Mama Cat and Kittens.

Question
Hello.

We took in a cat that had been left behind by her previous owners when they moved. Two weeks latter she had 3 kittens. We were thinking of finding them all homes, but now that we have grown attached to them, we've decided to keep them all. They have all been spayed and neutered. I was told Mom's milk would most likely dry up once she got spayed. Its been a month now though and it seems she still has some. The kittens still feed or try to feed off her and neglect actually food. They are 4 months old now and im not sure weather I should let them feed from her or try to keep them apart. If I do keep them apart, how long do I need to do it for? What is best? Let them feed from her, or keep them apart?

Thank You

Answer
Angel,

Normally by this age the kittens would have been eating on their own and expressing interest in solid foods. My recommendation would be to start off by introducing these guys to a high quality canned cat food like Wellness - the easiest way to do this is to dip your finger into the food and dab a bit onto each kitten's nose, they will instinctively lick it off. Once the kittens have figured out that food is tasty then all you'll need to do is continue offering your finger to lick cat food off of as you progressively move it closer to the plate - this will encourage the kittens to eat directly from the plate. It's not a bad thing to allow the kittens to nurse and spend time with mom, the issue at this point is ensuring that they're getting enough nutrition to support their growth and development. As for spaying mom, most vets will not spay a queen who still has an abundant milk supply, getting these kids weaned is a priority (do be careful not to allow mom outside though, she could get pregnant again) then you can set your attention towards getting mom spayed. The solid food will help to reduce the amount of time the kittens are nursing which will then reduce the amount of milk she's producing - she'll have to have the kittens mostly weaned for at least two weeks as that's roughly how long it will take for her milk supply to dry up enough to perform the surgery. If you have any further questions, concerns or you'd like me to clarify anything in this answer please feel free to contact me again and I'll do my best to help you out.