No Milk For You!

Milk Issues and Kittens

- Nancy Kerr

The long-awaited litter has finally arrived and all the kittens appear to have settled in with their mom. It looks like everyone is nursing, however when you check them later on, they are unsettled, crying, and no one is getting a rounded kitten belly from getting fed. You start to wonder if they are getting any food, or maybe the mother cat is having issues nursing her kittens. Maybe she is not able to produce enough milk for her kittens or she has mastitis and is not be able to fully nurse. Dehydration and malnourishment may also cause issues with milk supply. This is a critical time for newborn kittens. “Within a few hours of birth, it is important that kittens receive colostrum, or the first milk, from their mother. Colostrum is rich in antibodies and helps protect the newborns from infection.”1

Weighing In

It is important to track the weight of kittens during the first two to four weeks to ensure that they are getting enough to eat. The best way to track this is to weigh each of them at birth and record the starting amounts, then keep records of each subsequent time the kittens are weighed. Try to weigh at the same time each day. “A new kitten will weigh between 80-170g each and gain about 10-15g every day afterwards. By two weeks old, their weight should be doubled.”2

Sign of Problems

Newborn kittens need to nurse frequently. Verify every couple of hours that they are getting enough to eat. Their mother should also be checked to ensure that she is producing enough normallooking milk.