Day 66 or 68 .. 1st litter

CassieTheCat

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Hi hi. I've obsessed over this forum the last 2 weeks as we anxiously wait.

Cassie is an inside only girl who we've had since a kitten (shes 1.5yrs old). Unfortunately time got away from me and I hadn't gotten her desexed (will be as soooooon as she weans the kittens!!) and on her last heat she bolted like lightning outside. The first time it happened was September 16th.. we got her back inside however a neighbours entire male cat who is roaming constantly was in the yard. The 2nd time was the 18th and nothing would get her back inside... she is extremely skittish and anxious and got under our slightly raise house. I tried until 11pm to entice her back in.. nothing worked. We have an extremely secure yard so I left her out for the night.... and here we are..

So I guess she's either 68 days if mating occurred on the first instance or 66 if on the night she stayed overnight.

So far we have a massive belly.. big filled teats.. constant cleaning and mothering of our other cat.. still eating fine and the Jerking/ quivering of tail.. not vocal.. rapid breathing (today) .. however shes showed no signs of neating at all. I have towels and rags and boxes and cupboards opened and everything everything she could ever want ... starring to think it's never going to happen!!

Did anyone's cat show no signs of nesting prior to? Anyone have an extremely anxious /skittish cat and found the signs weren't entirely textbook?

First (and last!)litter.. im aware they can go over however just worried shes got heaps in there and worried shes going to have issues birthing. I'm working 12hr day tomorrow and as much as I want her to hurry up so they don't get too big.. tomorrow is not the day! (Working an hour away with no option to leave early!). I have my 16yr old home on holidays so hopefully she will be able to manage via video call (I have security cams watching Cassie constantly haha)

Any advice welcomed

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CassieTheCat

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No sooner did I reply did she lose her plug.. panting heavy and trying to get in the material back of the couch! Umm no please.. there are 75 other spots to birth kittens!.. not in my couch
 

Sarthur2

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How are things going with your kitty today? Any kittens yet?
 
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CassieTheCat

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The kittens were born just after midnight.(I'm in Australia.. so 5hrs ago)

I'm devastated.

4 kittens.. 1 ginger and white, 1 full ginger, 1 calico and 1 black and ginger tortishell

Kitten 2 passed not long after birth (full ginger). 65g wet
Kitten 3 was stillborn (calico) - 63g wet. It seemed almost premmie.. no hair on belly. Can cats get pregnant twice like not from the same mating ?

Kitten 1 is 69g and ginger and white
Kitten 4 is the torte and 90g

Is there anything I can do to help Kitten 1 thrive other than 2hrly feeds on mum? It took almost 3hrs to get "her" (gender unconfirmed) to latch however once she figured it out she fed for about 5mins.. thats not long enough is it? She was born at midnight.. fed around 2.30am.. and again at 4.30am. Should I try comp feed with KMR?

Mumma cat is quite fluffy on the belly.. should I try shave or trim the hair more.

I just don't know what went wrong with the 2 that passed.. shes had a great diet.. no signs of illness.

I cant wait to have her desexed so we don't have to go through this again.
 

Sarthur2

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It sounds like they may have been a bit premature. Anything under 90 grams is considered preemie.

It’s difficult to guess what may have happened, but often when the water sac breaks in the birth canal, if the kitten is in the canal too long they can suffocate or inhale the fluid into its lungs which can cause the kitten to essentially drown.

I’m so sorry about the two that did not make it. I know it’s heartbreaking.

The surviving tortie is probably a female, and the surviving orange and white is probably a male.

Your best bet is to continue making sure both latch and nurse often, and weigh every 12 hours. If both are gaining weight then they do not need supplementing at present. If you do need to supplement, use a tiny 1 or 2 mL syringe since they are so small. And yes, you may carefully trim a bit of fur from around the nipples that they are using.

Keep us posted on their progress! How is mom doing?
 
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CassieTheCat

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Shes doing great however worried shes trying to kill the ginger (yes it's a boy.. checked).. keeps purposely trying to roll on it !

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CassieTheCat

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The tortie is the only survivor so far.. and shes just not latching and suckling. There's drops of milk(more colostrum looking)

The ginger white was the same.. checked for cleft issues and everything was "normal" at 69g he just couldn't make it.

Tortie is down to 88g from 90g at 12hrs post birth. Do I just keep trying??? When do they generally start to gain? How long should they suckle for each time??

I cant get KMR until tomorrow now 😩 😫
 

Sarthur2

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When did the orange and white pass?

Try sugar or honey water drops every few minutes for an hour, then every hour.

Do you have evaporated milk or yogurt? If so, mix some with an egg yolk and a sprinkle of salt and sugar and feed warm drops of that.

I’m so sorry things are not going well. They apparently do not have a strong enough suckling reflex yet. Sometimes it takes a couple of days of supplementing with formula to get them strong enough on their own.

C CassieTheCat
 
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CassieTheCat

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Thanks for checking in.

What an emotionally and physically exhausting few days.

The remaining baby still wouldn't attach. I got KMR and managed to feed her well however the vet check confirmed an inoperable cleft palate and so with deep regret we decided the humane thing to do would be to have her put to sleep.

I contacted every rescue group in our area as I wanted to ensure we could support Cassie with her loss and give other kittens a chance for a life with a mumma.

We were able to find 4 kittens who were 6 days old and were being bottle fed as they were found abandoned. As soon as she heard their little cries she went into mother mode. Cleaning and toileting them and rolled over to offer her milk.

1 has successfully latched several times and hopefully that will help increase her supply to meet their needs however I'm bottle feeding them every few hours and they are thriving already!!

So proud of my surrogate mumma ! We will foster them until they are old enough to find their forever homes.
(Their were 5 however the rescue lady had the smallest accessed by a vet and found their were kidney issues that would potentially have life long complications if it were to survive much longer)
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CassieTheCat

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3 out of 4 attached !! So excited. Considering they had no mumma for 5 days+ I'm so thrilled
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Sarthur2

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This is wonderful news! I am sorry for her last baby, but heartened that she is able to nurse a set of orphans. Hopefully the fourth will nurse soon too. It is best for both mom and babies to have one another. Thank you for reaching out to find orphans. Do keep us posted!
 
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CassieTheCat

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4 latching babies. All gaining wonderfully and having less and less from the bottles.

Concerned about the big black one as has lost 8g.. has sulphur smelling yellow poop. We have meds there for cocci and will likely use tomorrow if he drops any further (the others are in the 160/170s.. he was 181 so a bit bigger).

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Maurey

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Are they all being treated for coccidia? It’s most likely that the black kitten picked it up from your molly. Even if he didn’t, it can easily spread.
 

Sarthur2

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I agree, treat everyone for coccidia. It spreads like crazy. Good they are all latching, but do not wait to treat the black one. A loss of 8 grams is alarming!
 

mani

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I've just seen this.. what a positive outcome to a sad situation. Well done you and Cassie. I do hope all goes well.
 
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CassieTheCat

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An update. Babies are 3 weeks and 3 days (approx.. we don't know exact date of birth when they were found abandoned)

Black (Ziggy) had a bacterial infection and treated for 3 days.. hes now the biggest @ 360g)

2 tabbys (Charlie Brown and Pinkie pie) are 350g

Miss Penny (black and white) was losing and lethargic. Have treated and shes now gaining and a lot happier but still a tiny 240g.

Mumma was feeding well however her supply seems to have dropped off again so comp feeding a few times a day.

Starting to play more and teeth are coming through. Such a joy! Definitely enjoying this experience and will look at fostering more kitties to help out the inundated rescues here.

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