birth 2 days ago to 5 kittens. The older kitten still nurses from the mom although he doesn't really need to, he's at least 14 weeks old. He is very curious about the new kittens and tries to get into the box where they are, the momma doesn't seem to mind and doesn't make him go away, but I'm afraid he will hurt them because he will want to play with them or sit on them and accidentially hurt them. I try to separate them but the mom doesn't like it when the older kitten isn't near by. What should I do?

Answer
Hi Diane,

It's really unhealthy for mom to be nursing him along with the other litter.  Five kittens will be a lot for her to handle, even without him.  And you're correct that the kitten could unintentionally smother the newborns, or simply push them away from the teats, not allowing them to eat as often as necessary.  If the babies don't all eat every two hours, they can enter hypoglycemic shock, which is quickly fatal.  It would be very advisable to separate the older kitten from mom for now.  If she becomes restless looking for him, leaving her new litter, allow them to have visits, but once she's satisfied that he's still there and goes back to her litter, separate them again, especially if you can't be there to supervise and make sure he's not climbing in with the new litter.  Once the kittens are several weeks old and are starting to experiment with food, it will be safe to let all the kittens mingle freely, but you may want to supplement them with formula, since many moms will lose a lot of weight trying to keep up with the nutritional demands of this many little ones.

Best wishes!

Jessica  

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Jessica

Expertise

The areas in which I have gained the most experience are cat health and feral cat management/rescue. I provide supportive care to chronically ill cats, hospice care to terminally ill cats and also am involved in trap-neuter-return efforts. My specialities lie in taming feral cats and in the allopathic treatment of cats with illnesses or special needs. I also have owned Siamese, Himalayans, Abyssinians, Russian Blues, Savannahs, Bengals, Peterbalds, Don Sphynx and Oriental Shorthairs and am well-versed in cat breeds as well as cat behavior and nutrition.

Experience

I have 15 years of extensive experience with cats ranging from breeding to medical care. My daily routine consists of caring for cats with diabetes, thyroid disease, kidney failure, feline leukemia, feline AIDS as well as feral cats. I have experience with liver patients, heart patients, feline infectious peritonitis, cancer, recovery from amputation and trauma, congenital deformities and most every disease in between. I have assisted cats giving birth and hand-nursed kittens who were neglected by their mother from 2 days old through weaning.

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15 years' hands-on experience

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