Foster Cat Had Her Kittens This Am!

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laurenfosters

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dustydiamond1 said:
She is so beautiful, any word on the babies?
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Yes, I just received an update an hour ago. The remaining three babies are thriving on the tube feeding. Gaining weight steadily, beginning to open their eyes, and showing no signs of infection. Unfortunately the vet is having a hard time transitioning to bottle (glad it's not just me!).

We also are still concerned that this bizarre paw issue, which we are now fairly certain is some kind of genetic abnormality, could pop up in another kitten. To give an idea of how quickly it took over Chia - she was physically examined and cleared by my vet on Thursday, and by Saturday night I noticed her paw had become inflamed, and by last night she had passed away. :(

So between the difficulty transitioning to bottle, and the wanting to supervise in case of another paw infection, I made the decision with my rescue to keep them at the vet for another day or two so that they can continue to be monitored and so that the vet can try to get them on a bottle or syringe. If they can't get them to take anything, I am going to spend some time at the vet learning how to tube feed them. Which terrifies me, but I am willing to do whatever I need to do to help these babies survive. I was already scheduled to leave my job in a few weeks, so I might see about tapering back my schedule in my final weeks so that I have adequate time to feed and care for the babies. They are my #1 priority right now.

Thanks to everyone in this thread for listening and following our story. I plan to put together a little write up, with photos, after I get more info from the vet, about this paw thing in the hopes that it might help even one other kitten mommy or daddy know what to look out for.

I will continue to keep you guys updated. Thanks for your support. This forum has been a lifeline during a very difficult time for me.
 
dustydiamond1

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laurenfosters said:
Yes, I just received an update an hour ago. The remaining three babies are thriving on the tube feeding. Gaining weight steadily, beginning to open their eyes, and showing no signs of infection. Unfortunately the vet is having a hard time transitioning to bottle (glad it's not just me!).

We also are still concerned that this bizarre paw issue, which we are now fairly certain is some kind of genetic abnormality, could pop up in another kitten. To give an idea of how quickly it took over Chia - she was physically examined and cleared by my vet on Thursday, and by Saturday night I noticed her paw had become inflamed, and by last night she had passed away. :(

So between the difficulty transitioning to bottle, and the wanting to supervise in case of another paw infection, I made the decision with my rescue to keep them at the vet for another day or two so that they can continue to be monitored and so that the vet can try to get them on a bottle or syringe. If they can't get them to take anything, I am going to spend some time at the vet learning how to tube feed them. Which terrifies me, but I am willing to do whatever I need to do to help these babies survive. I was already scheduled to leave my job in a few weeks, so I might see about tapering back my schedule in my final weeks so that I have adequate time to feed and care for the babies. They are my #1 priority right now.

Thanks to everyone in this thread for listening and following our story. I plan to put together a little write up, with photos, after I get more info from the vet, about this paw thing in the hopes that it might help even one other kitten mommy or daddy know what to look out for.

I will continue to keep you guys updated. Thanks for your support. This forum has been a lifeline during a very difficult time for me.
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:grouphug:Thank you so much for letting us share your journey. :grouphug2:The genetic abnormality is terrifying!
 
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laurenfosters

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dustydiamond1 said:
:grouphug:Thank you so much for letting us share your journey. :grouphug2:The genetic abnormality is terrifying!
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Mama cat came from a home with many unfixed animals, and we aren't sure who she mated with. For all we know, it could have been a sibling, which would explain the genetic problems. :(
 
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laurenfosters

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Update! Two out of the three siblings are now taking a bottle at the vet. The vet is going to try with the bottle again later today. Most likely I will be bringing these sweet babies home tomorrow. Mom seems to be coming out of her heat but I'm hopeful that they'll be able to nurse from her again. But I will be learning about both bottle and tube feeding in order to be prepared in case they do not. I will continue to update as I know more. I am so excited to be bringing these babies home. :redheartpump:
 
ileen

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Do you have to wait until they're done nursing to have mama fixed?
 
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laurenfosters

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ileen said:
Do you have to wait until they're done nursing to have mama fixed?
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That's the plan for now, to see if they'll nurse when I get them home. If they don't, then I will bottle feed and we will have mama fixed so she can stay comfortable and not have to worry about another heat. :)
 
dustydiamond1

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laurenfosters said:
Update! Two out of the three siblings are now taking a bottle at the vet. The vet is going to try with the bottle again later today. Most likely I will be bringing these sweet babies home tomorrow. Mom seems to be coming out of her heat but I'm hopeful that they'll be able to nurse from her again. But I will be learning about both bottle and tube feeding in order to be prepared in case they do not. I will continue to update as I know more. I am so excited to be bringing these babies home. :redheartpump:
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laurenfosters said:
All three kittens are now taking a bottle!! I'm going to go pick them up from the vet tomorrow. Can't wait to see my little peanuts. :hearthrob::hearthrob:
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:bunnydance::woohoo::jive:
 
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