Our last foster cat - pregnant mama in labor and on her way to us!

[raina21]

Do the laundry baskets have holes in them? If they do, I'd recommend covering the inside of the basket with a blanket so that once the kittens are born, they won't get their little heads stuck in the holes.

 

[lisac]

One does, but the other does not. In the one that does the blankets are pretty stacked up around the sides so it should be fine.

 

[lisac]

Still no babies!!  She is definitely having near constant discharge and is making fruitless trips to the litter box but she has been doing that since we brought her home.  She is still eating and likes a little bit of wet food and really prefers the dry kitten food.   I have been offering goat's milk and KMR but she doesn't seem interested.  We  have about 8 different possible nesting places on the floor of the closet (it's a big closet) and this morning I found her in one of my clothes baskets up on a shelf.  

  Naughty kitty.  Of course we are all on pins and needles since we have no idea when she got pregnant or is due or what might have caused these early/false labor signs other than being moved so close to giving birth.  

 

[Sarthur2]

Is the discharge clear? That's usually a sign of impending labor. And the trips to the litter box - is she constipated?

 

[lisac]

Clear to pinkish, which have read is normal. There also seems to be some pee. When we got her home she was terribly constipated and passing lumps of poo that were like rocks. That has cleared up and she is drinking a lot and eating lots of wet food so her hydration is good.

 

[Sarthur2]

Everything sounds normal. It sounds like she should go into labor anytime now. The clear or pinkish discharge usually preceeds labor by just a few days. You've had her for 4 days. It should be time for kittens soon!

 

[lisac]

Terribly sad update.   Kitty never produced kittens and by Wednesday my husband and I knew she couldn't possibly be in labor.  She was incontinent and leaking pee everywhere but hated being left alone and even disliked sitting in a puppy pen next to me while I worked.  I spent lots of time with her, wrapping her in puppy pads and a blanket and holding her for hours.  She soaked up all the attention.   It became clear that something was very wrong after we figured out she couldn't possibly be in labor.   On Friday night we had her on our bed on a puppy pad because she wanted to be near us so badly.  We ascertained at this point that she had no feeling in her tail and that she did not appear to be anywhere close to the end of a pregnancy (her nipples were not enlarged, and her mammary glands were not swollen).   We became very concerned that the paralyzed tail and the incontinence was indicating something very serious like nerve or spinal damage.

The previous week we had gotten stuck taking two foster kittens to our vet because they were literally dying.  We ended up paying $500 in vet bills and having to administer subcutaneous fluids at home.   The rescue never thanked us or acknowledged that we had done something good for these kittens.  The director yelled at us and told her we should have contacted her first and she would have set up a foster appointment, but with foster appointments you drop the cats off at 7 AM and the vet gets around to them when they can.    These kittens needed constant care to stay hydrated.    Anyway we paid a ton of money and were stuck with the bill 100% and now have two more cats that are going to need special care.

Needless to say, we looked at this poor kitty and freaked out.  There was no way we could keep her in her current state, and we had told the rescue that toileting issues were just too much for us to handle.   We couldn't afford to take on treatment for another cat, so we contacted the rescue and told them they had to take custody of her so that we would not be violating state law by failing to provide adequate medical care for the animal.    The director was very angry and gave us all kinds of hell, told us we were forcing her to send the cat back to the shelter, trying to guilt trip us, etc.   We held firm that we could not take on the medical care of a cat with symptoms this severe.  She finally told us to take her to one of the rescue vets and we dropped her off there.  We both felt absolutely horrible, but there was nothing we could do. 

The rescue director called us a few hours later with the worst news.  The kitty was not pregnant at all, she had fecal impaction so bad that it appeared to be a pregnancy.   By the time she got to us it was far to late to save her.   The vet put her down Saturday afternoon. 

We are livid that this cat was made to suffer by the ignorance of a number of people in the rescue organization chain.   They failed this poor cat on so many levels.   We try to console ourselves that her last week was spent with people who pampered her and took good care of her.   We are devastated.  If we hadn't acted on the kittens, they would have died as well.  Nearly losing 3 cats in two weeks has killed all of our interest in helping rescue organizations.  

 

[talkingpeanut]

Oh, that's really so terrible. You went above and beyond for her and you certainly brought her love and comfort. I hope you can find the strength to foster again, hopefully with a different rescue. You do a lot of good.

 

[handsome kitty]

That's heart breaking.  The poor cat.  I'm glad she spent time in a loving home instead of in a cage at the shelter.

 

[AbbysMom]

Nearly losing 3 cats in two weeks has killed all of our interest in helping rescue organizations.  

I'm so sorry for what you've been through. There are some good rescue organizations out there. You may want to look into a different one if you want to foster again down the road. Threads are locked after someone has suffered such a loss, as a sign of respect. We invite you to place a tribute at http://www.thecatsite.com/f/19/crossing-the-bridge. May she rest in peace.