Momma Mia!!! Your cat has given birth adorable and cute kittens. Exactly, it will be an exciting time for you both. Absolutely, you can trust her for looking after her kittens, but how about the MOM? Who will be looking after? YES, the answer is YOU as the owner. As the owner you should take apart in taking care both kittens and queen (mother cat).
Before you help the queen, you should make sure yourself will be ready as helper. All the queen needs are quiet, peace, and privacy. As she delivered her new babies and taking care of her kittens, privacy becomes an important thing for queen. However, as the good owner you should be there to help if the queen needs it.
Similar to human, as a mother, she will be very protective to their babies. She does not want there is any treats threaten her and her babies. Thus, it is a wise allowing only one or two people to check her condition. After giving birth, queen is more sensitive. She cannot interact with many people or other animals as usual. Watching many people and friends handle and play with the kittens can make the queen stressful even potentially spread diseases to the kittens. The best way for safety is delaying visiting until the kittens are at least 4 weeks old. Here are 5 important tips to take care of mother cat after giving birth:
1. Privacy, privacy, privacy
Once more, privacy is very important for the queen. Queen and her babies should be set up in a nest or place that is peace, quiet, private, and away from hustle and bustle. You should provide a spare bedroom and an unused closet. You can use a nest, a big basket bed, or cardboard box for making a bed for them. Make sure the nest should be warm, dry, and away from potential predators.
The queen needs enough space to nurse her babies. The point is making sure the area is seriously private and clean. Keep the other animals or predators away from them. If you separate babies from its queen, she may find them out and move them around her. She will make sure that her babies are safe.
2. Diet menu
As a new mom, she will be doing most of works, so you should feed her the proper and best quality food. After giving birth, most queens are interested in eating. Within 24 hours after birth the last kitten, she should begin eating a lot for replacing her energy. Nursing her babies takes lot of energy as she needs to provide nutrition for her babies. While nursing, mother cat much of protein. You can use both dry food and moist food from a pet store. It depends on what queen needs for nursing. For ensuring quality, you can buy cat food that has been certified by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO). In some cases, most queens need lot of proper quality wet food for nursing. However, there are many queens who prefer to dry food for the best nourishment for her babies.
Besides protein, queen need lots of calories. Nursing cat needs 2 to 2.5 times more calories than usual. A 10-pound mother cat needs approximately 603 calories per day for nursing four kittens. A 15-pound mother cat needs approximately 851 calories per day for nursing four kittens. Just feed what she needs for nursing her kittens. You can feed her twice per day.
Moreover, you should provide enough fresh water for the queen. She needs enough water for producing her milk. Makes sure you always provide enough fresh water maybe it can be in a shallow bowl in front of her.
3. Cleanliness
Use bedding material that is soft, warm, and washable. You can use towels and fleece blankets in the nesting test. When your cat has new kittens, you should change the bedding regularly. One trick you can try is lay several layers of blankets or towels in the nesting site. When the first layer is dirty, you can take it off. You have already had a fresh layer underneath. It works faster and easier as you have had stocks. Complete the nest using a normal heating pad, a bottle of warm water, or heated sock filled with uncooked rice. Keep the heating pad at an appropriate temperature as it is so important to ensure the heating pad won’t burn the kittens.
4. Mother cat’s health
After the first week of birth, take the queen and her babies to the veterinarian. If mother cat has not vaccinated yet, you can do it as well. Feline leukemia virus (FeLV) and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) are diseases that can affect to mother cat. When she nurses her kittens, these diseases can be spread by transmitting milk process. Therefore, it is so dangerous for both the mother cat and their babies. If you have been contacting with the vet, it is very easy to detect this disease. The vet can test the mother for FeLV and FIV beforehand can indicate how likely the kittens are to contract these diseases. For an inspection, you can take the kittens to a veterinarian at about 1-2 weeks of age and for treatment if necessary. Testing the mother for FeLV and FIV before, after that the vet can indicate the kittens are to contract these diseases or not. Therefore, it is a crucial thing to bring your cat and her babies in advance.
Moreover, visiting the vet in advance can avoid other problems. Roundworms, tapeworms, and hookworms can be a problem for some cats and kittens. If it is necessary, you can meet your vet to decide the best methods for solving these problems.
5. Other concern
The queen needs one week for relaxing time may venture out a little more. After one week relaxation, if a male cat is around, the queen may begin to cycle again. She may mate and pregnant again. However, this cycle is not good for mother cat’s health. You should protect her from a male to avoid any cat health problems.
As the parent of your cat, you can follow these 5 important tips to take care of mother cat after giving birth. If you do those well, you can see your cat and her kittens grow up well. It is very pleasant, exciting, and precious experience taking care of mother cat after giving birth. Don’t be stressful about what happen with your cats. Just enjoy every precious moment in taking care of your cat. You will be a successful parent, if you can keep the mother cat stays healthy and their kittens grow up well.