Stinky cat with Kittens

[Frenchlady14]

Hello oh wise mumsnetters,

A stray cat came through my window three weeks ago and had her kittens in my kitchen. Difficult but not the end of the world (although resident cat was not impressed) I now have five cats more than I did and will have to start looking for some parents for the kittens - however, the problem is that the mother cat is very stinky. She is eating loads, which is only to be expected and I'm keeping the litter tray clean but Dear God when she goes in it, it nearly takes the hairs off the inside of my nose. I was even in the bath (a whole floor and corridor away) and I knew she'd just used the tray. I am giving her as good a diet as possible as she is feeding the little ones - poached chicken or turkey, some sachet food and some dried food for variety. Also, when she takes a break and comes to see me she brings the awful smell with her. Id like to be able to give her a cuddle but it's beyond possible. Is there something I can do? I can't take her to the vet just yet (I will when I can to get her sterilised and chipped) so any help would make life much sweeter in here?

Beautiful! Well done you are doing a fabulous job.😍

This is also a good summary: icatcare.org/advice/bringing-up-a-litter-of-kittens-health-considerations/

Well she fell on her feet, what a lovely person you are.

Sorry no advice as I have a dog not cats but just wanted to say what a lovely, kind person you are.

How clever was she, to find a safe place to shelter!

Op diet has huge impact on the stinky poos / farty bums. I too could smell my cats poop from upstairs ( litter tray is downstairs) Cats are just like us, sometimes some foods don't bode well tummy wise. I find that the worst culprits are food like Sheba, whiskas, generally any supermarket food which is also very poor quality nutrition wise. I feed my cat this stuff, it is simple meat with natural broth - just like chicken breast in a tin, she seems to tolerate this much better & no more stinky poos. P.S zooplus sells this in smaller / bigger packs.

Check it out: #zooplus zooplus.page.link/ar3E

There is another brand called Cosma nature - this is also like pure chicken in a tin / pouches.

@Elisandra

They’re beautiful! As she’s stray she is highly likely to have instestinal parasites that changing food won’t sort out. It really is important to start worming the kittens from 3 weeks ish as a high worm burden can affect them badly. I foster and am given Panacur for them. A local rescue may help you if you want to avoid vets fees at the moment.

Excellent advice.

@Frenchlady14 - Well done you and welcome to the club! I’ve been feeding a colony of strays for the last 10 months, managed to catch and stérilise 4 females until a neighbor got the hump and objected to me feeding near his house. Had to change to an area which was much more difficult to trap ( not to mention rebuild trust) and in feb, realised one was pregnant. Finally caught her, brought her home and she presented me with four kittens who are now 10 weeks old. Mum was stériliséd a fortnight ago and all are doing well, although it’s bloody chaos here! I bought a soft sided playpen, which has been invaluable for ‘time out’ and when I hoover. Also had a similar problem with mum and stinky poos and think it may be a combination of adjusting to a richer diet and regular feeding as well as hormonal changes. Kits are weaned now but do still suckle occasionally for comfort and I’ve noticed that ‘bathroom smells’ are a little less pungent thankfully...... Mum and kittens look adorable, bless you for taking her in and taking such good care of them- The little cats’ instincts in choosing you were spot on! I’ll try and attach a pic of mine x

Pics - 2 females, jet black like mum and 2 boys, one grey and one tabby and white.

Wow what beautiful kittens and the mother is absolutely gorgeous too. She’s very dainty and clearly not old herself.
They are so lucky, really landed on their pass! The world needs more people like you.

How are they all doing today?

The mother might need flea and worming urgently - if you can roughly weight her advocate is really east to administer to the back of the neck. It’s also safe to use on pregnant and lactating cats

@pantherrose they are gorgeous. Another set of very very lucky cats ♥️

The mum needs to be eating calorie-rich kitten food while she’s nursing. Especially important as her nutrition while pregnant was likely poor.

www.kittycatter.com/best-cat-food-for-nursing-cats/

Does she have any signs of an infection after giving birth that could be causing the smell or are you certain its from the bowels?

So sweet! Will you be keeping Mum?

Hi Everyone

Thanks so much for all your advice. I'm back from shopping and I got chicken breasts and rice which I'm poaching for her. I must admit I did give her Sheba before as I thought it would be rich and tempt her - she's lost so much weight since the kittens and shedding lots of fur. That might well have contributed to the smelly stuff. I'll try her on the chicken and rice for a while and see how she is. She does seem to love the poached chicken. I also bought some liver - thank you CleverPolly to see if she likes it but I'll have to try not to throw up as I chop it up as I can't stand the stuff. I will get worming stuff for the kittens Elisandra thanks for the advice - I didn't know you should do it so early. Also found a high sided container as they are getting quite restless. I will keep mum cat - I'll have to have a chat with resident cat about it, but she was a rescue cat too so I hope she'll understand.

So glad she has a permanent home with you and won’t have to continually get pregnant out on the streets!

I went to take a picture of them in their new box and they all came tumbling over to say Hello

Pantherrose yours are so pretty too - I don't know how I'm going to find homes for mine - we are right in the middle of kitten season here in rural France and it seems there are pictures of them everywhere looking for good homes.

Please be careful, cat food needs to be "complete" with all the necessary supplements etc, they can get poorly very quickly if you just feed them human food. Food like Applaws and the Zooplus link above is supplementary, not complete.
I'm in Australia, so I don't know which are the better brands in the UK at the moment but generally the cheaper food like Felix etc will be less good and won't help Ms Stinky...

Chicken and rice won't have all the nutrients a nursing cat requires either. Good quality kitten food is likely to be best to give her

Kitties!!!

Look at their little faces

You’re a good soul OP

Think OP is in France so I don't know what cat foods are available there

I'll try her on the poached chicken until I can get to the Vet next week to get worming tablets. I'll have a chat with him about her diet and he can recommend something I'm sure. smokeymirror I will get her sterilised very quickly as I think she has done her bit for the propogation of the species now. Just to say - she is the most unusual-looking cat - very oriental face with smoky grey soft fur and tiny flecks of pinky beige randomly on her coat - I've never seen colouring like hers before

Maybe try this since you're in France?
www.zooplus.fr/shop/chats/boites_sachets_barquettes_chat/royal_canin_boites_chat/royal_canin_sachet_chaton/359011?zootopia_rec=true&cn=initial&si=4&pn=web_category_l4&pr=container_1&strategy=79763595&rk=1-12&slot=1&pi=359011&rri=151262cb-b135-4a15-a53e-70ecea23530e

It's what our kittens were given by the breeder.

Ok just seen some comments - I've still got some kitten food so I'll supplement her chicken and rice with it. I bought kitten milk too is that ok to give her?

@Frenchlady14 Thé kittens are so pretty! So glad you’ve decided to keep their mother- I have decided the same, as after having her here for over 3 months now, I think she’s established herself firmly. I’m sure my resident cat would pop open a bottle if she went, but he ‘s a pretty laid back type ( not to mention twice her size) and they seem to have arrived at an understanding.... The kittens are another matter and he is beginning to get more than a little peeved with them playing with his tail as he’s eating! I’m not sure if I can bear to part with them though and have put off advertising for the mo
Co incidentally, I’m in France too (south east) and it’s the same story here. I’d want to be certain that they were going to go to committed loving homes and preferably in pairs, which is not so easy. The refuges here are bursting at the seams with lockdown ‘presents’ and unexpected litters and I wouldn’t want to add to that, directly or Indirectly.
As I’m renting, I’m starting to think (dream) about re locating to somewhere with a large garden and an outbuilding or two......