05/25/2026
Surely, I didn't need any more kittens, but this baby has stolen my heart.
A friendly stray cat started visiting a home in Riverdale recently. Although the family didn't have experience with cats, they had a soft spot for animals and brought her inside. In the early morning hours last Tuesday, this stray kitty gave birth to four babies. Unsure what to monitor for or how to proceed, they reached out to FURRR 911. While most people say that fostering nursing moms and their babies is easy because the mom does all the work, the situation still needs to be monitored closely and regularly for any changes in appetite, weight, symptoms of illness, behavior, and alertness. This means monitoring both the mom AND her kittens because things can quickly change.
All was going well with this family until 36 hours ago. Under our advice, the finder had been diligently monitoring the weights of the kittens. When she noticed that the runt of the litter had lost weight and wasn't staying latched onto mom's ni**le for very long, she contacted us. We recommended giving the runt time alone with mom every hour or two so that the bigger kittens wouldn't jostle or compete with the little one. A late Sunday afternoon reweight was promising as this simple intervention led to a small weight gain.
Unfortunately, this morning's weight revealed a further loss. With the kitten only 7 days old, any weight loss is dangerous. Although we wanted to keep the family together, we know that two consecutive days of weight loss is a huge red flag. So the difficult decision was made to intervene, and the kitten was brought to me. Since the baby just arrived, he is warming up in an incubator prior to any attempts to feed.
These little kittens are adorable, but they are also extremely fragile. Every negative change needs to be noted and addressed immediately as newborns can decline very quickly. While this baby looks clean and healthy on the surface, there could be an internal congenital defect or issue that has not shown itself yet. Here at FURRR 911, we believe in giving newborn kittens every chance to live and be loved as long as they are not in distress and still have some fight left in them. While we don't know what is causing this weight loss, we will start with bottle feeding and strictly monitor his weight. If needed, we will switch to tube feeding. This is what we do day in and day out. This is FURRR 911.
To make a donation so that we can continue caring for these precious newborn kittens, please visit www.linktr.ee/furrr911.
