Insecure cat... help please!

[Meekey_Mouse]

I know I probably won't get many serious replies, but it's worth the try :p

My cat had her first litter of kittens last night, 5 kittens in total. This morning she won't stop meowing and follows either myself or any one in my family until we pat her or pick her up. Rang the vet asking if that's normal and why she's doing that. Apparently she's insecure and un sure about the kittens, although she is doing a great job of mothering them.

What I'd love to know is: Has any one had this before and what makes them feel secure again (ie: what stops her from meowing?!)?

Please please PLEASE help if you can! She's gunna drive us insane lol

[nodrog]

i think it needs a CAT scan.

[MSTRS]

Woof! Woof!
The lab report says your cat is a headcase....just like ours.

[jrandom]

As always, the magical world of the internets offers the answer to your problem (http://freshkitten.com/recipes.php).

[Riff Raff]

My cat had her first litter 4 weeks ago and did the same thing. She even tried to follow me between giving birth to the first and second kitten. I found giving her a cuddle and then giving her some food helped (remember she's going to need to eat a lot)

The other thing that's helpful is to make sure she's in a spot that she's happy with. I put her and the kittens in a box then put a dining chair over the box with a blanket draped over the chair so that it was dark and cosy. She was a lot happier with that.

PS Anyone want a kitten - got two gorgeous black and white males and a male tabby. Female tabby has found a home already.

[Toaster]

what makes them feel secure again (ie: what stops her from meowing?!)?

She look to you as the 'head of the pack' and source of food, comfort etc etc. She needs exactly that, comfort to know she is doing the right job, just like any first time mum. Lots of fusses and sitting there with her and kittens will help if you can make the time. She will feel safer and more comfortable that way.

[Meekey_Mouse]

My cat had her first litter 4 weeks ago and did the same thing. She even tried to follow me between giving birth to the first and second kitten. I found giving her a cuddle and then giving her some food helped (remember she's going to need to eat a lot)

The other thing that's helpful is to make sure she's in a spot that she's happy with. I put her and the kittens in a box then put a dining chair over the box with a blanket draped over the chair so that it was dark and cosy. She was a lot happier with that.

Thanks! Have been giving her attention and food... Only ever stops her for a few mins. Will try the blanket thing! Her box is where she normally would sleep, so she must be ok there and she still seems to prefer it there

[Meekey_Mouse]

She look to you as the 'head of the pack' and source of food, comfort etc etc. She needs exactly that, comfort to know she is doing the right job, just like any first time mum. Lots of fusses and sitting there with her and kittens will help if you can make the time. She will feel safer and more comfortable that way.

Yup, have been trying to give her as much time, pats, cuddles and attention as I can... I'm leaving tonight and coming back Monday so hopefully she'll be ok. My mum and dad will be here, hopefully she doesn't drive them insane :lol:

[kiwifruit]

give her heaps of attention / praise etc :)

[SpankMe]

My cat had her first litter 4 weeks ago and did the same thing. She even tried to follow me between giving birth to the first and second kitten.

Yep, an old cat of mine did this also. Had to sit with her the whole time while she gave birth.

[vifferman]

As always, the magical world of the internets offers the answer to your problem (http://freshkitten.com/recipes.php).
You again!
Did you not pay attention to my last post about your apparent keyboard dyslexia?

It's interdweeb, not fargin internets! :spanking:

And as for your cat problem - it's a fargin cat (cue gollum-like choking and spitting noises).
Shoot the fucker!

[Pussy]

What everyone else has said... give her heaps of cuddles, tell her how clever she is etc. She looks up to you!!

[jrandom]

Did you not pay attention to my last post about your apparent keyboard dyslexia?

I'm pretty sure there's a rule somewhere that says that people with more than 69 points on their licence, being murderers and baby rapists, etc, don't get to complain about keyboard dyslexia.

:whistle:

[Stirts]

Can't meow and cant follow you....sorted!

[vifferman]

Can't meow and cant follow you....sorted!
Love it!
Everything as it should be.

Y'know, almost every time I hear cat lovers talking about their cats and how funny/cute/wonderful they are, my jaw drops. It's almost invariably tales of selfish, antisocial, annoying, destructive, or otherwise damned unattractive behaviour that reminds me why I switched from being a cat person to a dog lover.
Cats have few if any redeeeming features. If they were covered in scales or coarse hair, no-one would like them (apart from a few :crazy::eek5: psychos...)

[Ocean1]

The other thing that's helpful is to make sure she's in a spot that she's happy with.

Heh, I remember pitched battles between my mother and our old cat. The cat had her kittens under my brother's bed, my mother put the lot into a cardboard box and moved them into the wash-house. The cat put them back under the bed, one by one. Repeat... for weeks.

[Ocean1]

reminds me why I switched from being a cat person to a dog lover.

They're not usually quite as dependent on people though, I wouldn't have a dog now, given the hours I spend at home, not fair.

I wanted to get a Bengal, sort of wanted a cake and eat deal, most of the advantages of a normal cat but big enough to make a BEWARE OF THE CAT sign believable. I always wanted such a sign. But I got outvoted.

[MacD]

Can't meow and cant follow you....sorted!

Ha! Wait until it gets bitten on the arse!

Cat win! (yes, it's been posted before...)

Back to the topic: cats like somewhere reasonably enclosed and dark to keep their kittens, try putting them in a box at the back of a cupboard for example.

[Kornholio]

Maybe you should be posting this in the depression thread :shifty:

[Mikkel]

You just need to confuse your cat. Look up "confuse a cat" on the intarweb and you should be on your way... :)

[vifferman]

The cat had her kittens under my brother's bed, my mother put the lot into a cardboard box and moved them into the wash-house. The cat put them back under the bed, one by one. Repeat... for weeks.
They're probably like many mammals then (only stupider). Sheep are very attached to the spot where they give birth (due to their waters breaking and the smell of the placental fluids). So a significant cause of lamb mortality in hill country is this: the ewe delivers the lamb, the lamb is all slippery and limp, and if the birth site's not very big or flat, the lamb slides down the hill. The ewe turns around to sniff/lick the lamb, and the lamb's not there! So the ewe goes, "Huh... I coulda sworn I just had a lamb - I must've been mistaken..." If the lamb isn't within easy sniffing distance, the ewe doesn't recognise it as her own, and won't leave the birth site to collect the lamb if it's more than a metre or two away. (Once the ewe and lamb have bonded, it's different, and the ewe will leave the birth site after a while).

[Beemer]

They're not usually quite as dependent on people though, I wouldn't have a dog now, given the hours I spend at home, not fair.

I wanted to get a Bengal, sort of wanted a cake and eat deal, most of the advantages of a normal cat but big enough to make a BEWARE OF THE CAT sign believable. I always wanted such a sign. But I got outvoted.

I've got one that says "Beware of the cats" as you come up to the front door, then by the door there is one that says "Don't worry about the cats - beware of the owner!"

[Toaster]

.... Please please PLEASE help if you can! She's gunna drive us insane lol

Hey you :cool: how is it going with the cat and kittens? Any better?

[Meekey_Mouse]

Hey you :cool: how is it going with the cat and kittens? Any better?

Thanks for all your help and comments :) I was amazed that there wasn't too much piss takin goin on! Well done every one :niceone::lol:

We put two chairs either side of her box and put a blanket over it, with enough of a small gap to let her in... That quietened her down a little bit but then I left Thursday evening and she started meowing worse then before apparently.

She meowed through most of Friday then when my parents woke up on Saturday she was really quite :banana:

[unhingedlizard]

One of the reasons that cats hang around people, like cuddle etc is that the ratio of size between a human and a cat is round about the difference between a kitten and thier mother. Its why cats act like kittens around you, rubbing and meowing and carrying on. Your cat is saying "look mum, look what i did, artnt i doing a good job".

I wanted a dog but didnt want to deal with the walks, and the rego fees, and the drool and the turds all over the lawn, and the need to be there everyday, and the need to organize kennels or feeding everytime i wanted to go somewhere, and the cost of food and..............

[SDU]

Sounds like she has settled but if she becomes unsettled again check out from your Feliway diffuser/ spray which is the synthesized facial hormone of cats & works in all sorts of situations such as moving house, other cats hanging around territory, introducing other pets & babies.