Watching kittens hatch is a wonderful experience, but sometimes problems can arise. And it is that, although it is not usual, the cat may not have milk with which to feed her little ones, so that she unwittingly puts their lives in danger.
But fortunately if they have been lucky enough to be with good humans they will have nothing to worry about: neither the mother nor her young. So if you have doubts, Next we are going to answer your question about my cat does not have milk for her cats, what do I do?
Why doesn't the cat have milk?
There are many reasons why a cat already after giving birth or after a few days does not have milk for her little ones. It is not that it is something serious, that is, the furry is not in any danger at first, but it is necessary to watch her kittens and, also, find out why it has happened:
- It is the first time that you have become pregnant- Being a newcomer, your body may not have been 100% ready. If the cat is otherwise well, there is nothing to worry about, but a visit to the vet does not hurt.
- Has had young very soon: And it is that although sexual maturity reaches it between 6 and 10 months of average life, it may be the case that it reaches it with 5 and even 4 months (no, do not take me for crazy: one of my cats with four and a half months already had heat, and we had to castrate her just at that age). And of course, if you are in heat you can have puppies, but with 4 or 5 months there is a risk of complications arising because it has not finished growing yet.
- Health problems: if you are sick, and / or if you have mastitis (inflammation of the mammary glands), you may have problems producing milk.
- Bad nutrition: If you have been fed low-quality food, it is normal for unpleasant surprises to arise. To avoid this, you have to give them at least excellent quality feed, special for nursing cats and kittens and that does not have cereals.
- Has had too many puppies: Sometimes it happens that a mother cat has more kittens than her body can support. To help her, you must always leave her feeder full and make sure she drinks water at will.
What to do if my cat does not have milk?
Now that you know why she doesn't have milk, it's time to get down to business saving the kittens. The first thing you should do is stimulate milk productionfor there is no better food for the little ones than what their mother can give them. For this, you must do the following:
- give him a diet of excellent quality,
- give it malt,
- place cloths moistened with warm water on the breasts to make the milk come down faster,
- take her to the vet. He may recommend giving you medications that will help her make milk.
Meanwhile you wait to see if the situation improves or not, kittens are to be fed replacement milk that you will find for sale in pet stores with a bottle. Another option is to mix:
- 250ml of lactose-free and non-cow's milk
- An egg yolk (without any white)
- A pinch of sugar (the one that would fit on the tip of a knife, no more)
You have to give them every 3 or 4 hours, in the position that you can see in the image below, and make sure it is warm (about 37ºC).
My kitten Sasha drinking her milk, on September 3, 2016.
But I insist, you have to observe both the cat and her offspring to see if what we are doing helps her to produce milk. If we see that a week goes by and there is no way, then we will only continue giving the little ones a bottle.
You have more information about the care of cats that have been mothers here.