Adopted skittish cat, will likely give birth this week

[emocatowner]

Looks like the kittens’ heads are larger than the birth canal. 2 kittens possibly still alive, one mass that was likely a reabsorbed kitten.

So she would have died without a c section. And there is still a good chance this will go horribly wrong for her, particularly in the form of an infection from the reabsorbed kitten. She will need a blood transfusion and fluids. And she may have pelvic damage from the 2 stillborn kittens.

It will cost an arm and a leg either way. I should have spay aborted. I just hope she survives and will be ok.

 

[emocatowner]

She survived! No complications. Waiting for her to wake up, then we can pick her up. One kitten is alive and awake. Second kitten has a weak heartbeat and is not conscious, unsure if it will survive.

We were told she may reject the kittens. We’re likely going to have to bottle feed them.

 

[emocatowner]

Home now. Only one kitten survived.

Momma has no interest in the kitten, she is utterly terrified. We fed it some formula, it suckled really well. We tried stimulating it with a damp microfiber cloth. Nothing seemed to came out, though I understand that may be normal for the first feeding? Plan is to feed and try again 3h later.

Kitten is now sitting in a nesting spot, with a microwaveable water bottle on one side. It moved off it but stays close to it.

Momma still had a IV needle in. I give them most of my savings and they forget to take it out! I managed to get it out, though getting the cone on is impossible without really stressing her. We’re taking turns watching her for now, figuring out wtf to do.

She felt really warm, and is now breathing kinda fast. Not sure if just fear or infection. Prob gonna call vet again soon.

I am definitely in over my head. Advice most welcomed.

 

[Sarthur2]

Goodness! Poor mama is exhausted and needs time to get the anesthesia out of her system. Did the vet send her home with pain meds or antibiotics? She needs 3 days of pain meds and they usually give a long-acting antibiotic injection. Ensure she received or receives both.

C-sections are expensive, but it’s good they saved mom and one kitten! Mom will warm up to her kitten in a few days when she feels better. She’s not up for it right now.

Forget the cone. It stresses mom and she just needs to relax comfortably and rest. If she licks her incision area it’s okay.

Baby sounds like it’s doing well! We’re here for you!

emocatowner

 

[emocatowner]

Goodness! Poor mama is exhausted and needs time to get the anesthesia out of her system. Did the vet send her home with pain meds or antibiotics? She needs 3 days of pain meds and they usually give a long-acting antibiotic injection. Ensure she received or receives both.

C-sections are expensive, but it’s good they saved mom and one kitten! Mom will warm up to her kitten in a few days when she feels better. She’s not up for it right now.

Forget the cone. It stresses mom and she just needs to relax comfortably and rest. If she licks her incision area it’s okay.

Baby sounds like it’s doing well! We’re here for you!

emocatowner

Thank you!

We got pain meds, Meloxicam. Which has a big warning to not give to nursing queens. Regular vet says to just bottle feed and only let her nurse 12 hours after last Meloxicam dose. I see on the itemized invoice she was given Meloxicam at the hospital too.

Nothing about antibiotics. Will ask next time we call.

Kitten started moving about and crying again. Momma's on the move. Sniffed kitten a few times, but doesn't seem interested in him. We're giving them some space.

Regular vet also said to forget the cone for now.

 

[Sarthur2]

Feed the kitten every 2 hours for now, including through the night.

 

[emocatowner]

Feed the kitten every 2 hours for now, including through the night.

Yep seems like it's necessary, he started meowing again 2h after the first feeding. Momma sniffed him and then ignored him.
Me and bf are taking turns staying awake and keeping an eye on everyone.
(gonna start calling it "he" though vet couldn't tell gender yet. "It" sounds wrong)

I am a bit confused about how much formula to give, though.
I have the Royal Canin one, and it says 2-4ml for the first week, 5-10ml for 2nd week.
This kitten is latching on and suckling for dear life! First feeding he got like 5ml, and 2nd feeding was about 9ml.
He's wrapping his tongue around the nipple, it's surprisingly hard to get him to stop suckling, so we just let him have as much as he wanted, but never forcing him.
It weighed 126g at birth.
Am I overfeeding? Is it bad?

 

[Sarthur2]

No, it’s almost impossible to overfeed a kitten. Let this feisty little kitten drink as much as he wants. He’ll let you know when he’s full.

 

[emocatowner]

Thank you!
So far so good. Kitten is continuing to latch to the bottle and eat really well. He was 142g before feeding&after peeing and 154g after feeding.
He's also purring! My bf is just holding the kitten, letting him sleep on him, and the kitten just has bouts of purring! Gods I hope this kitten survives, it will crush my bf otherwise.
Still no interest from momma cat, though. We moved the nest with the kitten in a bit more secluded location, kitten on heated pad, and are watching the camera from another room, ready to barge in if any signs of aggression from momma. So far, still just sniffing and walking away.
She's being real good otherwise, though. Eating and washing herself, but not really licking her surgery site.
Sis slipped in the room once. Kept following momma and hissing at her. We quickly got her out again, and will be more careful with door.

 

[emocatowner]

We got first poop!

Also, please critique my process for formula. It's my first time, so let me know if I'm doing it wrong or just tips for optimizing the process. I just realized the numbers on the tip show what the flow will be, so maybe there's something else I'm missing?

1. boil water in electric kettle
2. pour boiling water in plastic container with measuring spoon, to cool down
3. pour boiling water in another plastic container that has all the bottle parts, then drain water
4. pour boiling water on thermometer
5. wait until water in first container is at 70C, check with thermometer
6. in the bottle, add 1 part water, 1 part formula, then another part water, so it's 2:1 and formula doesn't get stuck at bottom or on tip. Currently 7.5ml powder to 15ml water (formula instructions say to use bottled water with low mineral content, but we asked the ER vet if tap water is ok, and apparently it's good enough in Denmark)
7. powder baggy gets a clamp on and goes in the fridge (kitten lady said to store in fridge)
8. shake vigorously with lid on, until there are no clumps
9. check that the water goes to 40C, shake some more meanwhile (ideal temp is 36-38C but it will cool more)
10. stimulate kitten
11. weigh kitten
12. feed kitten. What seems to work is to have a drip of milk at the tip, and when the kitten meows for food, put tip in mouth, ideally with #1 pointing upwards, for lower flow. It may take a few tries, mouth gets a bit messy, but eventually he latches and you see him swallowing. It seems to help if he's sitting on my bf's shoulder.
13. when he stops suckling, if he's still meowing, try the step above a bit more. Otherwise, if he is quiet, or doesn't seem interested in suckling more and has had at least 2-3ml, stop
14. weigh one more time
15. sit with kitten for a bit, make sure he is ok
16. rinse all bottle parts with warm water. Wash thermometer.
17. let bottle parts, thermometer and plastic container dry on a fresh piece of kitchen paper
18. repeat in 2h, or 3h tops

I'm just realizing I'm not cleaning the kitten's mouth afterwards. I'm guessing I need to also wash the kitten at some point, like his momma would?

 

[emocatowner]

Dealing with poop issues and weight stagnation.
Please let me know if I'm doing anything wrong or you see anything I should be more worried about, and I'll call the vet asap about it!

Early morning, I pick up the kitten and there's poop coming out of him. I try to feed him, was more fussy than usual. Poop smeared over everything.
Next feeding, there's more poop coming out. Slight greenish tint. And there was a hard yellowish ball of poo. Starting to complain a lot when stimulating.
Next time, more poo, we're getting yellow balls, and there's some in the nest too. Not eating a lot and weight is stagnating.
Google says it may be due to overfeeding, and that it's common with formula? And the answer is to add about 1/3rd extra water, and to feed less at a time, which is what we started doing. Not that he eats much anyway anymore, though we're still getting 2-6ml in him every 2-3h. We eventually got in touch with a vet, who said it sounded about right, and that it can be a bit trial-and-error for each individual kitten, to see what works best for them.
We got more poo for a few more feedings. It got softer and longer. We also got cotton pads to stimulate, instead of our soft toilet paper. He stopped crying when stimulated. He's starting to latch better, though we are introducing more Kitten Lady tips into the mix, so not sure if it's due to that or because he's feeling better.
Last feeding, there wasn't any more poo, just pee, and it looked like he's starting to eat more at a time.
However, the weight has been oscillating around 150g this entire time.
So I think it's starting to get better, but the weight stagnation for like 20h now is worrying me.
The plan is to keep doing this for a bit, maybe try reducing the amount of water slightly, and if he doesn't start putting on weight again after the next few feedings, we're calling the vet again.

Attaching a pic of the kitten, poo from afternoon and evening.

 

[Sarthur2]

It’s okay if he doesn’t gain for 24 hours. Things sound like they are looking up. Give it another day and see how it goes.

 

[emocatowner]

Is it true that it's normal for kittens to sometimes pee and poo on their own when they're only 2 days old?

I've been having trouble getting him to produce any pee when stimulating him the past few times. Instead, I'm finding puddles of pee in the nesting box. I called an online vet to ask if it's a UTI or something but he said nah, it's fine, just stimulate him if he isn't doing it on his own

 

[Sarthur2]

I agree with the online vet.

 

[emocatowner]

So far so good. Gaining weight again, poop is a soft log (though harder than toothpaste, so not perfect). Purred while being stimulated to poo last time.
Momma worried me by not eating for a few hours after getting her pain meds, but she started eating again and looks good.

We tried re-introducing the two, momma was interested and sniffed the kitten, but I think the kitten was too close to us, she just ran off spooked. I think we need to place the kitten farther away from us, but I am terrified she may injure or kill the kitten.
The plan is to try scent swapping more, make the kitten really smell like her, and then re-introduce them.
I ordered a plushie with a heartbeat simulator and microwave warming element, since I feel bad for leaving him all alone while we have to do other stuff.

Though, is it worth re-introducing them, since it's going so well? What are the odds of her injuring the kitten, compared to the kitten dying because of no momma? Is she even producing milk if no kitten ever suckled?

 

[Sarthur2]

It can’t hurt to re-introduce them. Don’t count on mom having milk, though she may show interest in licking the kitten or snuggling. You won’t know until you try as mom feels better and better. If mom shows no interest, then no harm done. You’re already raising the kitten anyway. Kitten sounds like he’s doing well in your care!

 

[emocatowner]

I think I read too many stories of queens eating their young when stressed or if they don't recognize them. I don't know what I'd do if that happens, I'd hate myself and momma for it.

For now, we keep them in different rooms, so we don't have to watch them all the time, but we bring the squeaming meowing little one just before a feeding and set him on a blanket for a bit, so he cries and hopefully her instincts kick in and she'll want to help him.

 

[emocatowner]

Yea I don't think momma will change her mind on this. She just hissed at him!
She's now relaxed and happy, willing to play. We got the kitten sitting on a pillow she'd been sitting on, so he smelled more like her. But she just came to him, sniffed him carefully, and hissed.
The only thing I can think of that we may have done wrong here is that she also sat on that pillow when coming home from the hospital, so maybe it smelled of stress? But it's the only thing she'd been sitting on, otherwise she prefers the floor
We're leaning towards stopping these attempts though, I don't think it's going to work.

At least it's going well with the baby. He got another 12g today. His poo is perfect toothpaste consistency, had 2 logs today.
We're feeding him every 2 hours, 12 times today.
And we'll need to figure out a new setup for him. With the microwaveable heat pad, he can almost climb out of the current one.

 

[emocatowner]

Today is kinda rough and I'm freaking out again.

Kitten had a bit of bloody poo earlier today. I called a vet to ask about it, said it's normal every so often, unless there's more blood or he stops eating.
Kitten was also sneezing a few times. Vet said that's normal too, as long as there's no discharge or labored breathing.

He also hasn't put on weight in the past 17h, for the first time. He's also a bit more fussy about latching. Though he's still drinking 2-6ml every time.
It could also be because I am hyper stressed with work at the moment (I work from home), so maybe he picked up on that? Like I'm not petting him as long before feeding him or something?

I think he feels a bit warmer than usual too, but that may just be my imagination, or that we got a second SnuggleSafe so we can rotate them around and keep him warmer. Hopefully he isn't too warm.

I also got a humidifier today, as I'm reading it's best for their skin if it's at 55-60%, whereas it was at 40% in his room. Hopefully that will help him feel more comfy too.

I hope this is just a little bit of a plateau, and there isn't something horribly wrong with him. We're pretty much willing to do anything for him, I just don't know what else to do.

 

[emocatowner]

Yesterday I almost killed the kitten with the humidifier.

It was the first day he didn't put on any weight, and at night he was becoming lethargic and refusing to latch.
He was mildly constipated, but we had that before, and he wasn't this bad.
His hind legs also looked like in the attached, and he felt a bit sticky. I thought the humidifier was supposed to help with this stuff, but looks like it only made it worse.
We actually called the ER, and they told us they can't do much for him, so just keep doing what we're doing, unless he stops eating entirely.

We then realized that we changed one major variable: the humidifier. We turned it off, and he gradually got more active and started latching faster.
He's almost back to normal now, eating better, more active, and his back legs look more fluffy.
We also started diluting his formula again slightly, and his latest poop is looking a lot better.

So yea I don't know what could have gotten him feeling that bad and then better that quickly, other than the humidifier.

Today we have a bit of a situation with momma too, she seems to have a bit of poo dangling from one of MY hairs behind her! It spooked her whenever she walked. We managed to cut the hair and remove the poo, but can't quite see what the hair is dangling from. Hopefully now that she's no longer getting spooked by the hair, she'll be more willing to play so we can see what's going on.