please help me

Question
QUESTION: My cat had 3 kittens i was unaware that she was pregnant as she is a small cat. She had 3 kittens one was dead when i woke and found them on the floor in  my bedroom. I huddle them both up with the mother and placed all in a box with plenty of bedding. One little guy did not make it through the second night. She has one remaining kitten the mother and kitten stayed in the box for about 4 days and she was feeding and tending to him as she should he seems to be thriving. I had the box placed in the bathroom as i have a inside dog. On the fourth night she came running out of the bathroom with the kitten in her mouth she was not carrying him properly and he was crying and she went behind a cabinet. I was scared as it was not warm enough where she went and i had the added problem of the dog being inside whom cant go outside as he keeps running away. I finally got to the kitten and placed him back in the box with the mother and shut the bathroom door and watched her she insisted on taking him out of the box and placing him on the floor which again was to cold. So i figured she may have thought he was to hot so i placed a blanket on the floor and she has been tending to him as normal. My concern is i am having to leave the door closed to prevent her putting him in a dangerous place. Please tell me if it is ok for the mum to be shut in a room she has all she needs and i make sure there is plenty of food and water for her and check on them regularly. I am just concerned having her stuck in a room. Is this ok? I offer her to go out of the room and she seems hesitant to do so. Am i doing the right thing i am so scared something will happen to the only surviving kitten. Please help me i am really distrest about the whole thing not knowing if i am doing the right thing.


ANSWER: Nicki,

OK, the dam will be fine shut into the bathroom with her one kitten.  In fact, both she and the kitten will have less distress since the dog will not be able to get to her or the kitten.

I assume the kitten is nursing and getting plump form lots of milk.  If so, all is well. You should look at weaning the kitten at about 4 weeks of age.

Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Best regards... Norm.



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Ok one more question for you! I am now afraid my cats milk might have dried up. I tried to squeeze her teats and no milk came out. Baby looks fine, is i possible that he can nurse ok even though no milk came out when i squeezed them?

ANSWER: Nicki,

As long as the kitten stays plump, I would not worry.  Often a kitten stays on one and only one nipple, and, so the others dry up.

One good technique is to get a digital scale (a postal scale is pretty good) and weigh the kitten at about the same time every day.  If the kitten continues to gain weight, all is good.  If you notice some weight loss, there are things you can do to help the kitten get to age 3-4 weeks at which time the kitten can be weaned.

A good book to get hold of is:

"Hand-Raising the Orphaned Kitten" by M. L. Papurt, DVM; 1999; Barron's . Hauppage, NY.

Best regards... Norm.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Ok now she is picking him up in the room and i can hear him screaming what should i do ? why is he screaming?

Answer
Nicki,

Sometimes mamas (especially new mamas) decide to move kittens for reasons we often do not understand.  When this has occurred, we leave the kitten in the box, and put mama in a carrier for about an hour or two in the same room as the kitten.  Usually, when she is released, she is so happy to get back to the kitten, she forgets all about moving the kitten.

Usually, once the kitten is a week old, things begin to settle down a bit and mama is less tense about the kitten.  The two exceptions to this rule are first time mothers and singleton litters.  You will just have to see how things develop.

Some things to make sure is that where you have mama and the kitten is neither too warm nor too cold, this will also make her feel she should move the kitten.  Normal room temperature in her box would be ideal.  

Best regards... Norm.