mommy cat not eat much at all

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!

-lavie

Answer
During the birthing process and immediately after, most queens are not interested in eating.
However, within 24 hours after the birth of the last kitten she should begin eating again, and most likely will eat a lot. Nursing a litter of kittens takes a lot of energy and the queen must eat enough to provide for her newborns; In fact, they should be fed as much as they want to eat.

Feeding a high quality cat food may be sufficient but many veterinarians recommend feeding the new mother kitten food or a specially made nursing (lactation) diet. This will provide extra calories that the cat can use to produce more milk. Make sure to keep your cat's food bowl full at all times. Some new moms can eat up to four times their normal amount while they are nursing. After about a month, the queen will begin weaning her brood and the amount of food she is offered can be reduced slowly as you begin to switch her back to her normal adult diet. By about 8 weeks, the kittens should be pretty much weaned and the cat should be back to a normal amount of her maintenance adult cat diet.

It is essential that the mother cat eats kitten food and not adult cat food, so that the cat can pass on the necessary nutrients to the kittens. Actually this diet should start during the last two weeks of pregnancy, ensuring that the milk will have the required nutrients for the cat litter starting from the first days of lactation. Gradually alter the diet by serving a higher and higher kitten food to cat food ratio until it's all kitten food.

Make sure to include enough water in the diet; the cat needs to produce enough milk and stay hydrated.

4 to 5 weeks after birth, the kittens will start being attracted to solid food. By this time the lactating cat will produce less milk and this process should stop eventually. Meanwhile, the cat will start eating less and should balance back to her normal weight.

The food served to a lactating feline must be rich in protein, minerals and carbohydrates. You might consider additional vitamins and supplements. Calcium is highly important for the production of kitten milk, while the phosphorus is vital for a balanced health. Check the labels of the food cans to see if they contain magnesium (which facilitates the absorption of calcium), iron (to avoid anemia), potassium, sodium and chloride to prevent dehydration.

http://www.iams.com/iams/pet-health/nursing-pets.jsp