Help with kittens.....

catmanrob

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My oldest cat Shadow had a litter almost 3 weeks ago. She initially had 3, but had a fourth two days later. I was very worried about him because he was so late being born. Sadly, he died after 4 days. The other 3 are very healthy and are getting quite big. They've started trying to walk. Shadow is a very good mother. I had bred her with my sister's cat Simba (he's since crossed the bridge) a few times and never had a problem. Her first pregnancy produced my other female, Spaz. Last year Spaz was bred with one of my males, Frisky (he's was neutered shortly after) and gave birth to five kittens. A day after they were born, Spaz ate them. I was shocked. I don't know why she did it. Perhaps they were sick. I don't know.

Now we come to my dilemma. My other sister had to move a few months ago and couldn't take her cat. She brought him to my house to watch him until she could take him herself. She chose not to neuter him. I was reluctant to take him and I wish I hadn't. I hadn't spayed Spaz or Shadow because I no longer had a non-neutered male. Well, I had to keep him in a seperate part of the house but of course he found his way to the females. Shadow's birth 3 weeks ago is a result of this. What I didn't mention above is that Spaz also got pregnant and gave birth today. There is only one kitten. I don't know if she had more and ate them like before. I am very worried that she will do it to this kitten. A friend suggested that I take Spaz's kitten and give it to Shadow. I am reluctant because hers are much larger and I'm also worried that she will reject Spaz's kitten. What should I do?

I am moving in a month and half and will have Shadow's kittens apopted by then. Both Shadow and Spaz will be spayed as soon as the move is complete.

Sorry for the long post.
Rob
 

goldenkitty45

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I think I'd leave them alone for the time being. As for the male - get him neutered now - it takes a month before he's "cleared" to be around females and if either of them come into heat, he WILL get them pregnant again.

Just curious, are these pedigree cats? If not, why are you letting them breed on purpose?
 

tnr1

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Originally Posted by CatmanRob

My oldest cat Shadow had a litter almost 3 weeks ago. She initially had 3, but had a fourth two days later. I was very worried about him because he was so late being born. Sadly, he died after 4 days. The other 3 are very healthy and are getting quite big. They've started trying to walk. Shadow is a very good mother. I had bred her with my sister's cat Simba (he's since crossed the bridge) a few times and never had a problem. Her first pregnancy produced my other female, Spaz. Last year Spaz was bred with one of my males, Frisky (he's was neutered shortly after) and gave birth to five kittens. A day after they were born, Spaz ate them. I was shocked. I don't know why she did it. Perhaps they were sick. I don't know.

Now we come to my dilemma. My other sister had to move a few months ago and couldn't take her cat. She brought him to my house to watch him until she could take him herself. She chose not to neuter him. I was reluctant to take him and I wish I hadn't. I hadn't spayed Spaz or Shadow because I no longer had a non-neutered male. Well, I had to keep him in a seperate part of the house but of course he found his way to the females. Shadow's birth 3 weeks ago is a result of this. What I didn't mention above is that Spaz also got pregnant and gave birth today. There is only one kitten. I don't know if she had more and ate them like before. I am very worried that she will do it to this kitten. A friend suggested that I take Spaz's kitten and give it to Shadow. I am reluctant because hers are much larger and I'm also worried that she will reject Spaz's kitten. What should I do?

I am moving in a month and half and will have Shadow's kittens apopted by then. Both Shadow and Spaz will be spayed as soon as the move is complete.

Sorry for the long post.
Rob
Rob.....it is very dangerous for cats to get pregnant and have kittens so close to each other....oftentimes, because a cat has already used her resources for the last litter, the subsequent litters will not be as healthy. I would not move this kitten to your other cat....what if the kitten isn't healthy?? Then you put your other cats litter at risk. They should all be kept seperate at this point, your moms should each have their own room and the male should be taken to the vet for neutering. Even after he is neutered...he needs to be kept away from your female cats for 30 days as he can still carry active sperm for up to a month after the procedure. Females can become pregnant again within days of giving birth.

I too am curious about your cats and why you had them intentionally bred.

Katie
 

tortiebaby

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I would call your vet and ask what to do. Til then keep a VERY close eye on the mama! I hope the kitten is alright. I know that sometimes cats eat there babies because of stress. Be sure to keep mama and baby away from all other cats and put them in a dark, quiet area, maybe a closet or something and keep her away from "high traffic" areas because it may cause her to eat her baby.
 
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catmanrob

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I appreciate everyone's input. I am not going to dwell on the breeding issue, but I will say that at the time a lot of thought was given to it. As far as the un-neutered males go, I have asked my sister to take hers to a friend which she is doing tomorrow. The other one has an appointment on Thursday to be neutered ( it was everyones input here that convinced me not to wait).I had already been keeping Shadow seperate since she gave birth.

Be sure to keep mama and baby away from all other cats and put them in a dark, quiet area, maybe a closet or something and keep her away from "high traffic" areas because it may cause her to eat her baby.
Spaz actually had her kittens (there are actually 3 now) in a closet in my spare room. Keeping the others out won't be a problem. I am definitely keeping a close eye on the kittens. So far, so good.

Rob
 

tnr1

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As far as the un-neutered males go, I have asked my sister to take hers to a friend which she is doing tomorrow.
Make sure your sister has her friend neuter the male. Especially if she has other cats that are intact, she will definately want to neuter him quickly and keep him seperate for a month after the neuter procedure has been done from any intact females.

I would really suggest that once these litters are weaned that you highly consider having Shadow and Spaz spayed. It's healthier for them and then you will not need to worry about accidental births.

I am also hoping that the kittens that your cats have had are being placed into homes in which you follow up to ensure that they are spayed/neutered.

Katie
 

tortiebaby

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Congratulations on the THREE kittens! You must post pics!!! If you don't know how, just go to www.imageshack.us. Choose the pic you want and mark the box to resize it for a messageboard, then hit the button to upload the. Copy one of the forum url's and paste it here. I can't wait to see them! I just posted pics of my new kittens under "Update: NEW kitten pics" you should see them, they are VERY cute, or I could post the pics here.
Anyways, I definately want to see yours.(as I am sure everyone else does too!)
 
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catmanrob

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I would really suggest that once these litters are weaned that you highly consider having Shadow and Spaz spayed. It's healthier for them and then you will not need to worry about accidental births.
Good advice. I was actually thinking the exact same thing. It's being done as soon as the kittens are gone.

Congratulations on the THREE kittens! You must post pics!!! If you don't know how, just go to www.imageshack.us. Choose the pic you want and mark the box to resize it for a messageboard, then hit the button to upload the. Copy one of the forum url's and paste it here. I can't wait to see them! I just posted pics of my new kittens under "Update: NEW kitten pics" you should see them, they are VERY cute, or I could post the pics here.
Anyways, I definately want to see yours.(as I am sure everyone else does too!)
Thanks Tortie. I'll have some pics up of both Spaz and Shadow's kittens tomorrow.

I have an update on the kittens. Spaz's are doing fine, they are still in the closet where she had them. As for Shadow's, sadly she lost one of them. I was out of town from Thursday-Sunday and got a call on Sat. night from my fiance. She had been with them earlier that day before she went to work and said they were all fine, but when she got home from work she discovered one had died (at this point I don't know why he died, I am waiting for results from the vet). The other two are doing fine. They are very active, they have discovered how to run although they are quite a bit uncoordinated. They have also started to eat a little solid(canned) food. They are their parents kids. One looks exactly like Shadow, the other looks exactly like the father.
 

tnr1

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I have an update on the kittens. Spaz's are doing fine, they are still in the closet where she had them. As for Shadow's, sadly she lost one of them. I was out of town from Thursday-Sunday and got a call on Sat. night from my fiance. She had been with them earlier that day before she went to work and said they were all fine, but when she got home from work she discovered one had died (at this point I don't know why he died, I am waiting for results from the vet). The other two are doing fine. They are very active, they have discovered how to run although they are quite a bit uncoordinated. They have also started to eat a little solid(canned) food. They are their parents kids. One looks exactly like Shadow, the other looks exactly like the father.
Thanks for the update...sorry to hear about the kitten that passed away.

Katie
 
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catmanrob

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Sad news on Spaz's kittens. At first her kittens were doing fine. But something happened. One of them was almost a head smaller by late last week. He was still nursing, but wasn't growing. We lost him on Friday. The second one was larger but still noticably smaller than the third. He passed away the next day, Saturday. So far, the third, an orange tabby I've named Simba, is doing fine. He is growing normally and is the right size for his age. I am keeping a close watch on him.
 
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catmanrob

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It's been a long time since I've posted. A little update on the kittens. Spaz's little orange kitten and Shadow's kittens were adopted in December. They're all in good homes.

My saga with kittens should have ended there. But it didn't.

These last few weeks have been very trying. Here's my story.

As I said earlier in this thread, I was planning on moving in November. I didn't until January. At this point I had 4 cats. Shadow, Spaz, Ash and Nermal. Ash and Nermal are both neutered. I no longer have Frisky, who was the father of Shadow's kittens. I decided to wait until after the move before spaying Shadow and Spaz. I wish I hadn't. During the move I had to find someone to watch my cats for a few days. I had my sister watch them. She has a male (the father of Spaz's kittens) but he was neutered after I persuaded her to do so. So there was no chance of an accidental pregnancy, plus there weren't in heat at the time. At least that's what I thought. Shadow must have been in heat (I never noticed it though), because she ended up pregnant again. I don't know how. As far as I know, she wasn't around an intact male. It couldn't have been one of mine or my sister's since they are neutered. The only thing I can guess is that maybe she got outside or something.

Well, regardless of how it happened. It did and I had to deal with it. She gave birth on March 12 to 4 kittens. And once again gave birth to another a day later. Then the problems began. After a few days Shadow began having an unusual amount of discharge. I took her to the vet on the Thursday the 15th. They ran some tests and said to bring her back the next day. She ended up having an emergency hysterectomy. Her uterus hadn't contracted after she gave birth and there was an infection. After the surgery I took her home. The vet said that they had used internal stitches and that she would still be able to nurse. Sadly the kitten that was born late died on the 19th. It gets worse.

Everything was going well. Until Tuesday night. Shadow wasn't eating. She wasn't doing much of anything. I knew something was wrong. I took her to the emergency vet at midnight. Stayed up all night waiting for them to call. It turns out she had mastitis. Her fever was 105 when I brought her in. That morning I transfered her to my regular vet where she stayed for 3 days. Finally I got to take her home that Saturday. She was doing ok. I had to give her meds twice a day. But she could no longer nurse. I had to bottle feed the kittens. Once again, everything was ok for a few days. Luckily only one of her nipples had the mastitis. But even with the meds it got worse. It ruptured and she went back to the emergency vet on Wednesday the 28th and they cleaned out all the infected and dead tissue and stitched her up. She has a catheter to drain any excess fluids. She's going to the vet in few days to have the catheter removed and in a week to have the stitches removed. She is doing very well. She's acting like her old self again.

I was able to find a surrogate mother for the kittens. They are doing good. I get updates on them every day.

This has been a learning experience. I almost lost my Shadow all because I hesitated to spay her. Lesson learned. I now give the same advice that was given to me. Don't wait to have your cats spayed/neutered. If you wait, it could cost you.
 

xxtashaxx

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im sorry for what has happend to shadow but im glad things seem to be looking up. , some of us have seen the deverstating effects so we try to advise others. im happy to hear that her kittens are doing well. keep us updated on her recovery.
 
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catmanrob

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Here's an update on Shadow. I had the drain removed on Thursday, the stitches come out in a few days.Everything is healing well. She's gonna have a big scar, but as the fur grows back it should cover it up a bit. She's a tough kitty. She's completely back to her old self again, she's even playing again. I spoke to my friend who is fostering the kittens, they are doing fine. I'll be able to take them home in a couple of weeks. I'm sure Shadow misses them.

That's all for now, I'll post another update soon.

Have a good Easter everyone.
 

catsarebetter

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I'm so sorry you've been though such a traumatic time.
I'm glad things are finally starting to look up for you.
 

tjwharton24

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I am so glad everything is going better... I happy she is happy and healthy

jenn
 
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