Just Worried @ Mommy Leon. She's Still Nursing After 9wks! And Is In 2nd Heat Since Delivery...

[mmeyers9]

there are 2 awesome clinics here

the salt lake City clinic is free, but harder to get in to, first come , first serve.

and the Provo clinic told me it will be $40 for a mommy and all her babies, whether they have 1 baby or 10 babies.

i was soooooo happy. i just knew i wouldnt be blessed with only 1 or 2 kittens born, and when the vet first said she was gonna have 8? i didnt know what i would do..

i cried. well, she only had 6, and when i found out i can have the family fixed for $40? i was gloriously happy!!!!

i call July 28th, THEY WILL DO IT WHEN THEY'RE 12WKS.
They'll get in with appt for AUGUST.
they said 13weeks will be perfect.

im so happy!

when my cat is in heat, she is a very big princess brat

 

[mmeyers9]

by the way,
is it possible to tell you a few things that happened, that all created a perfect storm, for my cat to get pregnant?

because I don't want this perfect storm, that happened to my baby cat..... to happen to other young cats, that are just too young to be having babies...

let alone , to happen period, in a world over populated with unwanted pets...

 

[mmeyers9]

I had put my trust in people who did not "know it all " about cats, but thought they do!

lol, bless their hearts

and iam now greatful that i came upon this site, when researching my cat's pregnancy, to figure out what the hekk todo and how to have a cat have healthy babies.

she is my first cat, and i was absolutely terrified. i almost went to emergency room the day of her birthing, from the terror and anxiety it gave me, to be responsible for the lives of creatures who didnt ask to be put in this mess that i allowed to happen ignorantly.

I love this cat site, because you guys never give advice and never say, that "that's the way it's going to happen".

I always see you all saying that there's never a hundred percent chance, and the person needing advice should continue to research and go to a vet and get proper care... instead of relying on somebody telling them what what they think is going on... with only the help of a picture or a photo that they provide.

for example, I see so many people wanting advice, on what the gender of their kitten is.
well, I've left so many groups and sites, because people who are not professional, who really think they are ??? will say "that's definitely a boy" , or "yes ,that's definitely a girl"

and then the next 'professional', so to speak, says "oh no, that's a girl" Or
"oh no, that's a boy".

and then these people that think they know it all ? start arguing amongst each other, on the gender of the kitten, and the person needing advice gets confused.

or they seek advice from one person, whom they trust is a professional, and run with it , and it ends up being wrong in the future...

anyway, what I'm trying to say is two things.

the one thing, is to thank you all for not being that way at this site.

when Leon had six babies and I wanted to know the genders?

i thought it would be a simple question because I know nothing about cats.

and all your members were very nice and giving their opinion on what they thought they would be...
but they all reminded me, there's never an absolute surety and to get them to a vet to make sure . and have it taken of, because knowing the gender is very important...

and I am glad they did, because two of the babies were a toss-up, and most the members giving their opinions on those 2 babies, were wrong.

and going to the vet assured me that I know the genders for sure....
but they told me that they could be wrong. they weren't being obnoxious and they weren't trying to act holier than now, to me, because I had told them I know nothing about cats.

they were humble and honest, and I'm glad I had the babies checked because two of them, like I said, would have been gendered wrong...

so, thanking you all for being so helpful brings me to the number 2 point I would like to make.

and that is, that I hopefully prevent anybody from experiencing this perfect storm that me and my cat experienced ...
and since you guys really know a lot, and you come into a lot of people needing advice, I hope my story might help you all, to help somebody else when they're searching for answers.

I always take blame for all my actions, but if more people would just admit they don't know it all, like you all wonderful people do?
this huge mistake, with my baby cat, may be prevented in the future with people coming to you for advice or help...

too many things went in my situation, and it was completely avoidable.
but all these things that went wrong, allowed one thing to happen... and that was my cat getting pregnant at only 7 months old

I guess if I just list all the mistakes that were made, and I call them 'mistakes', because everybody who talked to me, had my best interest at heart, and didn't mean to give wrong advice...

 

[mmeyers9]

for Flower, try this, we got a rubber mat like the kind you put in a bath tub to keep from slipping. The we poured a little wheat litter, not clay, but wheat which is very soft on it. Sweet Gum adored it. First she played like your Tommi, then she got it. We let her used that for a couple of weeks until her legs got longer.

Flower's paws may be more sensitive than the others or he may still be working on his stretching and climbing muscles.

wow, i never knew that. will the product say "wheat litter?"

I think that's what it is, because I had people saying that maybe he just didn't like the big enclosed box

so I got a small 12in x 12in container that's only three inches high, that he could step right in to

and the second I placed him into it oh, you would think I put him in a tank with sharks.

there's actual fear on his face

 

[mmeyers9]

so, point 2 , is that I want to prevent this mess from happening to anybody else.

when people come to you for advice and help, you may want to remind them that putting off getting a kitten spayed or neutered ???
can end up with a pregnancy, even if they keep the kitten indoors , and think they can control mother nature from doing its biological work

I said the same excuses that I've seen other people say, .....

" my cat will stay inside, and I won't let him outside, so he won't get any female cats pregnant!"

did you notice that my excuses I gave, for putting off not getting him neutered until he was 8 months old, did not involve the words "she" or "i won't let her get pregnant"?


I trusted the gender assignment that the animal shelter gave, and that the Foster family gave, who bottle-fed Leon for two weeks before I took him. he was found orphaned outside alone, so he was given to a foster family to take care of for a couple weeks before I took over.

yes, I assumed Leon was a boy, because I was told he was a boy and I looked down there and couldn't tell you what he was because I know nothing about cats

so there was the first couple mistakes that came into this perfect Storm exploding. the gender assignment was wrong by the animal shelter and the Foster family, and I was wrong for not taking him in right away to my own personal vet to be checked out and to make sure he had all his toes and all his fingers and all his legs and arms LOL.

because I thought I knew it all ? and thought by keeping a male kitten inside until he is neutered at 8 months old, would be a safe situation for cat pregnancies? Leon was attacked in my own house while i was sleeping, and luckily the cat screams and my dog barking woke me up and I ran out into the kitchen and saw that another cat had gotten into my house and was attacking my cat.!!!

by the time I could try to figure out how in the heck a cat got into my house?...

he took off through my doggie door.

bingo!

so when people think they know it all and will keep a cat inside, they don't realize that there are ways that cats can find , to get in, that maybe the owner of the cat doesn't even know about.

I honestly never thought in a million years that a cat would come through my doggie door. the idea never even entered my brain,

and then when I took Leon to the vet to be checked a month later, because he had some really bad cuts on his hips and his forehead, that I could not get to heal, that kept getting infected, even after a month. ???

not only did I find out that his gender was wrong, and that I could not keep him safe behind locked doors? but i also learned from my vet that day, that Leon was not being attacked, that he was mating and that she was probably 4wks. pregnant

thus, another bad mistake to add to the storm. not only did Leon get pregnant, but the poor thing was only 7 months old and only weighed 5 lbs.

I feel like I allowed her childhood to be stolen. she went from the playful fun kitten, who should have been allowed to grow up and experience a fun life with no worries, ???
to a mother who had to experience the pains of childbirth.
... and it was bad because she yelled and cried so badly with each baby

i was just sick to my stomach

so many things by so many people, all came together to create these 6 sweet babies, in The perfect Storm.

so, I hope when people come to you for advice and help, that if this just helps and prevents one cat from getting pregnant? it will be worth it

and not only did Leon lose her childhood, she became a baby having babies...

and because she's almost too good of a mommy. ?... because her instincts keep her on guard 24/7. ??

she can't even sleep more than 30 minutes, without getting up and peering out the windows and growling at the scent of a cat outside.

she doesn't happily take on motherhood. she does it because she has to.

and to top it off, the babies are going on 9 weeks old, and many mommies would have their babies weaned by now, and they would get fixed and they would be happy and joyful and not have to worry or stress over motherhood anymore.
but not Leon... she won't stop nursing and she won't stop being a mommy on 24/7 guard. LOL.

she even reprimands them when they start getting too rambunctious and they start running around... she tries to gather them all together and keep them under control

and, as usual, I have to beat myself over the head, and add that she didn't just have two or three kittens... and she doesn't have to just worry about two or three being fed, or safe or healthy.

she has six babies, and I don't know how she does it because it looks so confusing when they're all fighting over nipples and they're all getting frustrated and fighting each other for the best nipple, and mommy is sitting there trying to keep it all under control, and never once does she push them away when this happens

so she lost her childhood, to be a mommy. But she also lost her childhood to be a major power Mommy,

so maybe now when somebody tells you that they'll be careful and keep their cat inside, maybe you can remind them that sometimes that doesn't always work. because like I've always said since I watched Jurassic Park,? biology finds a way... lol

biology found its way through my doggie door

ok, im done blabbing

i just wish people would listen to the advice they are given, when they were the ones seeking the advice to begin with. lol

y'all are awesome, i love you all

 

[Kflowers]

Yes, it will say wheat litter on the bag.

since Jackson is protecting the kittens and helping, he's in the mood to talk to you. Have you considered closing and locking the dog door until the kittens are bigger and everyone is fixed? You and Jackson don't want a bunch of tom cats in the house. Even if they leave the kittens alone they spray. Spraying isn't nice. Once everyone is fixed and maybe a little bigger you could unlock the dog door.

I only say this because Jackson seems pretty smart and responsible. I think he'll call you to let him out and in when he
needs to go. I've never had a dog door and all five of our dogs did just fine letting us know when they needed/need to go.

 

[mmeyers9]

Yes, it will say wheat litter on the bag.

since Jackson is protecting the kittens and helping, he's in the mood to talk to you. Have you considered closing and locking the dog door until the kittens are bigger and everyone is fixed? You and Jackson don't want a bunch of tom cats in the house. Even if they leave the kittens alone they spray. Spraying isn't nice. Once everyone is fixed and maybe a little bigger you could unlock the dog door.

I only say this because Jackson seems pretty smart and responsible. I think he'll call you to let him out and in when he
needs to go. I've never had a dog door and all five of our dogs did just fine letting us know when they needed/need to go.

yes, i locked up the doggy door in February , when the cat came in..,
iM going tomoro to get the litter!
so scary!!!!!

yeah, he is 10yrs old and rarely goes out. he's spoiled too

 

[Kflowers]

In this world, spoiled means safe. What a lucky puppy.

 

[mmeyers9]

thank you so much....

now I am absolutely scared,
i the last 4 hours, 5 of the babies have thrown up 1 or 2 times each and had diarrhea 1 or 2 times each!!!!!

they have never been sick, they are almost 9 weeks old, I feed them grain-free kitten food along with Mommy nursing a couple times a day, and wet food once a day, about a tablespoon each kitten.

they have never been sick and have never thrown up and they have never had diarrhea

but when they're done throwing up or having the diarrhea, they turn around and start playing and running around again like everything's normal!!!!!

 

[Sarthur2]

Hmm, perhaps a can of food wasn’t fresh? Have they gotten into anything - plants, pesticides? Let’s hope this passes quickly!

 

[mmeyers9]

i dont know, they were only on my concrete porch yesterday for 3 or 4 minutes, and i recorded the entire outting....

all they did was play a few minutes and then came in.

i sat with them the entire time...

i dont have house plants

they play and run around like all is normal.

mom does not have diarrhea and hasnt thrown up, and 1 baby hasnt either.

i dont know what a normal waiting time period is for such tiny animals, before going to an emergency vet

 

[mmeyers9]

i did read that lactobacillus is a good thing to try, to see if it helps, before panicking

 

[Sarthur2]

It sounds like something did not agree with their tummies. Have they vomited anymore since?

 

[mmeyers9]

iam keeping a journal

noting when one eats, drinks water, nurses, vomits, goes diarrhea, or goes normal.

since last time i was online...

babies 5 and 6 threw up once

and babies 2 and 6 had diarrhea once

and all babies nursed 5 minutes...

 

[mmeyers9]

good news

while waiting for vet appt. this coming Monday?

been using probiotics and Pedialyte.

diarrhea and vomiting stopped through the night.

it lasted 72hrs, and looks like it's going away