mother cat

Question
my son and me were looking after some kittens in our locality and v started giving them food. recently one of the kittens got lost just for a day. then suddenly my son spotted it near his bus stop so he was very happy to c him so he told my servant to get the kitten back but i noticed an unusual behaviour in the mother cat as soon it started smelling it it didnt like the kitten anymore and kept pouncing on it and trying to push it away. can u tell us what to do.

thanks

Answer
Hello Lavanya,
She may be rejecting the kitten, in that case if the kitten is younger than 6-8 weeks it is not properly weaned and would need help from you.
She could be rejecting him because he might be ill, it is unknown.
Is he sickly? Are you sure it is her kitten?
Do you have access to vet care in your area?
I don't know the age of the kitten, and that would be important in trying to figure out how to care and whether the kitten needs kitten formula every 4 hours (if it is not eating on its own). That would consist of a bottle with kitten formula which i don't know how accessible that is to get for you.

Are you feeding them? is the kitten eating on her own?
Kittens need their mother for 8 weeks to learn proper behaviors etc.I would make sure the mother is healthy and fed well and all of her kittens as well. If you need to take special care of the one she is rejecting and he is 5-6 weeks or younger-feed him formula and start encouraging to eat on his own. But, they obviously can get hurt that young when they wonder off so if you can make sure the cat is safe.
Are their any spay/neuter programs in your town?
If there are it would be best for population reasons to have them all spayed and neutered when they are of the proper age/ including the mother.
Good luck,
Shanti