Most of cat’s owner heartwarming to see a mother cat feeding and caressing their babies. Ideally, kittens should stay with their mother around 8 to 10 weeks.
Unfortunately, some moms might reject one or more of her babies. It is heartbreaking to think about a mother cat not accepting her babies.
In the following, there are several reasons Why Cats Abandon Newborn Kittens? And it is helpful for cat’s owner to understand them.
Why Do Cats Abandon Newborn Kittens?
The Kitten Is Sick
Mom senses that one of her kittens is affected by a virus. She might reject a sick kitten to avoid spreading the illness to the others.
She also might abandon her kitten, if the kitten physically deformed. Even the kitten is otherwise perfectly healthy.
Veterinarians recommend removing completely rejected kittens from their mom. It is the best way for her not to reject other kittens.
Leaving the Nest
People might think, litter of kittens have been abandoned when they see them outdoors. In fact, mom is just out, probably hunting to feed their litter of kittens.
Titter kittens can also wander away or get stuck in somewhere that mom cannot get them. So if you saw a kitten crying somewhere, it means they may be trying to find each other.
Nutrition
In some cases, mother kittens who are underweight give birth to such a large litter. She won’t be able to provide enough milk for all of her kitties.
So she cannot care properly for all of them and she may reject a few to save milk for others. Please remember, mom can only nurse 8 kittens at a time.
It is also the reason that mother kittens usually reject their kittens too.
Mom’s Health
If a mother cat’s suffering from an illness. She will reject the kitten because she won’t have the strength to care for them.
Some nursing mother cats can develop a condition known as mastitis. It can happen from kittens scratching the tissues during nursing.
The nipple becomes swollen so it is too hard to nurse. So you may look like mom is rejecting her babies.
Environment
The environment is very important for them. If the environment is stressful and mom does not feel safe raising kittens.
Mother cat’s usually try to move the kittens. She separated and hid her kittens in different places to reduce the chances of prey killing the whole litter.
In either case mom will be back in time. It is the circumstance when most kittens are considered abandoned but they are not.
Premature Motherhood
A young mom may have been traumatized during the birth. She often lacks the maturity to be a good mom.
She has not developed material skills and may act confused after the birth. Some moms start to figure it out but some they do not.
She also fails to lie down to suckle their kittens. However, if you have a young cat who has rejected some or all of the kittens.
You need to help them and take them to the vet and talk to your vet to find the best way to help the mother and kittens.
What to Do If You Find a Newborn Kitten?
If you’re unable to find a mother cat for your kittens or mom cat, reject them. Below are important tips that will help you provide the best care for them.
First, Wait & Watch
The first thing, you need to wait and watch to verify that mom has actually abandoned them. It’s common for the mother to leave her kittens.
Stand far away from the kittens (Do not touch or disturb them because your actions can cause the mom to abandon them). If mom returns.
It’s great! But if she does not return within a long time (an hour or two). It is time for you to help them.
Keep the Kittens Warm
Newborns really need warmth, even the slightest drop in body temperature can be detrimental to their health.
You need to be sure the kittens have plenty of warmth. Kittens will help to keep each other warm if they stay bundled together, but they still need some additional help to maintain a healthy temperature.
You may need to keep a heating pad under their blankets to help provide additional heat.
The best way, you may need to make them in a small nest so they may share their body heat.
Feed the Kittens
Don’t be alarmed if this is your first experience bottle-feeding. You can do it, but you need to know some tricks so you do not hurt them.
For example, if you have kittens less than one week old, they will need to feed every three hours. So it means you need to feed them eight times per day.
The number of feedings required per day decreases as the kittens grow older. Weaning can begin as early as four weeks of age.
Anyway we recommend contacting your veterinarian for advice before weaning.
Take note, if you skip feedings or overfeeding, it can cause diarrhea. A condition that can be fatal for your kittens.
Stimulate the Kittens to Go to the Bathroom
New newborn kittens actually cannot go to the bathroom on their own. So you must stimulate their genitals after feeding them.
So they can eliminate it. It means, you need to stimulate eight times per day. Like you’re feeding too.
Final Words
All in all, if you see that the kitten has been meowing, it is probably not abandoned. Mom might be away from the nest for hunting. Above case mom will be back in time.
In the end, if you’re unable to find a mom, please help them. We believe that you can do it.
As you know, motherhood can be a challenge not only for humans but all species.
Especially for a new mom, she may be inexperienced in how to nurse her kittens. Give her compassion and help to prevent rejection.