Mother cats in their natural state are great caregivers, even if it is the first time they have babies. They keep them clean, well fed, and above all, controlled. Before leaving to go hunting, he leaves them in a hidden corner that serves as a den, away from possible predators.
However, when these animals began to live with us in our homes, they had to adapt. If the cat becomes pregnant, she will spend much of her time looking for the best place where she can give birth and, when she finds it, she will not leave there for anything other than to go to relieve herself and eat. Unexpected events sometimes happen, so it is important to know why my cat rejects her young.
The cat is genetically prepared to take care of her little ones. It is something you will do on instinct. From the first moment you see your babies you want to take care of them, unless there is a problem.
Peaceful pregnancy, happy delivery
To know why my cat rejects her pups, you have to remember how the pregnancy was and how she carried it. I'm not just talking about how healthy you were, but also how if she could be calm. And the reality is that when we know that there are going to be kittens at home there are many humans who do not let the cat calm down.
In this state it is very important to let the cat relax, and not overwhelm her. Obviously, it can be caressed and caressed, but without harassing her. We must let her come to us, and stop pampering her as soon as we see that she no longer wants more.
As the appointed day approaches, you will see that she is looking for a place to give birth. Choose the one you choose, we should not change itOtherwise, we would cause stress that could lead you to reject your little ones. What we will do is provide at least one sheet -if it is summer- or a blanket -if it is winter- so that the babies do not get cold.
The hatchlings, how are they?
When the little ones are here, you have to check how healthy they are. If there are any who have been born deformed or weak, or if we continually go to see them, most likely the cat will ignore them. Also, if the litter is very large, you may end up needing a little help to take care of all of them, especially if there is one that is very gluttonous 🙂.
In the event that your cat has rejected her young, it is best to you take care of giving him the bottle. Here you have more information on how to do it.
Young cats are born defenseless, and they need the love and protection of their mother. But she can only take care of them properly if the family environment is calm.
I already mentioned something about the pregnancy and delivery of one of my cats in another post of yours.
I had two cats that I picked up from the street, the other, who also gave birth, died a few days after giving birth. That one got very tired during the delivery, she had 4, but after the first one, like the other one, she had a hard time taking care of them.
Unlike the other, who let me help him and only had to let them come out, I would open the placentas on the side of his face and put everything close to hers, so that he would lick them and give the breath of life. Then the placenta was eaten without leaving a trace.
We took the one that died from the street, she was about three and a half months old, but she was wild, she never allowed herself to be caressed. To put the antiparasitic pipette on it was a show. But still he did not want to return her to the street, very thin, cold, raining and young as she was.
During the delivery she did not let me get close, she snorted and threw her leg. I suffered because I saw the babies inside the placenta without breathing ...
but slowly, he took them all out and revived.
She got sick, I remember that on the day of delivery she was already vomiting yellow foam, she had diarrhea, but she would not let me get close to her, and less afterwards with her babies, whom she breastfed for a few days.
The vet told me that being such a wild animal it would be difficult to treat him, in addition to not being able to give him according to what medicines.
Anyway, she was weakening and when she allowed herself to be caressed I thought, now I'm taking her to the vet, she was still scratching me, but it was too late.
The babies were placed on the other cat, who accepted them as hers from the first second, she has been a very good mother.
I helped her by giving them a bottle, so they suckled, and if they didn't have enough, they drank a bottle at will (prepared Royal Canin milk. You have to make the perfect mix with mineral water / warm bottle without burning, or they will not drink it).
There was only one problem, 9 cats for 8 teats. One, the weakest, and also these were one week less, used to not breastfeed, because when the others finished it is because there was no milk, and since he was small he was also crushed under the rest. I gave a bottle, I pushed the others aside at times, but it was not enough.
One day I found him crushed under the mother (you have to watch because he does not distinguish if it is a fold of the blanket or a baby) he was breathing very fast. I tried to revive him a bit, give him a bottle, but he didn't react. It had some defect because it was very small, the little eyes were hardly visible. And died.
Coincidentally, the same thing happened to me with a hamster, both black ones too. That hamster did not grow like the others, he stayed very small and was scared of his brothers who were twice or more his size, I put him in a cage alone and he also died. If he was scared, by any noise, he would "faint" and within seconds he would get up and walk again.
3 of his hamster brothers, also black, grew normally and lived more than 2 years, like most of the rest.
These are things that sometimes unfortunately happen. You always have to try to save all the young, but not all of them always succeed. But at least we will know that we have tried.