How to care for a cat after childbirth?

Discreet place

A cat with her offspring should feel safe and private, so she should be placed in a quiet room where she will not be disturbed by strangers, guests and other animals. Do not stroke or pick up newborn kittens, this may alarm the cat, she may think that her offspring are in danger. Sometimes, due to stress, the cat runs out of milk, or she starts hissing at anyone who tries to get close to her.

At this time, you need to carefully monitor the behavior of the cat. If she behaves restlessly, fusses, constantly gives voice, perhaps something is wrong with her kittens: someone is tangled in the litter, crawled into a secluded place from where it is impossible to get it. So she asks for help.

Hygiene and health

After giving birth, the cat’s uterus cleans itself, so there is not abundant discharge – about 10-15 days. At first they are reddish, with a small amount of clots, but gradually become lighter.

The owner must carefully monitor not only the secretions themselves, but also the cleanliness in the box where the offspring lives.

A cat is a clean animal, and, as a rule, she takes care of her own hygiene, trying not to stain the litter and kittens. However, sometimes she still needs help.

In addition, it is important to monitor the condition of the cat’s mammary glands. If redness, suppuration or cracks appear on them, this can lead to inflammation of the breast. In this case, the cat will need your help: it will be necessary to express milk, make special compresses, and if the disease is in an advanced form, then a course of antibiotics may be required. In any case, the animal must be shown to the veterinarian.

How to feed a cat after giving birth

Provide her with constant access to water and food, bowls should be near the resting place of the cat and her offspring. You need to feed a cat a lot, twice as much as usual: it takes a lot of strength to recover and produce milk. If on the first day after giving birth the cat refuses to eat, you should not worry: she suffered a lot of stress, and all her attention is focused on the kittens. Appetite should quickly recover.

If the cat usually eats dry food, then at the time of feeding the babies, it should be switched to a special food for lactating cats, which contains all the necessary minerals, vitamins and nutrients. Such rations are available in the lines of Royal Canin, Eukanuba, Purina Pro Plan, Cat Chow, Brit Care, DailyCat, etc. In addition, these special foods contribute to milk production.

Proper feeding of kittens

The cat feeds the kittens, as a rule, every two hours. If too many babies were born, and the cat eats inadequately, then there will not be enough breast milk for everyone. The fact that someone is malnourished, the owner will know by squeaking. If the cat does not cope with feeding, the offspring must be transferred to artificial nutrition.

The fact that the kittens do not have enough food can be found out by weighing them daily – every day the kittens should recover, on average, by 10 grams. For artificial feeding, there are special mixtures for newborn kittens.

July 5 2017

Updated: December 26, 2017