Help

need help now alone in small town no car cat (didn't even know was pregnant) just had kittens first one dead second she is trying to eat it should she be away from her kittens till she's done having kittens help don't want either one to die
ps how long can a kitten wait before it NEEDS mom's milk

Your cat is more than likely stressed out with being a mom or the kittens are sick. If the kittens are ill, the momcats will kill them. You should at least call a vet in your area and get some advice as to what to do. The kittens need warmth and then food, if she is ignoring them or trying to kill them, then you need to step in www.kitten-rescue.com was set up to help in this situation. I am dealing with a similar instance of a young child left home while her cat is in the basement giving birth and eating kittens. Her cat is not even a year old yet-

Thank you I think she is just stressed would giving her some time to relax and then bring the kitten over be okay? I called a vet but they were not helpful they seem to believe that "sammy" is trying to kill it because it's sick I'm not sure i agree it's healthy looking the first kitten was hours i killed it by mistake (helping her deliver) and i sure was quite painful so this is problely what is causing it.

ps just in case i misunderstood this do mothers bite their kittens to help them breathe or somthing......

Originally Posted by sydbear20

Thank you I think she is just stressed would giving her some time to relax and then bring the kitten over be okay? I called a vet but they were not helpful they seem to believe that "sammy" is trying to kill it because it's sick I'm not sure i agree it's healthy looking the first kitten was hours i killed it by mistake (helping her deliver) and i sure was quite painful so this is problely what is causing it.

ps just in case i misunderstood this do mothers bite their kittens to help them breathe or somthing......

Click to expand...

Kittens can look healthy but can sometimes have a disease that we cannot detect but that the mom cat is aware of....if possible, I would take the family to be seen by a vet. The vet should be able to tell you if the kitten is sick. Also....below is a list of low cost spay clinics. I would highly suggest getting mom spayed once the kittens are 6 weeks of age (and please keep her indoors with no access outdoors until she is spayed):

NEW YORK...Low cost or free spay/neuter programs:


Pet Pal Mobile Spay/Neuter Clinic
Schenectady County NY
518-374-3944
www.animalprotective.org
For pets of county residents with financial needs.

Statewide: New York State
Pet Population Control Program
Dept of Agriculture & Markets
Division of Animal Industry
1 Winners Circle
Albany, NY 12205
518-457-3502
Thanks to pet friendly car license plate sales, spay/neuter surgery costs about $30 and vaccinations cost up to $10 each -- from veterinarians participating in the state's program. Contact DOAM office for the most recent listing of participating vets.

New York...arranged by area code


Bide-A-Wee
410 E. 38th Street
New York, NY 10016
212-532-5884



ASPCA
Bergh Memorial Animal Hospital
424 East 92nd Street
New York, NY
212-876-7700 ext 4200
Low cost spay/neuter and low cost rabies vaccinations.

ASPCA Care-A-Van
212-876-7700 ext 4303
Mobile van goes to low income neighborhoods and provides free spay/neuter and vaccinations. Suggested donation $25. Call for the van schedule and to make an appointment.

Have-A-Heart Spay and Neuter Clinic
Fund for Animals
355 West 52nd Street
New York, NY 10019
212-977-6877 for appointments
Low cost spay/neuter for all.

Feral Cat Friends
PO Box 236
Weedsport, NY 13166
315-252-2406 Call 6 pm to 8 pm only
Email [email protected]


Central New York SPCA
5878 East Molloy Road
Syracuse, NY 13211
315-454-4479

Pet Outreach Inc.
PO Box 312
Syracuse, NY 13211
315-469-6569 or
315-478-6900
[email protected] email

Wayne County Humane Society
Lyons NY
315-946-3389


Laura Gay Senk, DVM
Farmingdale NY
516-626-3090
www.myvetonline.com/drsenk
Low cost s/n and veterinary care for feral and stray cats.

Bide-A-Wee
3300 Beltagh Avenue
Wantagh, NY 11793
516-785-4687

Spay Today Inc.
300 Horseblock Road
Brookhaven, NY 11719
516-286-4965
Low cost spay/neuter for all pets, strays, and ferals.

SPCA of Nassau County
516-794-0831

New York State
Pet Population Control Program
Dept of Agriculture & Markets
Division of Animal Industry
1 Winners Circle
Albany, NY 12205
518-457-3502
Thanks to pet friendly car license plate sales, spay/neuter surgery costs about $30 and vaccinations cost up to $10 each -- from veterinarians participating in the state's program. Contact DOAM office for the most recent listing of participating vets.

Adirondack Humane Society
PO Box 1704
Plattsburgh, NY 12901
518-561-7876
Low cost spay/neuter for pets of low income people.

Animalkind Inc
PO Box 902
Hudson NY 12534
518-943-7654


Columbia-Greene Humane Society
Hudson, NY, Columbia County 518-828-6044
Athens, NY, Greene County 518-945-1286
Low cost spay/neuter and vaccinations.

Greene Animal Welfare Alliance
PO Box 209
Athens, NY 12015
518-945-3218
Spay/neuter discounts for all pets.

Humane Society of Rochester & Monroe County
Fairport, NY
585-223-1333 ext 36
Low cost spay/neuter for pets of qualified low income people.

SPCA of Tompkins County
Ithaca, NY 14850
607-257-1822
Discounted spay/neuter program for qualifed low income.

Project Paw
Binhamton NY
607-724-2241

Finger Lakes Humane Society
Bath NY
607-776-3039

Animal Care Council S/N Program
Endicott NY
607-786-7729


Bide-A-Wee
188 Old Country Road
Westhampton, NY 11977
631-325-0280

Little Shelter Animal Rescue
33 Warner Road
Huntington, NY 11743
631-368-8770
Low cost spay/neuter van visits twice a month.

Suffolk County SPCA
145 Pigeon Hill Road
Huntington Station, NY 11746
631-549-SPCA
Free spay/neuter for feral cats.


League for Animal Protection
631-757-4517

Island Rescue
Bay Shore NY
631-968-8700

Erie County Spay and Neuter Assistance Program Buffalo NY area
716-652-1359 or 716-821-1827

Animal Birth Control Society of Western NY
Buffalo NY
716-873-4500
Provides discount certificates for pets of low income residents. Call for information.

Muffin's Pet Connection
9728 3rd Avenue
Box 125
Brooklyn, NY 11209
718-833-7988
www.muffins.org
Gives certificates for low cost spay/neuter at over 60 participating veterinarians In New York City and Westchester and Long Island.


S.A.V.E.S., Inc.
PO Box 453
Greenport, NY 11944
Email: [email protected]
Serves the North Fork of Long Island only. For feral cats, low cost spay/neuter and vaccination certificates, plus twice yearly free spay/neuter clinics for ferals.

Animal Emergency Fund
Saugerties NY
845-247-6211
For residents of Ulster County, sponsors low cost s/n including feral cats.

Furever Animals Inc.
Montgomery NY
845-457-8147

The Animal Rights Alliance Inc PO Box 346
Westbrookville NY 12785
845-754-7100
Mobile van s-n clinic operates one day a week in Orange, Ulster, and Sullivan counties.

Animal Welfare League
White Plains, NY
914-948-2094

Oh dear ... OK, remember to breathe ... while you are waiting between kittens, go and do this NOW ...

Fill a clean sock with uncooked white rice or white beans until the sock feels firm. Tie a secure knot in the open end and place the sock in the microwave for 60 seconds. Test the temperature before you put the sock heater in with your kitten. Make sure the sock is not too hot. If your kitten is cold, you can curl the sock around him. You can also use a hot water bottle or soda bottle, filled with very hot water and wrapped in a thin towel. Place this in the box next to your kitten. Make sure the soda bottle does not roll on top of your kitten by placing a small object underneath the blanket to stop it rolling. You will need to re-warm the sock or refill the bottle with hot water at least every two to three hours. Use another towel or blanket to drape over the top of the box to keep the warmth inside. If you have an air-conditioner in your home, please be sure you do not let your kitten become exposed to the cool air at any time, as a kitten can become chilled quickly and needs to be kept nice and warm. Also, never use a heat lamp on tiny kittens. The light can quickly burn the skin and cause dehydration to set in.

OK, now as Mom delivers the kittens, you take them away immediately and break open the sack to allow them to get air:

Removed the amniotic membrane within 1 minute after delivery - gently grasp the kitten in a clean towel and pull away the slimy material. Be certain the nose and mouth are free from fluid and tissue. Rub the kitten with a towel along the shoulders and back to stimulate breathing. A healthy meow indicates an unobstructed airway.

To sever the umbilical cord, snip it about 2 inches away from the kitten's body, using sharp, clean (wash in hot water and soap beforehand - do not use alcohol or hydrogen peroxide) scissors. Gently pull the afterbirth from the birth canal and dispose of it by wrapping in toilet tissue and flushing it down the toilet.

Do you have anything in the house at all that resembles evaporated milk? If not, do you have neighbors with a car - even if you don't know them, see if anyone can help you by getting to a 24 hour WalMart or something to get some kitten replacement milk and a few bottles. See here for instructions :

http://www.kitten-rescue.com/bottle_feeding_kitten.html

Don't forget to breathe.

Get out the yellow pages or call directory assistance and see if there is en emergency vet listed - if so, call them. If not, call regular vet offices even though they are closed, they may have a recorded message giving you instructions on what to do in the event of an emergency.

Keep us posted,

~gf~

thank you sooo much you all are sooo helpful. mom cleans them all by her self but then bites them from head to toe (that's what seems like she's eating them) anyway the first one i killed by mistake (i was helping her) before it died she cleaned it breaking the sac and so forth... but she won't let it feed she starts this biting thing again. should i try again when i am certain she is done giving birth? also i saw somthing come out after the second kitten it was bloody looking and rectangular in shape, should this come out at the end or after every cat? if so ive only seen one

Originally Posted by sydbear20

thank you sooo much you all are sooo helpful. mom cleans them all by her self but then bites them from head to toe (that's what seems like she's eating them) anyway the first one i killed by mistake (i was helping her) before it died she cleaned it breaking the sac and so forth... but she won't let it feed she starts this biting thing again. should i try again when i am certain she is done giving birth? also i saw somthing come out after the second kitten it was bloody looking and rectangular in shape, should this come out at the end or after every cat? if so ive only seen one

Click to expand...

Sydbear...Gaye may be able to help you...but I'm a bit concerned about the bloody looking item that came out of the behind of the second kitten. BTW...do not blame yourself for the first kitten's death...it was an accident and you were trying to do all you could for this mom. Did you look to see if there are any emergency clinics you can go to just to make sure everything is ok?

Katie

she ate the "bloody looking thing, and i did look for clinics sadly this area of the state is grossly underfunded and so all but one (way too far away) are closed

Originally Posted by sydbear20

thank you sooo much you all are sooo helpful. mom cleans them all by her self but then bites them from head to toe (that's what seems like she's eating them) anyway the first one i killed by mistake (i was helping her) before it died she cleaned it breaking the sac and so forth... but she won't let it feed she starts this biting thing again. should i try again when i am certain she is done giving birth? also i saw somthing come out after the second kitten it was bloody looking and rectangular in shape, should this come out at the end or after every cat? if so ive only seen one

Click to expand...

OK, if she is ~nipping~ at the kittens, that's totally different, and yes that is mostly normal, it helps to get them breathing on their own after she releases them from the sack. She will normally want to deliver all her kittens before she begins nursing any of them, that too is normal, but you do want to keep them warm, so maybe you can sort of push them up towards her, but not in the way - maybe like right behind her neck where she can still know they are there, but will concentrate on delivering and cleaning the ones to come. Don't force her to try and feed until she is done delivering or she will get stressed out. In fact, unless she is violently attacking the babies, keep out of her way. Sit with her, observe only. If you really want to help her, allow her to use the palm of your hand to push with her back feet as she delivers. She will be grateful for that. And yes, the "bloody looking and rectangular in shape" thing is the placenta - she will sever the umbilical cord and begin eating it. It is good for her to eat it as the components in it will help bring her milk down.

*sighs of relief* thank you thank you thank you you are a god send!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
how will i know when she's done? should i expect more placentas? or does that mean shes done
ps never saw one for the first kitten

My apologies, when you said she is trying to eat it- I assumed the worse that the kitten was ill and she was clearing it out of the nest so the stronger ones could survive. I am glad I misunderstood-

me too im just nervous and stressed (I'll be happy when this is done) I would have had her spaded a few months ago when i did "my boys" but she was way underdeveloped and the vet said to wait. I was proudly adopted by her and her brother at the tender age of about 3 weeks so i have gone through hell with her and it would distroy me to lose her. the *******s that dumped them left them in a box the parking lot of a truck stop alone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I just can't say no to a stray. I lovingly hand picked fleas from her and her brother as soon as we found them. Any idea how hard that is??????? lol
will put pictures up after this stressful ordeal.

You should have a placenta for each kitten born whether or not they survived ... you probably didn't see the first one because she probably ate it before you could observe it.

Thank you for your help, I do however have one more question, I helped her push the first kitten so i really do think I would have seen it. Is it possible that it will come out later? and again you are all so very helpful. who knows.... maybe it came out while I was calling vets.....
thanks once again

If you even suspect that the first placenta is still in there (though I don't see how, since other kittens came after), tell the vet that when you bring her in. It has to come out, if it's still in there.

A question.....

"sammy" is, i think, trying to find the first kitten (dead) what should i do? would it be helpful to bring her the body? I think she is trying to feed it as she didn't before.