# Worried about Queen not eating



## NancyKat (Jul 5, 2010)

My cat had kittens 5 days ago but today she has gone off her food ... I'm concerned as she is nursing four kittens.

If she doesn't start eating tomorrow then she is going to see the vet!!

Is it normal for them to not eat for a while? She ate all the placentas, do they sustain her for a few days? She has been nibbling but just not eating the amounts that she was prior to the birth. Surely producing all that milk requires a constant intake?!


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## Momo12 (May 11, 2010)

NancyKat said:


> My cat had kittens 5 days ago but today she has gone off her food ... I'm concerned as she is nursing four kittens.
> 
> If she doesn't start eating tomorrow then she is going to see the vet!!
> 
> Is it normal for them to not eat for a while? She ate all the placentas, do they sustain her for a few days? She has been nibbling but just not eating the amounts that she was prior to the birth. Surely producing all that milk requires a constant intake?!


Hi there, I found Geri did this few days after giving birth, what are you feeding her? I was still giving Geri kitten whiskas and such like, but was recommended to get her something with higher meat content, like a pate for instance, tesco do a good one called tesco just nature cat pate in mine they do a lamb and a turkey one, also I looked around at pets at home and supermarkets for high content meat or fish products,after this her appetite picked up, the other thing I did was heating her food up in the microwave for 30 seconds just to enhance the smell of the food, so hope that helps you:thumbup:

Mo xxx


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## Aurelia (Apr 29, 2010)

Momo12 gave you pretty much spot on advice.

Does your girl have a favourite treat, like maybe tuna? Try washing it under the hot tap (to wash away any brine or sunflower oil) and then serve it up.


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## Slave2Many (May 7, 2010)

you can get sachets of electrolyte solution from the vets and ask for syringes. The powder is mixed with warm water and either put this down for her to drink or syringe it into her mouth (you can do the kittens whilst you are at it too).

Electrolyte is like liquid glucose and gives the cats and kittens a boost of energy.

The other thing you might be able to get hold of is Encore which is cat food tins from Sainsburys. You can get chicken and fish flavour - 12 tins for £4.99. It is pretty much the same as applaws but much less in price and is more than 70% meat. Your queen should be eating at least 2 tins a day plus dry food and water. If you are not filling up the dry every day and replacing the waterbowl every 2 days, I think a trip to the vets may be needed.

But I wouldn't panic just yet - try a few things first. The vet does not need to see the cat for electrolyte solution as it is not a medicine.


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## NancyKat (Jul 5, 2010)

Thanks for your help and advice everyone ...

Kittens are a week old today and her appetite has picked up slightly but not that much.

She was eating loads of food before the birth ... felix as good as it looks kitten food ... plus dry food ... but now she is still hardly eating.

I have tried her on allsorts of foods to see if she's just being fussy but she seems to prefer the felix stuff. I even offered her tuna and pate and she had a nibble but isn't wolfing anything down like she was.

I leave her plenty of dry kitten food plus some wet food and water when I leave for work in the mornings and I come home to an half empty bowl of wet food and the dry food pretty much the same as I left it.

Kittens seems well fed and are growing fast but mum seems to be slimming down very quickly ... not scarily thin but pretty slim with hanging belly.

Kitten weights today are all between 160g - 190g at a week old. I'm not convinced they are gaining enough weight ... what do you think?


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## Momo12 (May 11, 2010)

Hi honey,
Well she is eating something so I auppose thats good, as for the weight of the kittens, it doesn't sound much of a gain to be honest, I am no expert by any means, but Geri's kittens had double their birth weights by a week old and tripled them by 2 weeks old, so I think it would be worth having a word with your vet see what they recommend, obviously the kittens are gaining which is good but I think they should be gaining more really,of course she does have 4 kittens so that might be a factor, maybe one of the experienced breeders will read your post and may be able to give better advice than I can, anyway hope I have been of some help and she picks up with her eating again soon.

Mo xx


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