Urgent! Mother cat neglecting her kittens

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Anonymous user Icon representing the flag French
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Hi everyone,

Please excuse me for skipping the introductions, but this is a bit of an emergency.

To give you some context, I'm currently staying with a foster family, so I'm unable to get to a vet...

I'm currently feeding about ten stray cats in my foster family's neighbourhood.

One of the females looked like she was pregnant.

She ended up having two kittens first, which looked premature to me.

For the first one: I got there too late, it had already passed away... The placenta and sac hadn't been removed.

The second one: I watched the birth from a distance so I wouldn't disturb the mother. She did the same thing again: after a few minutes, I took the initiative to cut the cord and rub the kitten's belly to help it breathe. It was premature, couldn't nurse, and died the next day :(

The mother cat still looked huge but nothing else was happening, which really worried me.

Two days later, she had four more kittens in less than an hour. She cut the cords, ate the placentas, and got them nursing – phew!

But a few hours later, she abandoned them and went to lounge in the garden...

She hardly ever comes back to see them and even growls at her own kittens.

One of them died this morning... I don't know what to do anymore, and I don't understand why she's neglecting them. I should mention that I haven't touched the kittens (except for the second one, as I explained), I haven't moved them, and I wasn't being pushy when the mum was giving birth; I stayed well back so I wouldn't disturb her.

Sorry for the wall of text, but I just don't know what to do. I don't want to lose the three remaining kittens...

Thanks for reading.

Translated from French
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11 answers
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    Anonymous user Icon representing the flag French
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    Less than a year... yes, exactly... a female cat shouldn't really be pregnant until she's at least two...

    Spot on, unfortunately... My neighbours have litters every six months... I've worked it out for the latest litter and the mum is only eight months old...

    Translated from French
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    Anonymous user Icon representing the flag French
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    If she isn’t looking after them, it’s because she’s too young. You really must keep them together. If she isn’t caring for them, don’t panic—you’ll need to quickly take over and feed them every 2 hours with a syringe or a small feeding bottle.
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    Anonymous user Icon representing the flag French
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    Yeah, I completely understand. Could a local charity or animal rescue help you out?
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    Anonymous user Icon representing the flag French
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    I completely agree with you Angeline56 (even though I don't know much about breeding, as the cats I’ve had back home were always neutered/spayed), but as an expat student currently living abroad, I just can't afford to have all the stray cats in the neighbourhood neutered. Believe me, I would have if I could...
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    Anonymous user Icon representing the flag French
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    Under a year old... yes, quite... a female cat shouldn't really be pregnant before she's two...
    Translated from French
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    Anonymous user Icon representing the flag French
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    Hi, thank you for your replies. Sadly, I found another little kitten that had gone cold this morning... I think @Sevv is right, the mum is too young; according to my host family, she's less than a year old. As for keeping the mum shut in a room with the kittens, it’s not possible as my family won’t have them indoors. Plus, they have worms and those typical stray cat issues (they have ticks too, but I’ve got a tick tool to remove them carefully). I’m not sure about local animal rescues as I’m not in a French-speaking country, but my family told me that in this area, they don’t really bother taking them in because feline overpopulation is sadly so high... I’d still rather they were free in the garden. Anyway, thanks again for your advice, as a second female cat looks very heavily pregnant; I hope everything goes okay for that one.
    Translated from French
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    Anonymous user Icon representing the flag French
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    Oh yeah, kittens are bouncy, aren't they? You might as well just toss them at the floor like a ball; they won't feel a thing. You could even tie your hair back with one—now that would be original! ^^ Anyway, I can't really help with your actual problem, sorry, but it’s definitely worth checking out websites from cat breeders or pet behaviourists. Even if you can't give the vet a ring, do they have an email address? Just so you can ask for some advice :/
    Translated from French
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    Anonymous user Icon representing the flag French
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    Hi there, I’d suggest putting your cat in her bed with the babies nearby; the little ones will naturally gravitate towards the mum. If the problem persists, you’ll have to step in and give them some milk using a small syringe. WARNING!!!! Make sure you use kitten milk replacer for unweaned kittens! If I were you, I’d still give the vet a ring. And whatever you do, don’t touch the little ones when they’ve just been born—they’re far too fragile! I’d urge readers to take some of the very assertive "advice" found online with a massive pinch of salt. This post from @Livouu is a prime example: - She suggests giving the kittens milk using a syringe whilst also insisting you mustn't touch the little ones as they're too fragile. In reality, it’s going to be pretty much impossible to feed kittens without actually picking them up. - Generally speaking, the common advice to avoid handling kittens is quite simply wrong. Firstly, because kittens are anything but fragile (they’re practically elastic), and secondly, because you actually need to get kittens used to human contact and our scent from an early age. The only grain of truth in this poor advice from an amateur who has clearly never handled a litter is that you must be careful to leave the kittens with a scent the mother is familiar with, so she continues to recognise them and care for them.
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    Anonymous user Icon representing the flag French
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    Hi there, if you’re a foster carer, it’s going to be really difficult for you to keep on top of the care for this cat and her kittens... have another look at what Sevv just posted, and I really hope that you’re at least able to feed these babies for now...
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    Anonymous user Icon representing the flag French
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    Hi,

    You wrote: "But a few hours later, she abandons them and goes to lounge in the garden... She very rarely comes back to see them and even growls at her own kittens."

    I’d suggest keeping her shut in the room where her kittens are – or at the very least, stopping her from going outside – so she no longer has the option to ignore them. The first few days after birth are absolutely critical.

    Translated from French

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