Ragdoll Cat Forums

Do the moms usually thin out during the nursing period?

Just wondering because when I went to visit my new kitten, I noticed the mom was thinner than I expected and she said that nursing takes quite a toll on their bodies, but once they're not nursing anymore they plump back. Same with the other moms in the other room w/ the other litters. I asked her to see both the males she has and they were nice & plump & fluffy. In fact one of them was huge! I swear his neck was as big as a humans!

I wondered if this was normal since I of course have no idea, and also I must add that I'm a worry-wart.

Thanks,
-Sheri

Having a litter and nursing does take a toll on a Queen. There are a lot of calories expended in the nursing process and generally kittens take 8 weeks to be fully weaned and queens do continue to supplement with nursing even after that time. Coat and condition as well as weight can be impacted. Different cats react differently. Some will lose a lot of weight and have bad coat condition and others you can hardly tell had a litter. The timeframe to get back to former shape can be months to even close to a year.

The caloric intake as well as the food served during this time should take this into account. Also if a queen seems to have a pattern of losing a lot of weight and taking a very long time to get back into shape she may be better off as a loving pet. Each cat is different.

Yes, this can happen and is more likely with larger litters. In larger litters, it is also more likely that there will not be enough milk at all times for all kittens and the kittens need to be supplemented.

Both Lola and Evie lost weight whilst feeding their litters despite being on a high quality diet with additional supplements of wet food for them both. The smaller the litter the less weight they lose and the quicker they recover.

Queens should be supplimented also during the entire nursing phase with KMR or Goat's milk. I also found it was a wonderfully good idea to have bred a back-up female whom from experience produced smaller litters of kittens so that female could handle some of the kittens from the larger litter.


Curt