My cat's month-old kittens are dying. How can I help them survive?

I'm so sorry for the loss of the kittens. They may have had a parasite infection or virus such as panleukopenia. Salmonella can also kill them quickly. Without a post mortem exam there is no way to know what they dried from. Mom will probably go back into heat fairly quickly so you might want to get her spayed. Monitor her mammary glands that they don't get engorged or painful. You can apply cool compresses to them if she will let you.

Take them into the vet immediately. Newborn kittens are very fragile, and if they become ill, they will go downhill quickly. Only a vet can diagnose what is causing them to die, and if there is a way to prevent that. Best of luck.

I am so sorry you came home to two dead kittens! Newborn kittens are very fragile, and it could the one who was cold simply wasn't strong enough to make it. As for the one with the intestines out, it could be a birth defect causing the intestines to be outside the body. Without seeing them in person, I can't say for certain. I can say keep the father away from the kittens until they are older. Mother cats can be very protective of their kittens, and the father should not be around until the kittens are weaned. I hope this helps, and again I'm sorry for your loss.

Some kittens don't make it no matter what we do to help them out, and some cats are just not cut out to be moms. There is also the possibility that there is a congenital internal defect. If the kitten is very weak and won't suckle from the nipple or a bottle, you can try to slowly syringe the kitten milk replacer, but there is an increased risk of it going into his lungs and causing aspiration pneumonia. If this doesn't work, you should take the kitten to get checked out by a vet. The vet can show you how to safely tube feed the kitten to get its proper nutrition. Make sure that the kitten is staying warm and clean, and that you are stimulating urination and bowel movements. Here is a good article on raising orphan kittens: http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=576

Hi, it depends.. is he feeding from mum ? If he is not, then you can try bottle feeding. You will obviously need some kitten formula milk, if you haven’t bottle fed kittens before it might be worthy to speak to you vet/vet technician, keep the kitten warm. There might be that there is something that the kittens have contracted, such as a virus that has caused the other two to die. I would ring your vet and discuss all this and have the third kitten and mum checked over. Hope this helps !

If you choose to care for them, your primary goal will be to keep them warm, stimulate their bowels / urinary tract, and feed them up to every 2-3 hours at first. The use of a blanket and heating pads may be required for warmth. If you do not have a heating pad, I would recommend going out to obtain one in the morning. As for stimulation, you need to rub their bellies and behinds to get them to go to the bathroom after each time they eat. As for feedings, you will need to obtain kitten milk replacer and a bottle. The kittens should be fed in an upright position as to avoid aspiration of the liquid. It is a tiring job and they still may not make it, so do not take it personally if things do not work out. You can certainly try to keep the kitten with mom if you think she isn't going to hurt them, but I would monitor them extremely carefully. If there is any indication of aggression remove them entirely. Hope this helps.

Some kittens get weak and cold which can become life threatening. You can carry the kitten in your pocket to keep it warm and hold it onto the mother to nurse if possible. In addition the kitten may have been born with a medical problem and is not going to survive. Make sure the others are warm and nursing. Some new mothers are not as good at taking care of kittens as others, especially that many. That is a big litter so you may need to supplement the kittens with kitten milk replacer if the mother doesn’t have enough milk for all of them. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for your kitten.