Hello to everyone! I need your answer, folks.
First, some background. Two years ago, I found a blue kitten. I started feeding her and she somehow became "mine" (or I became hers) even though she never entered my home. On 10 March 2009, she gave birth to a litter of five. On 22 April, four kittens were killed by dogs during the night. One survived by hiding under a car. He himself died on 4 June, being hit by a car. She and her last surviving kitten from her first litter both survived cat flu thanks to the vet's dedication, though her condition was rather serious.
She had another litter of five on 27 July, all daughters this time. One died few weeks after birth. One disappeared (probably taken away by someone). One hurt her leg on a piece of metal, got sepsis before we noticed the wound and died. One was simply found dead soon after. One survived.
We decided to have the mother of 10 kittens spayed. Well, that was a bad decision. She died of complications few days later, in November 2009. On 22 May 2010, her daughter gave birth to a litter of five. They were all unusally large and active; they crawled all over the place on their first day of life! Nevertheless, on 26 May, we found one kitten dead. On 30 May, we found two kittens dead. On 3 June, the last two died. We found all of them with their mouths wide open and some had tongues out of their mouth. We heard the last kitten making odd sounds, as if it had difficulties with breathing.
What happened? Why did they all die within 20 days of their birth? I've lost 15 cats from this cat family so far and I was really looking forward to this generation. Did they catch cat flu? If they did, what are the odds of survival for the next litter? (Yes, I plan to leave their mother unspayed. Why? See what happened to their grandmother.)
First, some background. Two years ago, I found a blue kitten. I started feeding her and she somehow became "mine" (or I became hers) even though she never entered my home. On 10 March 2009, she gave birth to a litter of five. On 22 April, four kittens were killed by dogs during the night. One survived by hiding under a car. He himself died on 4 June, being hit by a car. She and her last surviving kitten from her first litter both survived cat flu thanks to the vet's dedication, though her condition was rather serious.
She had another litter of five on 27 July, all daughters this time. One died few weeks after birth. One disappeared (probably taken away by someone). One hurt her leg on a piece of metal, got sepsis before we noticed the wound and died. One was simply found dead soon after. One survived.
We decided to have the mother of 10 kittens spayed. Well, that was a bad decision. She died of complications few days later, in November 2009. On 22 May 2010, her daughter gave birth to a litter of five. They were all unusally large and active; they crawled all over the place on their first day of life! Nevertheless, on 26 May, we found one kitten dead. On 30 May, we found two kittens dead. On 3 June, the last two died. We found all of them with their mouths wide open and some had tongues out of their mouth. We heard the last kitten making odd sounds, as if it had difficulties with breathing.
What happened? Why did they all die within 20 days of their birth? I've lost 15 cats from this cat family so far and I was really looking forward to this generation. Did they catch cat flu? If they did, what are the odds of survival for the next litter? (Yes, I plan to leave their mother unspayed. Why? See what happened to their grandmother.)