# Newborn kittens not feeding.



## javi (Feb 10, 2015)

Hi,
My mums bengal gave birth to 3 kittens around 5 hours ago, up to now the kittens still haven't fed, they aren't trying to suckle yet either, they are very quiet aswell....is this normal?


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## catcoonz (Aug 4, 2012)

Has your mum tried to latch kittens on to teats.
I take it they are breathing fine, no blocked airways or raspy noises.
Are they warm?


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## javi (Feb 10, 2015)

Yes we've tried to latch them on but with no luck, they're warm and they seem to be breathing ok, i'm a little confused as to why they aren't attempting to feed yet 

How long can they go without feeding?
My mum has been and bought some milk replacement and bottles, just in case she needs to intervene, but it's knowing when to step in?


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## Tigermoon (Apr 2, 2013)

javi said:


> Hi,
> My mums bengal gave birth to 3 kittens around 5 hours ago, up to now the kittens still haven't fed, they aren't trying to suckle yet either, they are very quiet aswell....is this normal?


No this is not normal. I know you said they are warm but from your description I would say they are not warm enough. Are they on a heat pad?

If they definitely haven't fed then you need to give them something to boost their energy, Kittystim or Nutridrops for example.

Hopefully they will then perk up and start to suckle for themselves, but if not you will want to give them some milk yourself. I find 2ml syringes are the best things as I've never successfully used a bottle. I've also heard of people using pipettes and sponges!


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

If there is any possibility they are not warm enough do NOT feed them. They can have the drops, they can have warm rehydration fluid, but they cannot digest milk if they are cool.


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## Kitty Cats (Mar 25, 2013)

Hi

Is this the Bengals first litter, sometimes if it's their first litter they are a bit shell shocked and they don't settle to feed the kittens at first. I've had litters where the queens milk didn't come through straight away so it was the next morning before she fed her kittens. I think they can survive about 24 hours without feeding but they need to be warm. Keep checking on them and hopefully within a few hours they will be feeding for themselves. 
Good luck


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## jaycee05 (Sep 24, 2012)

Have the mum and kittens been movd onto some dry covers , if they are still wet or on wet covers they will be cold,
When mine had kittens i had dry covers underneath so i could just slide the wet ones from under mum and babies
Can you squeeze a little milk from mums teats and put kittens to it or even a tiny drop of replacer milk on teats and see if the kittens have any raction to it, but as suggested above,make sure they are warm, all kittens dont feed immediately, but should do within a short time, its best if they can gert mums milk for the colostrum which new born kittens need


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## javi (Feb 10, 2015)

Just a quick update on the kittens, mum has failed to produce any milk as it turns out they are around a week early, she also has no interset in them at all.

I have taken over their care now and am bottle feeding every 1-2 hours, they seem to be doing well, they are warm, peeing and pooping well and feeding ok.

They do get tired really quickly whilst suckling and but i suppose as they gain strength they'll get better at that.

I'm just going to take each day as it comes and see how they go poor little babies


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

Oh gosh that's hard work. You know to toilet them before & after each feed? And to feed them in the position they would feed on mum in, not like a human baby on it's back?

This might be useful:

Hand rearing kittens | international cat care

And if you don't have a set of digital scales that weigh to 1g, now is the time to get a set - they are £10 in Argos.


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## catcoonz (Aug 4, 2012)

Hard work for you, wishing you good luck with the kittens.


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## javi (Feb 10, 2015)

OrientalSlave said:


> Oh gosh that's hard work. You know to toilet them before & after each feed? And to feed them in the position they would feed on mum in, not like a human baby on it's back?
> 
> This might be useful:
> 
> ...


Thank you, yes they have no problem toileting at all, i weighed them this morning on my digital scales and they are weighing 56g 64g & 70g...they are so small.


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## cheekyscrip (Feb 8, 2010)

just hugs and best luck to you all


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## javi (Feb 10, 2015)

well they all survived another night but sadly the smallest of the 3 has lost 3g in weight, she's not looking good at all, the other 2 are holding their own at the moment, but i know it can all change so quickly 

They are on hourly feeds and taking water but don't have the energy to suckle for more than 30 seconds so it's just a case of little drops into their mouth at that point, i'm begining to lose hope :crying:


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## lorilu (Sep 6, 2009)

Poor little mother, I hope she is getting spayed now.


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## carly87 (Feb 11, 2011)

I'd go to the vet and ask them to show you how to tube feed. They're very premature so won't have the strength to suckle for long, so tube feeding really is the answer here I think.


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## chloe1975 (Mar 17, 2013)

All you can do is try. Don't beat yourself up over it. It is really hard when they are early. We had kittens born at 58 days last year and out of 6 kittens only 1 survived and it was heartbreaking. But I look back at it now and think if we hadn't gone through it we wouldn't have Koda who is now 7 months old and thriving.

I know other people on here will disagree but try not to get too hung up on weights, I have never hand reared a kitten and it not lose some weight when you are trying to establish feeding. In fact Koda I stopped weighing until she was about 4 weeks old as it depressed me so much. Look out for other things like is it willingly taking any milk and how warm is the kitten. The hardest thing with premature kittens is keeping them warm. Use heat pads, hot water bottles, blankets to keep them warm.

Good luck x


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## javi (Feb 10, 2015)

lorilu said:


> Poor little mother, I hope she is getting spayed now.


I'm pretty sure she will be spayed soon.


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