cat had 7 kittens

Question
Hi Carol. I have a cat, I found hit by a car, she went into shock. I took her to vet,she went into shock, the vet took xrays, did sugery to pin her leg, gave her antibiotics for her cold, and then gave her, her shots LIVE pana. well 65 days after I first picked her up out of the road, she had 7 beautiful kittens , they are 2 weeks old today. So far seem to be doing well. It is such a big litter. are they eatting enough? they are quiet for the most part.And do you have any idea on when I may be able to tell if they are going to be CH kitties? Their eyes are open and they move around alot. mother and kitties go to the vet in 3 weeks. I wanted to make sure they would be able to tell if they are CH babies. The vet cant believe she didnt abort. any advice from you will be welcomed .. thank you Barb

Answer
Barb:

WOW! Seven? Those babies sure had a will to live against all odds. Momma too.

Make sure momma is getting about 4 times the amount of food. Actually as much as she will eat. Give her some raw meat periodically too.

Those babies will take ALOT out of her so, to keep producing a lot of milk, she needs to put back in her system what the babies deplete.

If the mother was a feral or wild cat, the babies instinctively will be very quiet. It's part of the inherited behavior of survival.

If the kitties are quiet it also means they are happy and healthy. But wait until they bigger and start fighting for their favorite nipple. You will have lots of little mini-cat fights as they try to push another off the nipple they want. It's cute...but poor momma.

There may end up being a weaker kitten that gets pushed out all the time that you may have to bottle feed, but let's hope not. That IS a large litter so when they get bigger you may have to feed in shifts (let some nurse while you play with the others, then vise-versa. And try to get them on solid food as soon as they will take it. That way they can still nurse for comfort but they are getting enough to eat and it eases up on the fighting for nipples.

It is generally possible to see signs of Cerebellar Hypoplasia (CH) almost as soon as the kitten is born.
Affected kittens have tremors and unusual jerky movements or may fall down when they try to move. The symptoms do not get worse as they age. As the kitten grows it will learn to compensate for its condition but there are usually lifelong signs of a decreased ability to coordinate movement. Almost all cats with congenital cerebellar hypoplasia can live happily as pets with a little special care to compensate for their disabilities.

It is early yet to tell about other results of momma's trauma that could have affected them, or what they could have inherited from mom. Talk over possibilities with you vet when they go for their check-up.

Right now they sound fine. Even if they weren't they sure deserve the chance to be loved and to catch their first mouse!

And momma is the luckiest cat around to have found an owner who gave her life and love and didn't let her die (with her precious family in her) hurt, scared, and alone on the side of the road. Bless you!!