My next door neighbor and I are feeding an abandoned female cat. She just had three kittens a week ago, on the neighbor’s back porch.
Although abandoned she’s friendly, and a sweet cat. My question is what is best to feed a nursing female cat?
I’ve brought home some turkey and chicken giblets from work, where they weren’t needed. I figure livers and other organ meats from poultry are always touted in canned cat food. The neighbors have given her soft food and milk. She seems to love it all, but is there anything else that’s better?
Though IANAV, I’d say avoid giving her milk, because many adult cats are lactose intolerant and it can give them the runs. Make sure she’s got LOTS of water. Check it at least twice a day, so she doesn’t get dehydrated. (Nursing cats can drink a LOT of water.) Maybe CrazyCatLady knows some specific brands that won’t break a budget, but that will give the proper nutrition? The organs are probably a good idea, but the mother likely needs other nutrients too. Is she free of fleas? I hope so.
I’ll be sure that she has plenty of water. I’m not sure about her flea status though. She seems in good health, not scruffy or thin.
I’d been feeding her for a while before this. I have an older cat of my own and can’t bring her in, it’s much the same for the neighbors. If something were to happen to my cat I’d try adopting her, but feeding her and giving shelter is the best we can do now.
Though I’ve never worked in a vet’s office, my family has had a lot of cats over the years. When I was a kid, we’d yet to discover the benefits of spaying and neutering so there was frequently a litter of kittens in the house. At one point, we had three female cats all give birth within weeks of each other, leaving fifteen kittens. The moral of the story: I believe you feed pregnant and nursing cats kitten food because of its high fat content, but I stand ready to be corrected.
-Lil
Avoid the cheap cat foods. Go with the brand names that offer balanced nutrition…Friskies and Whiskas comes to mind in the canned versions, Purina in the dry.
There shouldn’t be a need to spend on a luxury name like Iams.
I use to breed persian cats - I fed my moms Purina Kitten Chow only and they and their babies thrived. It’s highly nutritious AND relatively inexpensive. I never fed wet food because I found it disgusting. I’d also caution you to cook any meat you feed her as it can harbor dangerous bacteria. Also, never feed chicken bones to cats or dogs - they splinter. Milk often gives cats diarhea (sp), but cottage cheese and yogurt (in small amounts) is usually OK and they love it. I suggest feeding mainly kitten chow with supplemental treats as you choose. And yes, LOTS of water.
If mama is friendly and willing, I’d start handling the kittens several times day - picking them up and stroking them gently. They might actually hiss at you, but pay no attention. They will soon acclimate to you. It’s very important to socialize them to people while they are very tiny so it will be easy to find them loving homes. Kittens that are not handled young sometimes never adjust to people. Kittens will nurse for about 4 months if left with mom (gradually eating more and more solid food after the age of about 6 weeks), but they can easily be weaned to solid food at 8 -9 weeks and once weaned, can be adopted. It’s easy to train them to a litter pan at this age which will also help with their adoption. And please consider getting mama spayed - there are very reasonably priced clinics around that do this exclusively.
Thanks for all the responses so far. I really appreciate it.
To answer some things, the poultry I’ve feed her so far has been cooked. I work in food service and I know how nasty the bacteria can be.
I will try to scrape up the money to get her spayed after this litter. It’s better than kittens going wild.
The kittens are barely a week old, their eyes aren’t even open, I’m going to wait until then to handle them. It’s scary to handle such a delicate, tiny little fuzzball.
I may have a line on a home for the kittens, but it’s not for sure. At the vet’s office yesterday with my own cat I mentioned my dilemma, and the woman at the desk said they had someone who’d mentioned wanting some outdoor cats for their farm. He’s said to be a long time patron of the vet, who provides shelter and gets the cats all their shots. If I can make contact, and if he can wait, it would be better than nothing.
If she seems like she’s not thriving, or needs more nutrition/vitamins than the food is giving her, I highly recommend a product called Nutri-Stat
Actually, I’d recommend it to any dog or cat owner whose pet is ill or going through surgery because if they refuse to eat, you can actually keep an animal alive on this supplement alone.
My mom’s cat was very ill, and wouldn’t eat even canned cat food. The vet did all he could but told my mom the cat would likely die. She tried this stuff, and found that the cat would eat it, and managed to keep her alive.
When I first got my puppy, she was only five weeks old and couldn’t/wouldn’t eat the food they gave me. She was also severely ill with parasites and bacterial infection in her stomach. She would eat the Nutri-Stat, though, and I credit it with helping us through that tough time.
I still give her a little dab of it on her food every day, because she can’t eat most puppy foods. (I have to give her adult food, so I want to make sure she’s getting enough vitamins for a growing pup.)
Long story short-- if the cat seems like she needs a little something extra, you could try putting a little of this on her food.
As mentioned before, kitten food. It’s more nutrient-dense than adult cat food, and lactation really is an incredible drain on the body’s resources. I’d feed her free-choice, if you can, since she’s probably somewhat malnourished. Then, after the kittens are weaned and she’s looking healthy, you can switch her over to an adult food. I’d stick with one of the major national brands for a balance of quality and price. The rule of thumb I usually tell people is that if you never saw it at the vet’s office or on television, you probably shouldn’t get it. (Yeah, that doesn’t allow for high-quality non-advertised brands, but it keeps people from buying Old Roy, okay?)