How to Care for a Lactating Mother Cat and Kittens

After giving birth, female cats, called "queens," are usually natural mothers and provide excellent care for kittens, with a little help. By the time a cat has delivered, owners should have provided a secure private place in which she may take care of her kittens. Milk producing, or "lactating," queens need adequate nutrition. Kittens need an attentive mother, monitoring and minimal health care prior to weaning.

Things You'll Need

  • Safe nesting environment
  • Kitten food
  • Dewormer
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Instructions

    • 1

      Provide a safe indoor area for a queen to nurse and care for kittens. By the time kittens are born, the queen will likely have established a nesting area, and unless prevented from finding an acceptable site she will keep her kittens warm and clean.

    • 2

      Monitor the health of the queen and kittens. Learn the developmental stages of kittens, for example, as described in the book "Cat Owner's Home Veterinary Handbook," and make sure the kittens are progressing through age-appropriate stages. A sick or neglected kitten may not be nursing and may be weak and separated from other kittens. A sick queen may have an abnormal vaginal discharge, inflamed mammary glands, or may stop eating and appear listless. Kittens may appear restless and cry excessively if not receiving adequate milk from a sick or overworked queen. If the kittens or queen show any of these signs, seek veterinary care.

    • 3

      Feed the queen a high-quality kitten food, as much as she cares to eat. Her calorie requirements will be much higher during lactation, especially when kittens are 2 to 4 weeks of age. Provide constant access to clean water for the queen away from the kittens. At 3 to 4 weeks of age, the kittens will begin to eat along with their mother, and food and water can be offered in a shallow saucer.

    • 4

      Begin gentle handling of kittens between 3 and 7 weeks of age to socialize them for human contact. After about 9 weeks of age, kittens become more resistant to socialization and may exhibit behavioral problems later in life if not socialized while young.

    • 5

      Begin deworming kittens at 2 weeks of age with a product supplied by your veterinarian. Kittens often acquire intestinal worms from their mother's milk and environmental contamination. The queen should receive dewormer along with the kittens.