Mom Cat Is Not Taking Care Of Her Baby

Question
My mom cat just had kittens 4 days ago. There is one that she keeps pushing away. I am able to feed the kitten and clean her back up. I try putting the kitten back with the others but the mom keeps pushing her away. I know to keep her warm and make sure to stimulate her genitals to make her poop and urinate but is there anything else I could to do to make sure the kittens does not die?

Answer
Hi
sounds like this kitten is the runt of the litter and it is quite common for mom cats to push them away in favor of her healthy kittens. this is just the way of things.

It may be better for you to remove the kitten from the litter during these early days as they could also be attacked by the mother. this would mean that you would have to become their surrogate mother which will mean keeping them warm and cosy in a blanket and making sure they are confined so that they cannot wander at all. You will also have to try and either spoon or use a small pipette to feed cat milk (not normal milk) to the kitten. Check with your vet to see if they have any recommendations on any special type of feeds available. Also as you say you will have to keep the kitten clean and help them with their toilet for a few weeks until they get the hang of things. It may be worth getting the kitten checked over by a vet anyway in case their is something else wrong with it, while there they will be able to advise you on just what care the kitten will need.

Best wishes
Kate
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