Amber keeps running off and hiding the kittens!

[lizziejayne66]

this is getting annoying. yesterday while i was weighing the kittens, amber came along and picked 2 up and took them behind the sofa! later when i took them to bedroom, was around midnight when she decided to drop 2 under the bed! no easy task as its full of 6 trays of old clothes and a big tool kit! took ages to pull all trays out and get them back!
this morning about 7 i looked agian and she was missing, i shouted her and she came out from under bed and went back into them only then did i notice only 3 kittens! i heard mewing, yet again she had dumped him in this time behind bedside cabinet, got him again and they started feeding, so i left them for 5mins to seeto my other cats, went back up and she had dumped the same red kitten this time under tray of my clothes!
why?

she still is off her food too. she hates the hills food from the vets, i tried syringing it, she takes some, but spits rest out, only thing she s ate is a slice of ham! any advice?

[angieh]

The kitten moving behaviour is something that wild creatures do regularly when they feel threatened and they do it to protect the kits. What sort of box/bed do they have?

With regard to feeding, Amber must eat - if I were you I would boil chicken - simmer for approx 20 mins just in plain water, cut it up or hand feed it to her while it is slightly warm. When my Merlin was so ill, he could still be tempted and could manage about half a chicken breast at a time. If she takes it, then leave her some in her bowl with some of the cooking water.

I imagine that you are very busy, but please do try to tempt her to eat.

[Shelley123]

I would keep up with the ham if that's what she wants to eat. Have you tried chicken, when my Dog was poorly i used to buy a cooked chicken from Tesco etc. You can also buy bags of frozen chicken pieces which are handy as you can just defrost what you need.

[lizziejayne66]

she is drinking she doesnt go loo much
i have given chicken slices she likes that
i dnt have any chicken breast i could try it
i have triedso many types of cat food and treats sometomes she has a bite but walks away my ragdoll then eats the lot lol
yeah im exhausted and busy but do try her with anything

she is sat by fire now
my husband got 2 storage boxes and stuck them togther, i put several towels in and around it and covered it with old dressing gown to make it dark. at bedtime its very dark and quiet, no ther cat in, so i dnt undertsand why she moved them
kittens asleep at mo, but was sqeaking a lot during night.
all seem to be gaining weight aparft from heaviest girl whom last night had lost 4g.

[Shelley123]

Sounds like you are doing a great job LJ, i don't envy you.
The hot chicken used to go down a treat with my finicky Dog, but if she's eating chicken slices that's good. Perhaps she's not passing much water as she needs to retain more fluid to feed the babies?

[lizziejayne66]

i really dont know but she hasnt been to litter tray hardly at all since having them and the only time she didthe other was in tray on way to vets last week. she is behind sofa. kittens fast alseep

[random]

She is frightened and she doesn't want you fussing with her babies all the time. Put her in a box and cover it over with a blanket or something similar, mine had theirs in a cat carrier with the door off for the first couple of weeks.

Put her litter tray right beside the box

Give her some cooked chicken, fish - tuna, sardines e.t.c, see if she will eat those. Put her food right beside the box too (on the other side, away from litter).

Is she feeding the babies herself now? She is obviously disturbed because you have handled them so much, which clearly cannot be helped if you had to hand feed them, but this is why she is doing what she is doing.

[lizziejayne66]

i took her back to the vets last night said she d lost a lot of weight so gave her blood tests will get some results back today some tomorrow its hernot eating much thats worrying also the kitten that lost 4 g lost another 4g last night too. others gaining well
so i spent half hour last night making sure the kitten thats losing weight stayedon the nipple with most milk
vet said 2 nipples have lots of milk one some and some none at all soi think she s getting pushed out by the greedy red boys
i have given her some extra cimicat this morning to help her as well as mum feeding her icannot lose another

its cost me nearly £400 this week in vets bills, that includes male been neurtered
i got her some chicken from shops 4 thighs i cooked 2 last night and other just now she wolfed it down! loved it so much. yet she wont touch the cat food! likes sliced ham and chicken
ive know idea if the blood tests will show anything

[angieh]

I am so glad that Amber liked her chicken. I do hope the blood tests will be OK.

[lizziejayne66]

got some blood tests back said kidneys ok nosign of diabetes but liver levels slightly raised not sure what that means
told to bring herin agian tonight to check for dehydation told to keep giving her chicken thats the only thing she l eat at the moment other results back tomorrow istocheck for calcium levels

[Elaine]

Li ver levels will be raised because she isnt eating sufficiently. The liver will start to store fat and function less efficiently which leads to hepatic lipidosis, a serious and dangerous condition.

[lizziejayne66]

shes had bits of food not much im trying my best

[Shelley123]

shes had bits of food not much im trying my best

Little is better than nothing :)

[kado]

I agree a little is better than nothing. Is there anything the vet can do to encourage her to eat. We all do our best for our animals.

[lizziejayne66]

they said syringe feed i am