I need some answers

I have a one week old litter of kittens there are 4 . three of which
are thriving the other seems weaker than the others,, sleeps alot and
only eats when i put him on his mom Izzy,,,,he is very tired and seems
alot lighter than the others what should i do

On Thu, 04 Oct 2007 10:18:23 -0700, wrote:

I have a one week old litter of kittens there are 4 . three of which
are thriving the other seems weaker than the others,, sleeps alot and
only eats when i put him on his mom Izzy,,,,he is very tired and seems
alot lighter than the others what should i do

The mother may not have enough milk (although with only four that
would be unusual). What I would try first is bottle feeding that
baby. Get a bottle, nipples and a can of dry KMR kitten formula from
your pet store. ( There are formulas you can make yourself to be
found on the web) Make sure you feed the kitten in an upright
position, not lying on his back which can cause fluid to get in his
lungs. If the kitten is too weak to suck, you may have to use a
syringe. I just went through this with a rescue mom who had eight
babies and the two smallest had to be bottle fed. The advantage is
they make the sweetest kittens.

However it's not unusual to have one in a litter that fails to
thrive. It's possible that that kitten was conceived later by a
different father and is actually premature. If food is not the
answer, do have a vet look at him. Worms can kill a kitten.

K/

Response from :

However it's not unusual to have one in a litter that fails to
thrive. It's possible that that kitten was conceived later by a
different father and is actually premature. If food is not the
answer, do have a vet look at him. Worms can kill a kitten.

Did I just read that right? An already pregnant female can be further
impregnated after already having a litter brewing?

--
-Lost
Remove the extra words to reply by e-mail. Don't e-mail me. I am
kidding. No I am not.

On 7 Oct, 16:11, "-Lost" wrote:
Response from :

However it's not unusual to have one in a litter that fails to
thrive. It's possible that that kitten was conceived later by a
different father and is actually premature. If food is not the
answer, do have a vet look at him. Worms can kill a kitten.

Did I just read that right? An already pregnant female can be further
impregnated after already having a litter brewing?

--
-Lost
Remove the extra words to reply by e-mail. Don't e-mail me. I am
kidding. No I am not.

Yes, but only at the end of a calling from a female. There can be up
to 3-4 days difference between the first mating & the last one, so
consequently, some the kittens are slightly different in size &
maturity. If they are viable, with hard work, they can do very well-
but there are other times when they simply aren't ready to meet the
world, & sadly we loose some. All kittens can in a litter can be Sired
by different tom cats. The only time that you can be sure of who the
father of the kittens are, is if you contain the female in call & mate
her with a specific male.

In the wild, a female cat can't be sure that she will meet a suitable
male when she happens to call, so what happens is that the female
doesn't actually decided to mate until the right male is around. She
starts calling to the male, & he will try to stick like glue to her.
Ovulation & the production of a feline egg happens whilst mating, or
during copulation. Because the male has a barbed penis, it scrapes the
side of the womb on withdrawal, which stimulates the females body to
release an egg. Male sperm can last for up to around 48 hours, so if
the female has multiple fathers, you simply can't be sure who sired
the kitten unless by fluke they happen to look like the father in some
way.

The exact answer you are looking for is: Can a female be impregnated
whilst already pregnant.?The direct answer is, "Yes, but only whilst
she is calling for more suitors to the litter she is already
impregnated with, during the same call too".

Sheelagh "o"

Response from "Sheelagh o" :

On 7 Oct, 16:11, "-Lost" wrote:
Response from :

However it's not unusual to have one in a litter that fails to
thrive. It's possible that that kitten was conceived later by a
different father and is actually premature. If food is not the
answer, do have a vet look at him. Worms can kill a kitten.

Did I just read that right? An already pregnant female can be
further impregnated after already having a litter brewing?

Yes, but only at the end of a calling from a female. There can be
up to 3-4 days difference between the first mating & the last one,
so consequently, some the kittens are slightly different in size &
maturity. If they are viable, with hard work, they can do very
well- but there are other times when they simply aren't ready to
meet the world, & sadly we loose some. All kittens can in a litter
can be Sired by different tom cats. The only time that you can be
sure of who the father of the kittens are, is if you contain the
female in call & mate her with a specific male.

In the wild, a female cat can't be sure that she will meet a
suitable male when she happens to call, so what happens is that
the female doesn't actually decided to mate until the right male
is around. She starts calling to the male, & he will try to stick
like glue to her. Ovulation & the production of a feline egg
happens whilst mating, or during copulation. Because the male has
a barbed penis, it scrapes the side of the womb on withdrawal,
which stimulates the females body to release an egg. Male sperm
can last for up to around 48 hours, so if the female has multiple
fathers, you simply can't be sure who sired the kitten unless by
fluke they happen to look like the father in some way.

The exact answer you are looking for is: Can a female be
impregnated whilst already pregnant.?The direct answer is, "Yes,
but only whilst she is calling for more suitors to the litter she
is already impregnated with, during the same call too".

That. Is. Friggin'. Awesome.

That is so neat, I NEVER knew that about cats. I knew some other
stranger creatures had certain abilities like that, but never did I
think a cat possessed that ability.

As always, thanks for the great information, Sheelagh "o".

P.S. Now I feel stupid. I said to a friend just now, "Hey, did you
know a cat can get pregnant by more than one cat at a time?" And
*she* said, "Did you know I can too?" Apparently it is possible with
several species. In humans all it takes is multiple eggs.

Wow. I have definitely learned quite a bit today.

--
-Lost
Remove the extra words to reply by e-mail. Don't e-mail me. I am
kidding. No I am not.