Fostering Queen & Kittens

“Queen” Is the term used to describe a female cat that is of breeding age, pregnant or nursing. And its such a fitting name, isn’t it? After birth, most Queens have strong instinct and go straight to caring for their kittens. And for the first few weeks of life she should do everything necessary. Once the kittens are adventuring out of the nest you can start sharing some of the care duties with her, if she is willing! Below is an explanation of the normal care a mom gives to her babies so you will know what behaviors to expect. All moms are slightly different, with some being more attentive moms than others, but if a mom fails to care for her babies in any of these important functions, let us know as soon as possible so they can all be evaluated by medical staff.

A Queen’s Palace

Queen’s and their kittens need a space separate from resident pets where they will feel safe and stay secure. Most queens will like a nesting spot to keep her kittens contained and warm while they’re still small. You can use a whelping box, large litter pan, bottom half or open carrier. If you need to contained them while unsupervised or a queen wants more privacy, a large wire dog crate covered with a blanket or soft side crate work tremendously well as they provide cave-like security. Some queens will turn up their nose at your comfy and practical set-up and prefer to go under couches or beds. If this is where the queen feels most comfortable and the kittens are safe and accessible, it is fine to let her nest hidden away. But if you’re unable to monitor the kittens or their safety is at risk, you will need to move the mother into a more confined space.

A Queen’s Feast: High Calorie Diet

We feed our pregnant and nursing queens Purina Kitten Chow or other high-quality, high-calorie kitten foods. Make sure mom has access to dry kitten chow and water at all times, as her calorie intake needs to remain very high to maintain nursing her babies. You can supplement her diet with wet food meals 3-4 times a day. You will rarely overfeed a queen!

The Royal Throne: Litter Boxes and Elimination

For the queen, ideally the litter box will be as far away from the food and water as possible. The litter box should be filled with non-clumping or pellet litter only. Once the kittens start using the litter box, you will likely need to add low-sided boxes that are easy for the kittens to get in and out of, and clean more frequently – wet can food tray cardboard boxes work great for this! 

Offspring receive a lot of grooming and licking from their mothers during their first 2-4 weeks. This anogenital grooming stimulates elimination, and the fecal matter and urine are consumed by the mom. This is effective in keeping the nest and babies clean, but as a result mom may produce more waste than an average cat. Scoop the litter box often as to keep it clear of excess waste. Later, as the kittens can leave the nest area, the anogenital licking subsides, and the kittens deposit feces and urine nearby.

Nursing Her Kittens

Babies begin to nurse 1-2 hours after birth. Though born with their eyes closed, they can find their mother by her warmth, and she should make this easier by lying near them on her side. The nursing/suckling relationship occurs over 3 stages. In the beginning, mom initiates each nursing episode, waking the babies by licking them and then encircling them with her body. After a little searching, they quickly latch on. The second stage occurs after the second or third week, when the eyes and ears are functioning, and they can interact with the mother both inside and outside the nest. At this stage, the babies also initiate some of the nursing episodes. The mother generally cooperates by lying down and taking up the nursing position. In the third stage, starting at about 5 weeks postpartum, the babies initiate virtually all nursing. The mother becomes gradually more evasive and uncooperative. Near the end of this stage, the mother begins to wean her babies by becoming less and less available. In wild, this is the time when the mom would begin to provide them with fresh killed prey. You can help in the weaning process by encouraging the babies to eat canned, and later dry food.

Handling Mother and Kittens

Some mothers may arrive stressed and agitated due to the change in their environment. Proceed slowly with any adult you do not know - let her come to you, pet her only as much as she is comfortable with, stop petting at the first signs of discomfort.

These signs may include: swishing/stiff tail, ears laid back or to the sides, head jerk towards your hand or the area which you were petting her, tensing up, cranky overdrawn meow/growling, moving away, hissing (cats), or growling. Always take extra precautions when handling an upset mother. Remember: part of being a “good mom” is protecting her babies. Move very slowly around the mom and the nest. Speak in a soft, reassuring voice, and try not to react if mom cat hisses or growls.

Maternal Neglect

Maternal neglect or inadequate maternal care has many causes and can result in different behaviors. It's important to recognize maternal neglect early so we can provide the kitten with appropriate supplemental care. Reasons a queen may neglect her kittens include young queen lacking maternal instincts, sick cats who are physically unable to properly care for their young, or queens with large litters unable to equally care for all of her young. In many cases, it seems that environmental stress plays a role, and thus it is very important that the environment is quiet, calm and with few visits, except to feed, clean, weigh and check in on the babies a few times throughout the day. Moms should primarily be left alone the first 2 weeks postpartum. You will need to watch daily for signs that a mother is neglecting her young, especially in the first few weeks. The easiest way to identify concerns is by weighing the kittens daily, drops in weight are an immediate red flag and need to be addressed with LHS. Other signs of maternal neglect include the mother spends all her time away from the kittens, she does not groom or nurse them frequently, her kittens cry and she seems not to respond, or kittens are found outside of the whelping box. When a kitten is repeatedly found outside of the whelping box, there may be a more significant issue with the kitten like disease or birth defect. Mothers have strong instincts and will reject kittens that pose a risk for the others in the litter. Most cases of maternal neglect can be combatted with appropriate supplementation, but if we are unable to convince her to keep caring for the kitten we may have to pull them to be bottle raised.

Stages of Labor