Stray cat chose my family

I hope you find everything ok when you get home!  Update us when you can please! 

Just saw all of this activity!!

The biggest concern would be if she is actively pushing rather than labor itself.

You can clearly see if she is pushing but nothing is coming out if her whiskers go forward, she is pushing.

Please let us know what's happening !!  

Hello everyone...sorry it's taken a little while to report back. I came home to mama kitty and 3 deceased kittens. Two were cleaned and looks like healthy big kittens and the other one was still in a sack and had not been cleaned. the vet says that all I can do now, since she seems to be done with labor, is either bring her in for an x-ray or I can just wait and make sure she's done. mama cat is confused and keeps looking around for her kittens but I had to remove them from the area. the little gray kitten is doing great so far. Mama cat is doing good she just is breathing heavily I think from exerting herself...is this something I should be concerned with? I am pretty devastated as I feel deep down I should've trusted my gut and came home from work earlier than I did ..maybe I could've been some help?

samanthalynn770 said:

Hello everyone...sorry it's taken a little while to report back. I came home to mama kitty and 3 deceased kittens. Two were cleaned and looks like healthy big kittens and the other one was still in a sack and had not been cleaned. the vet says that all I can do now, since she seems to be done with labor, is either bring her in for an x-ray or I can just wait and make sure she's done. mama cat is confused and keeps looking around for her kittens but I had to remove them from the area. the little gray kitten is doing great so far. Mama cat is doing good she just is breathing heavily I think from exerting herself...is this something I should be concerned with? I am pretty devastated as I feel deep down I should've trusted my gut and came home from work earlier than I did ..maybe I could've been some help?

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The heavy breathing is a warning.  If it isnt better soon, its surely best you DO go to the vet for a check up.  Both re breathing, and to see everything done.  She may after all had complications, if three fully done kittens are dead.  Perhaps a bacteria infection?  Not unusual.

So I dont think you coming home somewhat earlier had changed anything.   Whatever they died of, it was already too late.   If a cesarean 24 hours earlier had saved them?  Possibly, and this is bothering me, if it was one of the few cases where a too long pregnancy gave damages...  Although I dont think so...  As said, it is not unusual, there are some bacteria infections who do such results...  Even experienced breeders who do have access to good vets, may happen for this.

Take care of her, her child, and yourself.

Warm hugs!

she's still swollen back there, is this okay? Thankfully her breathing has slowed. She has eaten, drank, and just ventured out to use the litter box. She's puring and seems content. I am thankful that the gray kitten survived, he's so cute and feeding so well. Just still heartbroken, hard to understand why these things happen.

StefanZ do you think she should go to the vet because the rest of the litter passed? Not sure if it's because she labored so long, or from something else. And her still being swollen back there? (although she did just deliver 4 kittens)

Oh how sad....I am so sorry this happened........ugh.

It can be a number of reasons. 

I DO know she should not be in distressed breathing now though, unless there is more to come, and she certainly looked like she had a good sized litter!

EDIT-Honestly now that her breathing has slowed, she doesn't necessarily need to be seen, but we don't know if she is done yet or not either.

catwoman707 I don't think there's more, soft belly, she's eaten and used the litter box. She's definetly smaller. Should i take her in? So conflicted. She's very calm now, though

I don't think it's needed really.

It's very sad and unfortunate about losing 3 babies. If I were to guess, I'd say she labored with them too long, maybe got stuck part way, etc.

Hard to know for sure.

So sad. Happy you/she have one baby at least. Poor little punkins, the worst is when they come out, they are big and healthy, so you know something went amiss during delivery.

catwoman707 I completely agree. As sad as I feel, I can't imagine how she feels. The worst was her looking for them once I had picked them up. In fact, I found 2 in her nesting area. The 3rd one (still very messy from birth, to put it nicely) was found in a different spot across the room, and I only found it because the mom led to me it. I was so sad.
I don't know how people do this more than once. I'd get her fixed today if I could, so she nor I ever have to do this again [emoji]128543[/emoji]
But, I know everything happens for a reason, and I've convinced my husband that we are keeping the gray one. No way I'm letting him go, it was meant to be

Samantha so sorry about the kittens, I really don't see what more you could have done (and think how what her fate would have been had you not taken her in. )  Have you named the new kitten yet?   Such a source of joy they are.    

Just catching up with this thread now. I'm so sorry to hear about the kittens, but how wonderful that she has one healthy baby to care for. I'm glad you've decided to keep him, it does sound like it was meant to be.

Love and hugs and happy vibes for Momma cat and her baby.

 

 Condolences on losing the 3 newborns but CONGRATULATIONS on the beautiful gray baby!! Adorable pics   It wouldn't do any harm and call the vet after hours and ask if s/he would like you to email or text a picture of mama kitty's bottom plus her current breathrate.  She looks comfortable to me and probably all is well, but the fact that she carried the still borns to term only to lose them at the end calls for a little extra professional monitoring.  Also, the vet may have suggestions on what to be on the alert for, esp since there is a reason why the other babies didn't survive. Please keep your TCS family posted!!

Norachan and reba thank you guys for your kind words. I love the name Bailey for either sex, so I think that's what we'll call the little thing.

Question: momma cat came out, socialized with us, then went into my daughters bedroom and burrowed, literally, under the soft blankets on her bed. I went into the other room to check on baby Bailey, who is warm and asleep. Is this normal behavior ? I have read it's harder for a delivery with 1 kitten for the mother to want to stay with them. What should I do in this scenario? I know she probably wants her space, but how much is too much?

Sorry for the line of questioning; I'm very nervous for this little one and want everyone to go smoothly until we're "out of the water" with him

catsknowme thank you for the helpful advice. I did phone the vet after finding the deceased kittens. He advised I could come in for an x-ray to make sure there are no additional kittens, also said we could do bloodwork on momma. He did mention it could be different scenarios, but since I mentioned her pushing for so long earlier, he thinks they spent too much time in the birth canal and she was an inexperienced mother. I was told to look out for red blood, continued hard breathing (kitten or mom) or continued straining. So far, so good. I will vigilantly watch the both of them tonight to make sure all goes smooth. I was given an after-hours vet #, just in case

She can't have much space from Bailey now at all, just very short breathers, litterbox use, etc but should go right back with baby.

Are you aware of how the babies can't regulate their body temp now and until about 3 weeks old?

Blankets don't do the job, they will help hold in heat but not a heat source, which is mom's job.

So I wouldn't allow too much time away from him/her.

Can you tell if male or female? Snap a pic and we will tell you

These things are great if you want to keep them contained while you're at work (or home even - especially when the kitten gets more mobile).  My kittens didn't have a mom so I stuck a heating pad under half of one of those fleece beds (you can get the beds at Walmart, and I think it's best to wash them in chemical-free detergent first.)

will get a gender picture soon! Couldn't interrupt this sweet cuddling [emoji]9786[/emoji]️

Awwwwwwww.  There is something about having only one to worry about:

Reba I've seen that darling video clip many times, yet could never see it too much, my days should start with this everyday!! SO darn sweet