Cared for mom of stillborns

Question
QUESTION: A stray cat (I call Blackie) just had stillborns on my porch.  I am going to call the local shelters to see if they have any orphans that she could take care of.  If not, I also have another feral mom (I call Mama Kitty) that gave birth on my other porch last week. She gave birth to seven kittens.  My question is - if I can have the one mom with the stillborns help the other with her kittens.  Other moms seemed to get along before.  I plan on getting them both fixed as soon as I can.  I know if Blackie is not nursing - her milk needs to be dried up. In that case I will call my vet.

ANSWER: Hi Nadine you can usually split up litters quite successfully but if the first mom (momma kitty) is taking care of the 7 kittens ok and there are none of them falling behind due to the competition, then I would leave things as they are. This way you can get this second mom,Blackie, spayed asap before she gets pregnant again... Teresa

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QUESTION: Thank you for your very quick response.  To my surprise, when i went to checked on Blackie later this afternoon. I heard crying.  The kittens who look lifeless at 4am, were actually alive.  I brought Blackie and the kittens into my house. I put them in a new box with a self-heating thermal cushion (in my downstairs bathroom). I also turned the heat on in the room. I checked on them a few times, they seem ok and are nursing. I am going to call my vet tomorrow to see if there is anything else I could do. Thank you once again for your help.

Answer
Hi Nadine, nursing kittens is ALWAYS a really good sign !! were all of the kittens alive?? how amazing that they picked up and started nursing. That must be a good mom that continues to lick and stimulate her kittens until they get going ! Most moms would walk away from lifeless kittens.don't let them overheat. Make sure the cushion is only giving a slight amount of heat to them as they can dehydrate easily...
Teresa