Cat Nursing
Usually, this is pleasant for all concerned mothers, kittens, and you. Remember not to disturb your new cat family any more than necessary for about three days after cat maternity. But you do have a few important responsibilities of cat nursing during and after cat delivery: cleaning the maternity box and the mother’s breasts, watching for signs of illness or malnutrition and initiating solid foods (weaning).
The kittens will soil the maternity box, so on the third day, when the mother goes to relieve herself, change the newspapers or towels. Taking care of cats is very important during and after delivery. Wash the queen’s breasts once daily with warm water and a clean washcloth, but do not use soap as it can be harmful to her at this time.
The milk produced during the first twenty-four hours is called colostomy and is rich in antibodies that protect the kittens from such diseases as phalarope for a few weeks. But if you see any signs of illness, see your veterinarian immediately. Most kitten illnesses need professional attention.
Nutritious food
Appearance and milk production are the best indications of the mother’s nutritional status. A well-balanced cat feeding is very necessary, commercial cat food is adequate for lactating queens. If necessary, supplement this with high-protein foods, such as milk prod-cuts and cooked eggs. A general rule for cat feeding is an additional 100 calories per pound of the kitten. By the end of the lactation period, your cat may be eating three times heartbreaking level. Vitamin and mineral and extra calcium supplements should be fed to heavy lactates with large litters.
After giving birth
Using an ounce or grant scale, weigh the kittens about two weeks after birth. At that time they should be double their birth weight. Their eyes will open about ten days following birth.
Later in nursing of cat, the kittens’ teeth and nails may irritate the breasts, and the mother will lose patience and leave the kittens’ for longer periods of time. Although you can help by trimming the kittens’ nails, this is actually nature’s way of telling the kittens to try some solid food. Now is the time to try weaning.
Problems faced by the cat after birth
Some of the problems faced by the cats during this period are:
- Mastitis: This stage is like setting someone on fire, we can see redness, pain, and heat around the nipples in this condition. We will also find that in this condition the functioning of the whole body is disturbed.
- Hypocalcemia: There can be a low level of calcium in the blood abnormally that occurs in lactating (nursing) queens very often during kitten care. Whenever the cat feels restless, inactiveness there might be the possibility that she is suffering from hypocalcemia. There can be kidney malfunction or deficiency of Vitamin D due to this problem.
- Postpartum Hemorrhage: This can cause severe bleeding from the vaginal opening of the cat after giving birth. The birth may cause opening wounds and may lead to a restless stage.
- Endrometitis: There can be foul-smelling discharge from the lactating queens. They can have a high fever and this may lead to less production of milk also.
Treatment
If you found any of the symptoms in your cat, it means there is a need for a veterinary examination. The lactating queen needs to be hospitalized. There the veterinarian will treat them and can perform a physical examination as per the symptom he found in them. On the basis of that examination, he will make a medical report. You need to follow his medicines and care tips.
Caring for nursing cats is very important if we want the kittens to be healthy. Proper nursing of cats helps them to come out from weakness and makes them stronger than they were before the maternity period.
See more: Cat Neuter