Pet Information > ASK Experts > Cats > Cats > My daughters Queen had kittens 5 days ago and..

My daughters Queen had kittens 5 days ago and..

16:15:16

Question
QUESTION: For some reason, ever since she gave birth to her kittens Thursday she constantly "talks" to us, seems real clingy and under foot more; and on occasion pants when she's letting her kittens nurse. She is a Long haired Calico, not quite a year old, very healthy with a good apatite and seems to have a good milk supply as the kittens are nice and plump after they eat. Could she be pining for our Tom? My husband found her and the tom together with a third kitten who'd been hit by a car in the middle of the road one evening and brought them home. The tom is very protective of the little Queen, even to the point of getting up in our faces when we trim her nails which she HATES *laugh*. She's a good mom (though I swear she is trying to nurse her kittens to often) but she does love trying to hide the kittens any chance she gets if we don't watch her closely.

Any info on why she's acting this way would be appreciated. We will be getting the Tom fixed this weekend and her when the kittens are weaned; and have already found prospective homes for almost all 5 of the kittens.
ANSWER: Risa,

It seems as if all is well.  There is nothing out of the ordinary in how you have described your calico's behavior.  The first few days, the mama is often very protective of the newborns.  However, you should be handling them when you can to get them used to people.

For the first week, it seems that the kittens nurse constantly.  This is OK. After a week to a week and a half, she will begin to spend a little more time away from the kittens.  I would strongly doubt she is pining for anyone at this point.  She is very, very happy to be with her kittens in a safe place.  She is probably trying to "hide" her kittens because the space where she has them does not feel like a den.  We like to use a "jumbo" cardboard storage box (10" X 16" X 26") with some old sheeting or toweling in it for bedding in a draft free place away from children and other pets.  Sometimes half covering it with a towel makes it feel more den like.

Neutering the male is a good idea.  Neutered males make great nursemaids in raising kittens.

Best regards... Norm.



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

QUESTION: One more question for you,

Any suggestions on what I can use safely on the babies to rid them of fleas? They don't have an infestation but well 4 is just one to many for any baby animal. Every chance we get we are chasing a flea around on the babies but of course Mom gets upset and will literally take the kitten out of our hands *laugh*, so chasing/killing fleas can be a real cat and mouse game so to speak. I read on another cat forum page where someone suggested using Johnson's Baby shampoo and that it would get the fleas off. Would it be safe to bath them now or should we just keep chasing fleas with a flea comb and fingers? We bathed Astra (that's mamma) the day after she gave birth (she likes baths the silly cat), we used a flea soap for cats, rinsed her and then re-washed her using my Melaleuca Shampoo to remove any residual of the flea soap. If you don't know what Melaleuca is, it's an all natural herbal plant found in Australia and has been used for eons by the Aboriginal people as anything from body soap/hair soap to even medicinal treatments. It's really a great product since it is all natural and there is no additional chemical's used when they create the products they have. We've been using the Melaleuca products for about 2 and a half years now both on our animals (even our rabbits  and goats) and around the house. Anyway, do you think even though they are now only 6 day's old it would be safe bathing them in something like the Melaleuca shampoo or Johnson's No more Tears baby shampoo, or should we just stick with the flea comb and our fingers? Seems this year is really nasty where Fleas are concerned here in Texas as we've been fighting fleas since the first of the year and we have never had an issue before now with them. (When you have 3 dog's you have to keep up with fleas and now with our two cats and their kittens even more so; especially when we have Rabbits and Goats we care for. I've seen what an infestation can do to an animal *on animal planet*, so I want to do what ever I can to protect these lil' darlings so they can go to their new homes in a few months time.)

PS: when it comes to baby animals I'm a stickler at believing they should be handled from day one. It's one of the main reasons our bunny babies turn out so affectionate and cuddly. I've raised orphaned baby bunnies, kittens; even hand raised/fed my Congo Gray (African Gray) Parrot from the day she hatched. I've found that handling a baby animal while allowing the mother to watch or supervise even really does create a better and more affectionate animal than one that was left to the mother to raise. Especially Kittens *shudder* bathing a kitten that's never been handled is such a nightmare *laugh*. Especially for someone like me who's allergic to cats but still loves them.

Answer
Risa,

First on you comments to my first answer.  One thing we have done, on occasion, when the mama is so interested in moving the kittens around is to put her in a crate or carrier for a few hours (2-3), so she could not get to the babies, usually after this she was so engrossed with getting back to the babies, she forgets about moving them.  I am assuming the area where she is is closed off most of the time, so no children or other pets (including the Tom) can get into where she has the kittens.  Too much disruption will make her want to move the kittens.

Fleas are a major problem and the kittens, at this point, have decent immune systems because they are getting immunity from mother's milk (this will no longer help them when they hit 8 weeks of age).  However, I am always leery about putting any kind of preparation on little kittens or mama when they are this young.  Fleas, although a pain, are not life threatening.  So, in the old days, before flea stuff was around people used to immerse the cat in warm water, make sure the coat was wetted through and through, and pick the fleas off as they went to the top of the head.  You can do the same for little kittens with the caveat that they have to be dried off thoroughly and mama has to lick them dry.  In Texas, you should be OK, but little kittens can freeze to death when they get wet and are exposed to cold air.

I would be very careful with any flea preparations, natural or not, until after the kittens are weaned.  Of course, the flea cycle is two weeks, so two weeks after treatment, the cats will have to be retreated and, eventually, once the infestation is under control, treated for tapeworm.

I hope this is helpful.

Best regards... Norm.