Birth Announcement for Sarabi!

Becky and family are proud to announce the births of five lovely kittens to Sarabi. Beginning at 2:51 on March 14th, and ending at 7:43am, Sarabi had a healthy litter of four brown tabbies and one gray tabby. All is going smoothly.

I began this post to tell of the four kittens seen on the ultrasound being safely born. But as I went to tell Sarabi good-bye as I left for work, she surprised me with a bonus kitten!

Join me in welcoming these little miracles to the world.

Here is the beginning of the story.
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=79900

Yay!! That is great that all the babies are ok!! Congrats!!

Congratulations, Becky and Sarabi! How exciting!

Congratulations Sarabi. Five sweet Tabbies. :
Pictures ASAP of your new babies Becky.

Sad news, the fifth kitten was not breathing at first. Sarabi didn't seem interested in cleaning it up, so I took it, snipped the cord, and dried it off. It did begin gasping, and now is breathing and even crying some!

Number 5 is a tuxedo kitty, with lots of white. Sarabi continues to show no interest in cleaning or assisting it. Whether due to me taking it and spreading my scent, or maybe she knows something is wrong. It was born breech, feet first. Also #5 pooped immediately, and I know that isn't good with human babies.

I tried a little KMR, but as I drip it into the kittens mouth, it continued to cry. However, Momma did clean the formula off it when I returned the kitten to her. Please pray that this baby fights to find a nipple and nurse, and remains strong.

Sounds like mom might know something is wrong. Kind of like what you did you can rub a little wet food on the kitten and get her to lick it off. This might help her bond with the kitten. But if there is something wrong then she probably knows it.

Sarabi's fragile baby kitten will be in my prayers Becky.

Originally Posted by SolarityBengals

Sounds like mom might know something is wrong. Kind of like what you did you can rub a little wet food on the kitten and get her to lick it off. This might help her bond with the kitten. But if there is something wrong then she probably knows it.

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Good news and bad. She had one more kitten, a brown tabby with lots of white. She cleaned that kitten up, and it has struggled and fought its way to a nipple.

I did try wet food on #5, she licked it off, then smelled the kitten, and ignored it. Same with KMR. I did get the kitten warmed up nicely on a snuggle pad, and tried to get a little KMR into it. I don't know how successful I was...

As the bedding was very messy, I did change the blankets, and moved the whole litter onto the clean area. Sarabi followed as the babies cried. I slipped #5 into the pile, and at last check s/he is lined up with the others. Whether or not #5 got a nipple is hard to check without disturbing them, but this time s/he is at the right spot, in the right position. I think #5 may have been too chilled before to eat.

I am pulled between taking #5 to work with me, or leaving him/her cuddled with the litter, with a snuggledisk behind them to keep them warm. The space heater is on in the room also, keeping it warm.

I am inclined to believe something may be wrong with this kitten. I also know that keeping a newborn alive from birth on bottle feedings is a big challenge. I think #5's best chance is cuddled with its family, rather than schlepped to work with me on a snuggle disk.

And if the kitty is not to make it, I would rather s/he know the comfort of warm fuzzy bodies, and the smell of Mom than not.

I know this may sound cruel, but I believe in letting kittens that the mother rejects go and not try to save them. Almost always there is something wrong with that kitten. Unless its a first time mother, its better not to try and save it. This is my opinion.

I do understand that school of thought. In fact, when my dog had an oops litter of puppies, I know I got too involved, and she was not the best Mom possible, because she thought it was my job to care for the pups.

But to let a kitten lay unmoving without trying to revive it is beyond me. I try to make the best intervention possible. It is hard to know if she is ignoring the kitten due to my scent or because something is wrong. I will never know for certain, but I do feel better that I tried to revive this kitten, and it did breathe and cry. It may not make it to adulthood, but it has a chance.

My last litter, one kitten was falling behind in weight, and I supplemented him with formula, and he has gone to a forever home now. And look at the other stories at TCS of abandoned kittens. Yes, many of them perish, but some do survive.

Thanks for your opinion.

Congrats to you, looks like you got her just in time.
You obviously have more experience then me, but Im sure you read about my 1 kitten! She pushed and left it also, as well as the pacing , etc..
She did atleast feed her, but then she walks off...There was a tiny medical problem due to that, as far as with the momma, but she still occasionally strolls off, and I just do my best to keep baby warm..
Give her some time, she might come around..
Being that its the 5th, it wasnt like she was scared and didnt know what was happening, like with mine....But maybe if you did your part, and got her with the bunch, maybe she will forget the beginning

Good job! I know you will have plenty of help from everybody with this baby, no matter what happens. Me, and Rocky and Zakk are praying for their black/white contemporary. It's funny that she rejected the one kitty that wasn't tabby- maybe she thought it wasn't hers. Please post some pics when you can!

DD just got home from school, and baby #5 is still alive and warm! I have a friend who will stop by at 5pm to check if the baby needs a bottle feeding or not. Since dd is only 10, she can't really do that, but just knowing the baby is still fighting is such a blessing!

If I am reading this right...Mama Sarabi had a total of 6 kittens...it that right?
I am praying that little #5 makes it.

I dont want to dissapoint you but if mom is rejecting that probably means that something is internally wrong. Try supplementing if he is not gaining. Get a kitchen scale at WalMart and monitor his wieght. He should be gaining between 10-20 grams a day.

I do have a scale. #5 weighed 2.8 pounds this am, the same as one other kitten. When my friend gets there, she will weigh #5.

XOCats, yes, she had 6 kittens! An ultrasound only showed 4! I feel like I got a real bonus, with 2 extras! (I'm still not sure why she was ultrasounded, and x-rayed by the vet?!?!)

Are you sure the one kitten weighs 2.8 POUNDS? That is a huge newborn kitten. Even at 28 ounces it would be pretty big. I think you need to reweigh them on a baby scale - not a regular scale.

Congrats on your new babiese and goodluck with taking care of them... hopefully #5 will do just as well as the other kittens. How is #6?

Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

Are you sure the one kitten weighs 2.8 POUNDS? That is a huge newborn kitten. Even at 28 ounces it would be pretty big. I think you need to reweigh them on a baby scale - not a regular scale.

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That is what I was thinking.... That was one big kitten!!

But congrats on the new babies!