What to do if your cat runs out of milk. The cat’s mammary glands are swollen after giving away the kittens, what should I do? How to understand that a cat has no or not enough milk

26.08.202327.05.2017

The appearance of kittens in the house brings joy and tenderness to the owners. But difficulties may also arise - the cat does not have milk after giving birth, and the babies ask for food. For what reason may a new mother lack milk, how to solve the problem and what to do in such a situation - we will understand such important issues. After all, a small kitten cannot yet eat solid food and simply cannot survive without milk.

When does a cat produce milk?

Before childbirth, the mammary glands of the expectant mother swell noticeably; when pressed, a translucent liquid (colostrum) may be released from them. Normally, a cat produces milk immediately after giving birth. Sometimes after 1-2 days, and before this time, colostrum is released from the nipples, which is also suitable for the first feedings.

If an animal gives birth for the first time, the arrival of milk may be slightly delayed (3-5 days). This usually happens in artificially bred breeds. Selected cats have dulled natural instincts, so problems and pathologies during and after childbirth occur more often.

How to understand that a cat has no or not enough milk

When the birth went well and healthy kittens were born, they will be ready for feeding in a few hours. You can understand that a mother cat has little milk or no milk at all by the behavior of the kittens: they constantly squeak, constantly suck on their tits, and do not sleep.

The amount of milk may not be enough if the cat has a large litter. Usually the weakest kittens from the litter remain hungry and malnourished. In such cases, it is not immediately possible to notice that one of the kittens is receiving less nutrition. Malnourished kittens meow more than others and look thinner.

Why does a cat have no milk?

There may be many reasons why a cat that has given birth does not lactate; let’s look at the main ones.:

Stress. This is the most common factor in animals that have given birth to their first litter. In a young primiparous cat, kittens may be born at long intervals of many hours and milk will not appear until everything is completed. A frightened animal may completely lose milk from the stress it has experienced.
Disease. Rarely, during difficult or protracted labor, a cat develops inflammation of the birth canal and uterus. The infection is accompanied by the following symptoms: purulent vaginal discharge, loss of appetite, lethargy. The pet can abandon the kittens and hide in a secluded place. The disease requires immediate treatment with antibiotics.
Lack of maternal instincts. This factor appears in very young cats that give birth at 7-9 months or in selective breeds. Instinct may come into force later or only during the next birth.
Poor nutrition. Sometimes a cat does not have enough milk due to a lack of quality diet. During pregnancy and before giving birth, the cat should receive more dairy products, protein, and vitamins. When the owner does not monitor the pet's nutrition, this can worsen lactation.
Hormonal imbalance. Pregnancy in cats, like in humans, can cause hormonal imbalance. Milk production is regulated by hormonal levels, and any disturbances in this part affect the process.

What to do?

To find out why a new mother does not have milk, you should take her to a veterinarian to rule out diseases and serious pathologies. But the first thing you need to do is take care of the kittens. After all, they cannot wait long.

There are special mixtures for feeding small kittens; they can be purchased at any pet store. If it is not possible to buy such food, cow's milk is also suitable, but it is advisable to mix it with chicken yolk and a small amount of vitamins for kittens. Kittens should be fed through a bottle with a small nipple.

In order for your cat to produce milk, she needs to be given a good drink of water immediately after giving birth. Cream, cottage cheese, kefir, and chicken yolks are included in the diet.

If your pet ate dry food before giving birth, it should be switched to soft food for a while.

Pet stores sell special food for nursing cats; it contains everything necessary to stimulate lactation. It is recommended to make mixtures of glucose, yolk and cream; such a delicacy will increase milk flow.

When the veterinarian, during examination, does not find any obvious reasons for the lack of milk, he may prescribe sedatives to the cat to relieve stress from the animal or injections that stimulate lactation.

Finally

There are many reasons why a cat loses milk, from a banal nervous shock to serious infectious diseases. You should not self-medicate your pet; it is better to immediately take the animal to the clinic to a good specialist.

If, however, it was not possible to restore lactation, you will have to take care of the kittens yourself and feed them until they begin to eat on their own. With proper care, kittens will grow up strong and healthy.

The birth of kittens is always an exciting and important event. Many (especially inexperienced) owners are very worried, believing that their cat will not cope, and therefore they will have to help her. Do not panic. Their likelihood is low. Unfortunately, problems can begin after the babies are born. For example, what should you do if your cat doesn’t have milk?

In principle, in this case there are options depending on the characteristics of the organism of a particular animal. In most cases, its secretion begins immediately after the birth of kittens, being stimulated by a powerful flow of hormones. But often the first drops of milk (colostrum, to be precise) can be seen approximately in five days before the expected date of birth of the kittens.

Everything is very individual. Moreover, there are cases when, due to stress (or other reasons that remain unknown), milk appears in pets, after about a couple of hours after birth. Its secretion in such situations is stimulated by hungry kittens, who begin to “gnaw” their mother’s nipples more and more. Considering that the latter have a mass of nerve receptors, such simple mechanical stimulation in many cases can completely solve the problem of lack of milk. But not always, unfortunately.

Factors inhibiting the process of milk production

The reasons are very varied. First, remember that a cat that has just given birth is a gentle and sensitive creature. She is especially susceptible to various stresses. Do not forget that any animal that gives birth is primarily guided by its maternal instincts, which tell it to ensure maximum safety for the babies born. It is for this reason that all experienced veterinarians advise in advance to accustom the cat to the basket or box in which, in the owner’s opinion, it will have to give birth.

In addition, it is advisable to choose in advance where to place it: under no circumstances choose corridors and other passage rooms for this purpose. Carefully instruct your family members not to constantly walk around and “look after” the cat that has given birth. Believe me, the animal is quite capable of independently taking care of both itself and all its cubs. Excessive “care” will lead to stress, as a result of which the cat will constantly drag the kittens from place to place. From these same shocks, she may well lose milk.

Read also: Brown discharge in a cat after birth: normal or pathological

Secondly, cats are loving and extremely fertile creatures. The peculiarity of their reproductive system is that your pet can become pregnant almost immediately after the birth of the cubs. And it’s not at all good when there is a cat, even a neutered one, within the “reach” of a woman in labor. In such conditions, sexual heat may well begin as soon as the cat gives birth. Please note that in this case, your pet’s milk will almost certainly disappear, and therefore the kittens will have nothing to eat.

Important! If your cat has already decided to go on a spree, under no circumstances should you give her hormonal Sex-Stops or similar products. In conditions where the body is already experiencing a powerful hormonal “shock,” it’s definitely not worth making its life even worse.

What to do if your pet goes on a spree?

Firstly, you need to create quiet and calm conditions for your pet. It is necessary to try to minimize the impact of any stress factors on her. Ideally, it is advisable to place the animal in a separate room.

Secondly, you need to consult with a professional veterinarian and choose a natural sedative for your cat (pharmacists now produce many herbal-based medications). If your pets also include a cat(s), it is necessary to reliably isolate them from the cat for at least a couple of weeks. If the owners do everything correctly, then it happens that the cat’s milk comes again, and at the same time sexual hunting stops completely. But still, you shouldn’t particularly count on such a successful outcome of the matter.

How to care for kittens if their mother abandoned them?

Please note that a cat who has gone into heat and has lost her milk will most likely abandon her kittens. Moreover, in the most unfavorable cases, she can simply eat them. If you want to save the babies’ lives, you will have to take on all the burdens of care. This applies not only to feeding: when raising cubs, you need to remember about numerous nuances, the observance of which determines both the health and life of the offspring.

First, examine the babies: remember that they are normally constantly moving and twitching, even when they have not yet learned to walk. If the kitten is not sleeping but looks lethargic and inactive, this is not good. In their sleep, kittens are quite calm and can practically not change the position of their body. When a baby is constantly spinning and meowing, it can mean two things: either it has some kind of health problem, or (more likely) it is very hungry.

In case you had to take on the responsibilities of a cat mother, make it a rule to examine your pets daily. Healthy young kittens have warm skin and small, round tummies (provided they are well fed). In addition, strong babies must have a strong, pronounced sucking reflex. As soon as you bring the nipple to their mouth, they immediately begin to draw milk from it. If there is no such reflex or it is poorly expressed, then the baby is very likely not viable. Of course, you can try to get out, but it is impossible to give any guarantee of success.

Read also: A cat does not go to the toilet after giving birth: causes, symptoms, treatment

If kittens are healthy, they tend to beg for milk about once an hour ( or once every two hours, but not less often). Accordingly, they will have to be fed with the same frequency (regardless of the time of day). The main sign of satiety of the “swallows” will be a slight swelling of their tummies and a “sudden” calmness.

In the first week, kittens, having just had their fill, fall asleep almost instantly. They sleep, as we already indicated above, for about an hour. If your pets instead fuss and squeak, then they probably don’t have enough formula. In this case, the rounding of the abdomen can be ignored: most likely, this is air that has entered the stomach during a constant squeak. We remind you once again that the lack of activity, squeaks and sucking reflex is an extremely bad sign, and such kittens should be urgently shown to a veterinarian.

Other nuances

Perhaps one of the most difficult aspects of caring for newborn babies is need for assistance with bowel movements and urination. Not all breeders know about this, but kittens in the first two or even three weeks of life are unable to pee and poop on their own. Under normal conditions, their mother does this: she carefully licks and massages the babies’ belly and genital area, and only after such mechanical stimulation can the pet’s body excrete urine and feces into the external environment.

Of course, you shouldn’t lick the kittens’ belly yourself: for this purpose you need to use a regular cotton pad soaked in warm saline solution or plain water. They also need to remove animal feces from their bodies.

It is very important! Lack of hygiene procedures may well lead to severe inflammation of the delicate skin of kittens.

Another problem is the tendency of kittens to hypothermia. Their body can independently maintain a temperature of no more than 35° Celsius, and this is not enough for accelerated metabolism. It is for this reason that the mother almost never leaves the cubs in the first weeks of their life, working as a “hot water bottle.” If the cubs left without mother's care are not warmed, they will quickly die. The easiest way is to use an infrared electric heating pad. In addition, it is necessary to maintain the air temperature in the room where the kittens are located at a level of at least 26° Celsius. By the third week it can be reduced to 22°.

What to do if a cat does not have milk after giving birth? Should the kittens be artificially fed and separated from their mother, or should we try to correct the situation? Let's figure it out.

Fine, Lactation in a cat begins immediately after birth or a few days before the appearance of offspring. Several complex mechanisms are responsible for the production of milk in the mother's body, but they all depend on hormonal levels.

From the first day of conception until the end of lactation, the level of oxytocin in the cat’s body increases. The amount of this hormone is constantly increasing. A critical concentration of oxytocin leads to the initiation of labor and active lactation. In fact, if everything goes naturally, the cat’s milk actively comes in during contractions and pushing.

For a few days before, a clear discharge may ooze from your cat's nipples, indicating that the mammary glands are open. This is a good sign, since nothing will interfere with the flow of milk. During this period, the cat intensively licks the nipples, which stimulates increased blood circulation in the tissues.

After the birth of the first kitten, the cat gnaws the umbilical cord, eats the afterbirth and pushes the baby towards the nipples. The process of feeding a kitten serves as additional stimulation for the beginning of new ones, and if all kittens are born, for the contraction of the uterus to a normal state.

In the first 4–5 days, the young mother feeds the babies every 2–3 hours. Note that immediately after childbirth, the mother’s body produces colostrum, not milk. In composition, colostrum is more saturated and contains a lot of:

Nutrients (proteins) – a source of nutrition.
Friendly lacto- and bifidobacteria - after birth, there are no bacteria in the intestines of kittens, and the process of further digestion depends on what microflora gets into it. Colostrum contains optimal microflora; statistics show that almost all artificially fed kittens suffer from dysbiosis.
Antibodies - during the entire period of feeding and until about 3 months of life, kittens do not have their own immunity; they receive antibodies from the mother. After the end of feeding, the concentration of antibodies in the blood of kittens decreases, they become defenseless against viruses and infections. For prevention, kittens at the age of 3–4 months begin a course of basic vaccination.
– newborn kittens, like their mother, experience dehydration in the first hours after birth. For kittens, this condition is considered more serious, so the mother’s body sacrifices itself to save the offspring. Your task is to take care of mom and help her restore water reserves in her body.

The cat independently decides how long to feed the kittens. Typically, a young mother begins to avoid feeding when the kittens reach the age of 1-2 months. At this point, the cat has a natural decrease in active lactation.

Note! The process of natural completion of lactation is due to the fact that kittens begin to eat not only milk. To constantly maintain the volume of milk, it is necessary that the kittens constantly suckle from their mother.

At about one month of age, babies' incisors begin to emerge, the cat experiences severe discomfort during feeding and begins to avoid babies. The kittens have no choice but to look for other food sources.

Approximately at the age of one month, the owner needs to start feeding the babies. If the cat is kept on industrial food, then the kittens are fed with special baby pate. If the animal eats natural food, the kittens are given boiled minced meat, broth, dairy and fermented milk products.

Risk prevention

If the pregnancy proceeds without complications, the expectant mother’s lifestyle is not much different from her usual one. The difference is that a pregnant and lactating cat needs a large amount of nutrients, vitamins and microelements. The comfort of a young mother is also of great importance, since stress has a detrimental effect on lactation and the gestation process.

During pregnancy, especially before giving birth, a cat's appetite increases, but constantly moving kittens do not give the expectant mother the opportunity to get enough. To prevent the cat from starving, it is advisable not to limit its food in small quantities. And about a week before giving birth, a bowl of food should be in the cat’s constant access.

Important! Normal weight gain for a pregnant cat should not exceed 40-50% of the initial weight. Carefully monitor your weight as obesity is fraught with complications during childbirth.

After the birth of the offspring, the cat's diet should remain enhanced. For the first few days after giving birth, make sure your pet's bowl is constantly filled. If your cat eats often and just a little at a time, don’t worry, this situation is considered normal. If 2 kittens were born in a cat's litter, the energy value of the diet should be doubled!

Be sure to ensure that there is a drinking bowl with clean water within the cat’s access area. Dehydration and stress are the most common causes of lack of milk or weak lactation. In the first days after birth, even if there is no milk, continue to feed your cat vigorously and constantly offer her water. To enrich the diet with water, the cat can be switched to liquid food.

If you feed your pet commercial food, it should be formulated for pregnant and lactating cats. To prevent dehydration, you should constantly offer your cat something to drink or switch it to wet, canned food of the same brand.

For normal lactation, a nursing cat must receive sufficient amounts of proteins. Proteins are an important and basic component of a cat's diet. In industrial feeding, specially developed products take into account the increased needs of nursing cats. The natural diet needs to be adjusted to include more meat, dairy and fermented milk products.

Important! In the first days after giving birth, the cat may simply not have enough milk for all the kittens.

If the babies look restless and constantly squeak, the young mother becomes very nervous, which has a detrimental effect on lactation. To correct the situation, supplement your babies with a cat's milk substitute until the cat's lactation improves.

– This is the most common cause of lactation problems. If a young mother is scared or feels in danger, the mammary glands may spasm. Simply put, milk is produced but cannot leave the mammary gland. This situation is dangerous for both the kittens and the mother.

The kids are malnourished and constantly squeak, which only increases stress. Stagnation of milk in the glands of a cat leads to the development of an inflammatory process. The cat feels severe pain when trying to feed the babies and may abandon the kittens for this reason. With prolonged stagnation, a nursing cat may develop mastitis.

Problems with lactation as a symptom

If the pregnancy proceeded normally, but lactation did not begin, the reasons may lie in hidden or congenital pathologies. Be sure to consult a veterinarian who will examine your cat before prescribing any therapy. Self-treatment in this case is very dangerous, since drugs that promote lactation will cause harm if the mammary gland channels are closed for some reason.

When a cat has inflammation of the mammary glands, lactation usually does not occur or stops. Be sure to keep the litter in the nest clean. Immediately after childbirth and in the first few days of lactation, the body of a young mother is vulnerable to bacteria and infections. During the feeding period, the mammary gland channels are open, which can lead to infection.

During the entire period of feeding the offspring, the health of the young mother must be closely monitored. A cat suffering from a flea infestation is constantly nervous, and its immune system is in a state of constant agitation, which can lead to weakened lactation.

Unfortunately, lack of lactation can be a very serious symptom. There are two common pathologies: postpartum and lactostasis. Lactostasis can be acquired or congenital. In cases of natural or congenital lactostasis, the cause of the disease lies in the malfunction of the brain. This condition cannot be treated, so the only alternative is artificial feeding of kittens.

Acquired lactostasis most often develops due to stress or overwork during childbirth. In this case, kittens must be fed artificially, but not taken away from their mother. The baby will instinctively suckle from its mother, which will stimulate the onset of lactation.

Postpartum- This is a deadly condition for a young mother, caused by a critically low level of calcium in the blood. Eclampsia is a hereditary disease; moreover, if a cat falls into a state of hypocalcemia after the first birth, the complication will most likely recur in all subsequent births.

Eclampsia must be stopped in a short time; for this purpose, calcium preparations are used, which are administered intramuscularly or intravenously. The main symptoms of postpartum eclampsia are: increased body weight, tremors, increased salivation, convulsive attacks, heavy breathing, change in color of the mucous membranes. Typically, the clinical picture progresses over several hours, after which the young mother falls into a coma and dies.

The ideal food for a newborn is mother's breast milk, and this statement is true for all mammals, including cats. It is best absorbed and contains everything necessary for the proper development of a small organism.

If for any reason a mother cannot fully feed her kittens, then the owner will have to provide them with a full replacement of mother's milk, taking all the worries upon himself. Otherwise, the crumbs risk dying from hunger. Let's take a closer look at why the cat lost milk, and what should be done in this case.

Why might a cat not have milk?

There are many reasons for insufficient milk production. These could be internal problems in the cat's body, such as a hormonal imbalance, a congenital malformation, or a complication after childbirth.

External factors also affect lactation: stress after childbirth can affect not only feeding, but also force the cat to completely ignore caring for the offspring. What kind of stress can there be in a warm apartment where your pet is provided with all the best? Can a cat lose milk if all conditions are provided to her?

In fact, an insufficiently secluded place to rest, other pets and increased attention from the owners also make the animal nervous. Try not to touch the cat for the first days after giving birth and do not handle the kittens.

Call your veterinarian to rule out inflammatory processes in the cat’s reproductive system after lambing. Retained placenta and endometritis lead to a lack of milk. Sometimes enough milk is produced, but it stagnates in the gland, causing lactostasis and mastitis.

How can you tell if kittens are full?

It is important to distinguish the complete absence of milk (agalactia) from its insufficient production (hypogalactia). With hypogalactia, there is simply not enough milk for adequate nutrition of all the cubs, but there is a chance to improve lactation. With agalactia, the only solution most often is artificial feeding.

To assess whether kittens are getting enough milk, they need to be weighed regularly. You can read more about caring for small kittens in our article “How to care for newborn kittens with a cat? "

Normally, the cat's mammary glands will be swollen, and a drop of milk will be released from the nipple when gently squeezed. Even if you don’t see that the kittens are suckling, but they sleep peacefully most of the time, squeak little and gain weight, it means they have enough food.

To understand how to care for kittens on your own, we recommend that you look at our article “Caring for a kitten without a cat: mission possible.” Let's take a closer look at artificial feeding of kittens - knowing what to do if a cat loses milk can save the lives of babies in a difficult situation.

If the cat has swollen glands, but the kittens have difficulty latching, squeak and are restless, try gently massaging the area around the mother's nipples and reposition the babies.

After consulting with a veterinarian, you can drop a drop of the hormone oxytocin into the mother's nose - it helps empty the ducts. If nothing works, the cat does not want and cannot feed her children, you need to switch to artificial feeding as quickly as possible.

Which mixture should you choose?

Many breeders advise preparing your own mixture of milk, eggs and honey. Perhaps such food can provide the kitten with basic nutrients, but it may lack vitamins and microelements, and the reaction of a small organism to a large amount of foreign protein is unpredictable.

This mixture can be fed to babies if you do not have the opportunity to purchase a special ready-made product. A regular 1 or 2 ml syringe without a needle will also work as a pacifier.

The best solution would be to purchase a special kit from a veterinary pharmacy or pet store, consisting of powdered cat milk and a small pacifier. The most famous and trusted manufacturers of such mixtures are Beaphar, Gimpet and Roayl Canin. They contain easily digestible split proteins, a set of vitamins and macroelements.

By feeding a kitten yourself, you will have to replace its mother. Be prepared for the fact that this is a complex matter and requires maximum effort. Don't forget to keep your baby warm, feed him often and massage his tummy with a damp, warm cloth. Despite the apparent difficulties, many people successfully raise kittens left without maternal care.

What canned food tastes best for cats?

RESEARCH ATTENTION! You and your cat can take part in it! If you live in Moscow or the Moscow region and are ready to regularly observe how and how much your cat eats, and also remember to write it all down, they will bring you FREE WET FOOD SETS.

Project for 3–4 months. Organizer - Petkorm LLC.

Immediately after birth and for 3-4 weeks, mother's milk is the main source of existence for babies. The lack of milk (agalactia) threatens newborns with starvation, and the lack of secretions in the mother (hypogalactia) threatens the underdevelopment of the cubs. Every owner of a furry pet who has given birth to kittens should know what to do if a cat does not have milk. The life and health of the offspring depend on timely detection of signs of lack of nutrition and the adoption of measures.

Read in this article

Causes of lactation disorders in cats

Nature made sure that after childbirth, the mother first produces colostrum, and then milk. The central nervous and endocrine systems of the body are responsible for these processes. Childbirth triggers the production of hormones that stimulate milk production (prolactin, oxytocin). Sucking the cubs stimulates the synthesis and flow of secretions into the mother's mammary gland. However, often the well-functioning natural mechanism malfunctions, and the animal produces little milk or does not produce it at all.

There are many reasons why a cat does not produce milk after giving birth:

Complications associated with lambing. (inflammation of the uterine mucosa), pyometra (purulent inflammation of the uterus) are difficult for the animal, characterized by inflammatory processes and a febrile state. Against the background of these pathologies, milk production often stops. The cause of agalactia may be postpartum eclampsia, which develops due to calcium deficiency in the body.

Placenta retention may be a factor inhibiting the processes of formation and flow of secretions into the mammary gland.

(inflammation of the mammary gland) is one of the common causes of insufficient milk production in a cat. The disease is accompanied by an increase in body temperature and a painful syndrome.

Hormonal imbalances. Often the reason why a cat loses milk is hormonal imbalance. This often happens when an animal is mated early, when labor is delayed.

Postpartum stress. Lambing for an animal, especially if the female is primiparous, is accompanied by psychological and physiological stress. Anxiety in the mother can be caused by increased human attention to the offspring, noise, bright light, and proximity to other animals. Stress suppresses the production of hormones responsible for lactation.

Poor feeding. One of the common reasons why a cat has little milk is a low-calorie and unbalanced diet. The diet of a nursing mother should correspond to her physiological state and be high in calories.

Congenital malformations can also cause agalactia and hypogalactia in cats.

Signs of underfed kittens

It is very important to detect in a timely manner that newborn kittens are not eating enough to prevent mortality and morbidity among the offspring. How can you tell if a cat doesn't have milk? The following signs that you need to pay attention to will help with this:

When you press on the nipple, a drop of milk should appear. This manipulation needs to be done at the time of feeding, since the cat’s milk is not constantly in the mammary glands, but when the kittens stimulate the nipples. And if a drop of milk does not appear at this moment, it is worth taking a closer look at the kittens’ behavior.

Hungry babies are restless, look for nipples, squeak, and do not sleep after feeding. Hungry or underfed kittens crawl around looking for a food source. Well-fed cubs fall asleep almost immediately after the next intake of milk, sometimes right at the mother's nipple.

Some cats, if they do not have milk, are reluctant to be near kittens and abandon them. Other animals with agalactia continue to “feed” their offspring, take care of them, warm them, and lick them. In this case, the behavior of the kittens will be an indicator of underfeeding.

More reliable information that a cat does not have enough milk can be obtained by regularly weighing the babies. During the day, with a normal supply of food, the cub gains at least 10 grams in weight. If within a few days the increase is less than this or is completely absent, this is a serious symptom that the kitten is starving and its life is under threat.

Kitten weight by month

Kitten weight per month	500-750 gr
Kitten weight at 2 months	1000-1500 gr
Kitten weight at 3 months	1700-2300 gr
Kitten weight at 4 months	2500-3600 gr
Kitten weight at 5 months	3100-4200 gr
Kitten weight at 6 months	3500-4800 gr

The presence of one, and even more so several of the listed signs of lack or lack of milk in a cat, is a signal for the owner to take immediate measures to stimulate lactation in the animal.

Techniques to stimulate lactation

If agalactia or insufficient milk production in a cat is detected, the animal should be shown to a veterinarian for diagnosis of diseases (mastitis, endometritis, pyometra, postpartum eclampsia). If a hormonal imbalance is detected in a cat, the veterinarian will prescribe hormonal therapy for the animal. The use of oxytocin, mastomethrin, and ovariovit has a good effect. The dosage and frequency of use is determined by a specialist after examining the animal.

After dangerous factors have been eliminated, the owner’s task is to ensure proper nutrition and maintenance conditions for the nursing mother.

What should I do to make my cat produce milk? First of all, the mother must be protected from stressful situations, and a calm, secluded environment must be created for feeding and caring for the offspring. The nest should be placed in a dark, secluded place inaccessible to other animals.

The main thing in stimulating milk production is adequate feeding. A nursing cat should receive 2 times more calories compared to the normal state. The diet should include meat (beef, chicken, offal). It will provide kittens with the necessary protein and enhance milk synthesis. Dairy products (cottage cheese, cream, yogurt, fermented baked milk, cheese) also stimulate production. The animal's diet must include vegetables (carrots, cabbage), which have a stimulating effect on the mammary gland.

If a cat eats dry food, then it should be switched to premium and super-premium mixtures from well-known manufacturers. Specialized nutrition fully meets the physiological needs of a nursing mother. The bowl of food should be located near the cat’s nest, as many caring mothers are afraid to abandon their kittens for a long time and remain hungry.

To improve lactation, high fluid intake is important. It is better if the cat eats liquid food, for example, in the form of warm broth. Water should be freely available to the animal at all times.

What to feed kittens if the mother has lost milk

If the measures taken to stimulate lactation did not lead to the desired result, the babies show signs of malnutrition, it is necessary to urgently switch to. For these purposes, special dry formulas for newborns are produced. The finished composition is identical to mother's milk and does not cause digestive upset in babies.

In the absence of specialized formulas for feeding kittens, whole goat milk is suitable, as well as dry formulas for infants. Baby food must be diluted 1.5 times before use. Natural cow's milk is not suitable for feeding due to its low protein content compared to cat's milk. It often leads to intestinal disorders in the young.

A cat's lack of milk or its insufficient production can lead to underdevelopment of the offspring and their death. Recognizing the problem in time can save the health and life of the furballs. Most often, timely assistance from a nursing cat has a positive effect on increasing milk production. And only in rare cases does a person have to take care of feeding the offspring.