Seeking advice on behalf of my daughter....briefly her cat gave birth to 5 kittens last night, no problems during the birth but she then calmly walked away and is showing no interest in them at all, she just wanted to get into bed with my daughter as she normally does, kittens are in a box next to the bed, daughter has tried putting the kittens on the bed with their mother, but mother gets up up and goes to lie somewhere else!

My daughter and I live 250 miles away from one another so I can't actually go and help her but she is worried sick and is on her way to the vet to check if they can find any reason for this, but I know that there are people on here that would know more than a vet when it comes to breeding matters...any suggestions, please??

Is the cat very young and doesn't understand what is happening? She needs to lay her down and put one kitten at a time to feed, she may have to hold Mum down, not as easy as it is with a dog due to the claws, hopefully her natural instinct kicks in and she will take over the care.

If Mum isn't helping the kittens to toilet then you will need to wipe their tail ends with cotton wool dipped in warm water to simulate the tongue licking them.

I hope things turn around as rearing 5 kittens is going to leave very little time for anything else.

She is a young cat (not too young though as she is a pedigree breeding queen) and it is her first litter.

We're hoping that her natural instincts will kick in, she was given the all clear by the vet though so at least we know that she is ok...the vet sent her home with Cimicat for the kittens and they have taken that really well, so at least they are strong enough to feed.Also the vet gave her Feliway spray to help relax the mum...I've never used it myself but have read on here that people say it works...fingers crossed.

We have, of course let the breeder of the girl know and to ask for her advice but she says she's never had this happen, so not able to offer any advice.

Hopefully goldimal marrianne wi be here so. She is the cat lady !

It's very common, which is why the great majority of queens must be confined to a kitten pen (i.e. FULLY enclosed) for the first 2 weeks or so. I swear I'd have 99% of my kittens hidden under the bed if I didn't use a pen, and if the queen decides she isn't sure, it is so much harder when they are allowed to run free. So I'd get a pen ASAP so she has to be with them -but of course also making sure there is enough space for the queen to rest away from the kittens when she needs a break. Cover the pen up with just a bit of an opening at the front, so it is a secure den. I had my first 2 or 3 litters without a pen in the late 80s/early 90s, but since then always use them in the early days. I use Shaw's Majesticage as the bars of dog cages are too big, small kittens can get through them if they fall out of bed.

Thank you so much for your reply...I will google the cage you've recommended, are they available online or at PAH?

Not sure where you can get them these days -they tend to be for sale at cat shows. I have a couple of ideas, will get back in a moment with links if I find them.

Similar but not exact same that I use (mine are white and have a base):
http://www.purrsonaltouch.co.uk/product.asp?strParents=&CAT_ID=182&P_ID=404
Never heard of this company before, but this is virtually identical to mine :
http://www.valupets.com/pets/wire-carrier/shaws-fold*flat-kitten-pen-%28with-top-and-front-opening-doors%29/20176.html

I like the look of the 2nd one, I will ring and see how quickly we can get one...if the cat has to be closed in there with her kittens, do you put a small litter tray in with her or just let her out regularly to use the normal litter tray?

I found one of my queens (Well, Hope!) didn't like it too warm, she would move somewhere cooler away from the kittens and took them one by one to where she wanted.

There are kittening cubes too.

I furnish mine with bed, litter tray, plus of course food and water.

They look like chinchilla cages, would something like that do for the OP as she needs something urgently?

The Shaws cage which I thought would be best is out of stock! The owner of the stud boy has very kindly lent one of her cages to my daughter so hopefully things will calm down today when it arrives....in the mean time the kittens are still being hand reared and all 5 seem to be doing well!

Daughter is somewhat frazzled with having no sleep, but we are still hopeful that mum will take over, she is showing some interest in them this morning, so we are keeping everything crossed!

Thanks everyone for the advice...much appreciated x