Last born kitten is the biggest

Mishkahabib

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My cat gave birth to 4 kittens and the last born is the biggest , is that normal and why is that so
 

Kieka

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It's not abnormal. Birth order just means who is closest when labor starts. The largest kitten may have been the furthest away in utero and therefore the last out.
 
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Mishkahabib

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My cat gave birth to 4 kittens. The biggest kitten died on the 4th day. It kept meowing very loud and raspy so I put it by the mother and 5 minutes later I came back to see that it was not breathing or responding. It died. Can someone explain this to me please. How did this happen what was happening to the kitten what do I do to avoid the other kittens from dying in this same way. I thought it was the healthiest kitten from the litter. It was noticeably bigger that it’s other litter mates, very calm and did not cry or fight much unlike it’s other litter mates, and it loved to eat, sleep and snuggle up.
 

londonthecat

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I'm not an expert in kitten physiology, but here is my possible answer:
While the 4th kitten was the biggest, it may not have been as responsive as the others. You said that it was calm and didn't cry or fight as much. This is a small concern as kittens are meant to wriggle around and be mostly active. While some kittens may be more docile, a kitten that is unresponsive and just eats and sleeps is a little odd. Also, you said that the meowing was raspy. If the meow was like a squeak it should be fine, but raspy meowing could indicate a lung infection or underlying condition. If this is the case, then it is extremely unlucky for it to have died while you were away. (Again, please keep in mind that I am no expert). To protect the other kittens, you may need to get them screened for health issues and monitor them closely to see signs of sluggishness, loss of appetite, or other general indicators that the kittens may not feel well. Please do not feel bad or blame yourself for the death, sometimes these poor babies are not born in the right conditions. It happens sometimes.
If you do really want to know, then describe the kitten to your vet and ask for their professional opinion.
Sorry for the loss and wishing the best of luck to the other 3 kittens!
 
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Mishkahabib

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My kitten was 1 week old , it’s eyes were starting to open it was feeding on the mommy. It was the biggest kitten however one day I felt it was light in weight even though it’s 2 other litter mates were smaller but heavier. The day after that it got worse I noticed it was barely moving and feeding on the mother like the other 2. It didn’t want to drink through syringe it couldn’t swallow. It also started having a squeaky yet raspy meow like a kettle kind of sound. He also seemed like he had a hard time breathing and felt cold like he was not emitting heat from his body like the other two were. Please can someone tell me why this happened. I tried tapping on his heart to get it working, it did help revive him but was no use
 

StefanZ

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My guess is he had some fault on his heart... And so was chanceless. Not even a good vet would be able to save him. With human infants its sometimes possible to do surgery on heart, but its simply not done on kittens.


Im feeling with you.

RIP little one.
 

StefanZ

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Ps. IF you notice others are becoming similiar symptoms, do handfeed them instead.

Im pretty sure it was his heart failing, but there is occasionally problems with bad milk from momma. And the biggiest whom eats most, becomes ill first.
The save in THESE cases, is to handfeed them.
 

missymotus

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Without a necropsy you’ll never know for sure, there are a number of things it could have been. Inhaled fluids commonly cause breathing issues within a few days if not cleared during birth, the mother could have passed on an infection, there are many guesses to be had but only a lab report can say for sure.

keep a very close eye on the others and quickly see a vet at the first signs of illness, lethargy etc
 
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Mishkahabib

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My cat gave birth and there are 2/4 of the kittens which have survived. They are currently 2 weeks old. Their eyes have opened, however one of the kitten’s single eye keeps shrinking and shutting closed. I wipe the eye in order for it to open up again there also looks like there is a sticky yellowish discharge between the eyelids keeping it shut. Every few hours I come to check on the kitten and I have to wipe over and over to open the eye as it keeps shutting. Please help is this normal why does it keep closing what can I do
 

Sarthur2

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You’ll need antibiotic eye ointment from a vet to put across the eye. Here in the U.S. it is called Terramycin.
 
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