Was looking from some advice from you all in the know! Nala's kittens are 3 weeks old now and I had to take her to the vet on Wednesday as I noticed that she had a swollen teat. The vet thought is was mastitis and put her on antibiotics. We are now looking at starting to feed the babies some food but are concerned about causing Nala any further problems. Do you have any advice and could I be feeding her too much as she only has 4 kittens?

Thanks

Hi Lynsey, Firstly you can't feed her too much-she's a nursing mum with growing babies-so as much as she'll eat-feed her I'd wean the babies asap-to give Nala some recovery time,and they're at an age where you can introduce them to solid foods-patience and consistency-it will happen,i'm sure Nala will understand what your doing and why-poor girl-hope she makes a speedy and full recovery asap and good luck with weaning kitts Lynsey-it will just take some of the pressure off mum too

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Burnthwaites Siamese

Thanks Kelly, tried them with some wet food earlier but don't think I got the gruel effect right. Tried smearing some gently round their mouths but they weren't for it. It ended up that Mum and I had to clean them up, LOL! Never mind will try again later.

Know it sounds harsh but trust me it works-dunk their face gently into the food and some will look at you like your trying to kill them but some will think Mmm it's quite good this and once 1 starts to eat the others will follow,or roll them in and remove mum so they have to clean each other or/and themselvesAlso rice pudding with a touch of honey, egg yolk and honey, pilchards mashed to a pulp,let us know on their progress and of course mums

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Burnthwaites Siamese

Hee hee, I do that too Kelly I also try putting the gunk on my little finger and putting it straight in their mouth but sometimes that doesnt work. If its round their little faces they will lick it off and get more of a taste for it

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..............or you can put it on their paws too for them to lick off. C.x.

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Thanks for the tips! OK looks like its going to be messy central tomorrow

Hi...One of my queens had mastitis last summer. Her four babies had just turned 3 weeks old and I noticed she was not lying down and feeding as she should. The minute they would start nursing, she would get up and walk off, leaving 4 howling babies. I checked her out and discovered the problem...mastitis. I mixed up some carnation milk (half and half with water) plus 1 tbsp or so of corn syrup, warmed it and poured it in a low sided bowl or shallow plate, and then mixed in some rice baby cereal (the first start one) and offered that to them. They ate a box of this cereal in no time. Poor mom, had hard lumps around her teats and was put on antibotics right away. She never did nurse them much after that. She is pregnant again now and I sure hope history does not repeat itself. I find that pablum (rice cereal) is excellant for tiny kittens. If they refuse to eat, you will have to bottle feed. Good luck, let us know how you make out. The mom probably will not nurse as she is sore. It probably is better for her and babies if you supplement them with the cereal milk mixture. I am feeding that now to my Chloe's 4 week old babies. They simply love it!
I just found this info on the internet.....

"Mastitis is a medical emergency, and you should take your cat to the veterinarian immediately.

There seems to be two different schools of thought in regards to allowing kittens to nurse from a queen with mastitis. Your veterinarian is the best person to advise on how to proceed, if you should permit the kittens to continue to nurse from the affected gland(s), or from the queen altogether. It seems that the decision is based on several factors: if the mastitis is confined to one gland it may be recommended that the kittens continue to nurse from all but that gland, the physical condition of the cat, and if the mastitis is septic or non-septic. What does appear to be commonly recommended is to avoid kittens nursing from a gland which has become infected, as infection can be passed onto the kittens, which can result in sickness or death. Only your own veterinarian can recommend which is the best & safest way to proceed.

If your veterinarian does recommend kittens cease nursing from the mother it may be temporary until she can recover, or permanent. Either way, if the kittens are too young to wean, you will have to bottle feed them with a specially formulated milk designed for kittens. Cow's milk is not an appropriate substitute for kittens."

I disagree about the cows milk not being good for kittens....straight cows milk may not be ok but the carnation milk sure is. It is canned and it is very much ok. I just raised two orphan barn kitties from the age of 7 days...and I did it entirely on a carnation milk formula. They are 7 weeks old tomorrow and are doing great.

Thanks guys, she is still nursing them and the gland infected looks a lot better. Fortunately I caught it quickly as she likes to get her tummy stroked. Everything was fine when I went to bed and when I got up in the morning I found it.

Still not having much luck trying to wean the kittens onto solid food yet. They lap at the water bowl but seem to be a bit dopey about the food. Will keep going though!

Yes, I do this rather than dunk faces. I also like to make the mixture quite milky/creamy in consistency so that once they get the idea of how to lap, they will find it easier than chewing straight away. Chewing will come but lapping comes first. May has a good recipe for kittens - kitten glop which includes eggs/yoghurt etc. Perhaps she might post on here. I know of other breeders who use this menu too.

Good luck

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Ra
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