Mother biting kittens don't know what to do

[Autumn]

Ok my cat is approximately 7 months old at best guess...we took her in when after a neighbor found her hanging around their house a lot. ANYWAY, we ended up with a very unexpected and unwanted pregnancy. I absolutely adore kittens but she's too young. Too young or not my mother allowed her to give birth and while 2 of the 3 kittens were breech the pregnancy went fairly well. She did bite the first baby a little after birth but she had just gone through a lot of pain and once we showed her that was unacceptable behavior she stopped. One odd thing is there are no pure white cats in our area and she is SOLID grey no other colors at all but all three kittens are PURE snow white. they were born at 4 o'clock this morning and she's been a bit bitey with them on and off all day but I figured she was just grabbing them to keep them close. Around 8:30 tonight though she began biting their heads and abdomen's quite hard, so we've been watching her VERY closely to make sure she doesn't but it seems unrealistic to have someone sit and watch her 24/7. And I don't really want to take the babies away from her especially not with them being less than a day old. But is that the best thing to do? Has anyone gone through anything like this. PLEASE help I just want what is best for the kittens. I'm willing to bottle feed them if that's what it takes, but most sites say not to bottle feed them until they are at least 2 days old. I don't want them to be in danger of being killed by their mother but I don't want to cause more problems by removing them from her. Thank you soo much for reading all that I know it was awfully long >.< sorry about that I'm just really worried about my babies thank you so much for your time and any information you may be able to give me

[Ash]

Cats can at times be what looks to us very rough with their kittens. How hard is she biting them? Is she injuring them? Are they screaming? Is she simply biting in an aggressive way or is she trying to get hold of them to put them towards her belly so can nurse? It's hard to say for me if her behaviour is normal or not. She might be very stressed out from giving birth, she might even be in pain. Could you have a vet check her, make sure she's okay, no kitten left inside etc?

Maybe you can give her a break by taking the kittens from her for an hour or two, but not longer, as they have to nurse frequently. Put them in a basket/box where they can't fall out, and make sure they are warm at all times, no drafts! Take a plastic bottle filled with warm (not hot) water an put it under the blanket.

Maybe that way she can relax a little, eat, sleep etc. Maybe that'll help the situation.

Try that and get back here in a day or two and tell us what happened.

[Autumn]

Yes they were screaming in pain which is why we are watching her so closely...but we went and got a cat bed with a large back that was deep (we layed it on it's back so they couldn't escape) and got formula and everything we needed just in case. And yes I did have her separated from them for probably an hour tops but the started crying a bit and she went crazy...she was reaching under the doors and hitting them and I didn't want her any more stressed than having the babies already has her...so I brought her back in and eventually after much reassurance that the babies were ok in the bed got her to leave them there and after much more reassurance and coaxing got her to join them in the bed and she hasn't bitten them since I think maybe she was a little on edge about them getting too far away and just got a little over excited and bit too hard...she IS still a baby herself after all...but now they're stuck close and she seems relaxed and happy...and the formula says it is good for nursing cats too...so it seems to be working out already...but I will continue to watch her closely...just in case and thank you very much for the suggestion

[Ash]

Well, I'm glad to hear that. Hope it stays that way! 7 months is awfully young, you're right. She's inexperienced. Are they nursing alright now? And is she eating as well? How many kittens are there?

[Autumn]

there are only 3 kittens thankfully...less would have been better but it isn't my choice. The kittens are nursing fine, though with there being 8 nips and only three kittens there would be less fighting but she seems to be eating normally. She's sleeping a lot more but I don't blame her at all I was just assisting during the delivery and it wore me out but everything seems to be getting along wonderfully now. I think it just scared me a bit because this is my third litter of kittens ( not hers ) and the other two cats were fantastic, but they were a bit older than her I just love my babies so much I don't want anything to happen to them.

Do you think it's odd that they're all 3 pure white? I mean I know there are recessive genes and all that but my darling Pudge is solid grey and there are no pure white cats around...I don't know I just think it seems a bit odd that none of them have any color whatsoever...their skin, noses, and feeties are pink but all their fur is pure snow white.. O.o? maybe it's normal I don't know seems a bit odd though

[Ash]

As far as I know the colour doesn't depend on the parents much. Probably skips generations. I had one white with red spots, one tabby, and one black and white one all in one litter. And the mother was white with black and red Doesn't make sense. None looked like her.

[Traci]

A litter can have any number of different fathers (sires), so this is why you will see variations in the kittens' coloring.

Please watch them carefully, ensure each kitten is nursing appropriately, getting enough milk, and thriving. (you can refer to here for kitten development, and other kitten care information). You really have to monitor them, as well as the mother, because since she is so young, she may not know how to care for them. I strongly suggest a vet exam for both mother and babies ASAP to ensure they are all in good health and that the babies are thriving appropriately.

Please show this link to your mom.

[Autumn]

thank you for the links ...I know they can have different fathers but what seems weird is there is no variation...they're all just pure white. I don't know I just thought it was odd. I really would love to take her to a vet but mom can't afford it right now, and I would make my stepdad pay for it but he's gone to jail so that doesn't work but they all seem to be eating fine, mother and kittens though the youngest kitten seems to have trouble finding the nips I don't know why. I found him sucking on her food yesterday >.< but I help him out and all is good...the mom is eating drinking and relieving herself normally and now that they're in a small space is much more willing to leave them and go take a break. All the babies are pretty active...when they aren't busy eating and sleeping which isn't often. We've had no biting over night though and everything seems to be going well.

[Autumn]

just to let you know it's been almost 24 hours and we've had no biting whatsoever no more screaming kitties thank god and mommy seems much more relaxed and willing to take breaks from the babies thanks for the help!

[Traci]

I'm just curious...you keep making references to your mom and her faults for allowing this pregnancy...why didn't she ever spay this cat? Does she not realize that spaying will reduce the chances of imminent problems in the near future? (those problems are outlined in the spay/neuter link). Does she plan to get these kittens examined, tested, dewormed, vaccinated and spayed/neutered when they are at the appropriate age?

Also, please keep your posts in one thread...it makes it difficult to navigate between more than one thread that are about the same situation.