Very Sad mama kitty... It's been two days..need to share my story

[elizabeth222]

We had the pleasure of welcoming seven gorgeous kittens into our home. Mooshoo our precious girl is so proud and such a great mama. Mama is Siamese, and four of her babies are black. Three of them Siamese like her. She is very attentive and stressed out.
I have learned, listen to your cat. I have always been in tune to my girl's emotions, and behavior. Any parent naturally is, and its no different with cats and dogs. They listen to everything, notice everything and they talk back to you.
Yesterday something so horrible and ugly happened due to unnatural causes that could have been so easily avoided if I had been more aware.
The kittens crawl around, and mama is with them a majority of the time. To avoid them being stepped on, I moved them into a laundry basket with a pillow and a towel simply because Mooshoo like all cats can not be persuaded to do anything but what she wants.
For whatever reason she decided that the middle of the entryway was where she wanted them and I have concluded that this must have been because she was seconds away from her box and food and mommy and daddy are still in her sight. Well this scared the hell out of me and i kept putting the kiddos back in the laundry basket and she would look at me like..you know ill just put them back on the floor and i would say to her do you want round fluff balls or pancakes? I was so frustrated finally i said to her ok we are going to compromise and i took away the basket and put just the pillow. She liked it. Great everyone is happy.
We had a couple scares where we stepped on something soft and squishy and it ended up being a toy, well this time it was two brothers.two little black baby kittens who crawled away and were cuddling close together on the black rug.
I cant even describe in words how i felt except for immediate shock and panic. I flipped the light and what i encountered was the most horrible thing i haver ever seen in my life. Necks broken writhing in pain and me more helpless then i have ever felt and the pain of knowing there was nothing i could do. The worst part my baby girl was as shocked as i was watching everything. and i was so busy yelling for my husband i didnt notice right away.
My husband who is very realistic and always knows what to do looked at them and said well there is nothing we can do. Necks were broken couldnt move just seizing and twitching one had blood coming out of his eye and the other his nose. The feeling of their tiny bodies go limp and still occasionally twitch was way too much after i looked up and through my sobs i could see Moo shoo watching for the first time since the whole ugly mess started. I yelled dont let her see them and they got whicked away and then i realized.. How could i be so stupid. She has been here the whole time. I called my husband back and said let her see them and he was like would you want to see your dead baby? I told him yes because we both know she will go and look for them. I went over to her and she was so scared and scary still. I knew she doesnt fully understand all my words but i told her that two of her babies are going to have to go sooner than expected. And it broke my heart and i could feel it breaking when i saw nothing but confusion and trust in her eyes. My husband brought them over and we all sat together as we watched her lick and nudge them look at us and repeat for some time that was torture. Finally he had enough and took them away and my girl just layed there unresponsive and i proceeded to have a panic attack and she was there laying with me. I took away two of her babies and i am going to have to live with this.
Mooshoo has not left my side and i was in a panic because at first i had to bring the kittens to her to nurse. She just wanted held. And after i pulled myself together i have been talking to her and her dad has been talking to both of us telling us that we are his girls and we will make sure that the five boys will be just fine. She is starting to come around today it seems but is terrified when they start to crawl away and this morning when i woke up they were in the basket. I lost it and started bawling and she just crawled into my lap and i had to share this because everyone is telling me this stuff happens.. Shes just a cat she will be fine. Just a cat? This cat is our child and now shes a mama and she just lost two babies that are dead because of me. It keeps replaying in my mind and i need people to know. People who love their kids as much as i love mine.

 

[margd]

This is so sad for everyone.  It was an accident.  I'm sure you can go back and torture yourself with thoughts of things you could have done better but try not to do that to yourself.  It is just a very sad thing that happened.  Your husband sounds like a great guy and I'm glad he's there to help you through this. 

Some of Mooshoo's behavior right now probably stems from the fact that she knows you are upset  The best thing you can do for her is to try and get back to normal so she can too.  Of course it will be hard because you feel you have taken two of her kittens away from her but try to cut yourself some slack on this.  You tried to do the right thing in setting them up the way you did and you had an accident.  This is really not your fault.

It might help you to write out some of your feelings about this terrible event.  It's been years since I've had a mama cat and kittens so I don't know what mamas kittens go through when they lose two of their kittens and maybe someone else more knowledgeable about these things can chime in.  I do know that mama cats lose members of their litters all the time and they devote themselves to taking care of the remaining ones.  I suspect that is what Mooshoo will do. 

This could have happened to anyone.  I'm so sorry it happened to you. 

 

[catwoman707]

I'm nearly speechless.......................

WELL.  Gosh, where to start. BIG sigh.

First of all, your cat will forget very soon, but you will never. What's done is done, it is beyond tragic, it is truly a nightmare. 

You can't go back and do it over. 

Learn from this though, they need to be contained.

Find a large box and cut the sides down, even a pillow is a danger, the kittens squirm around and work their way down under it, mom gets in and they suffocate.

Low flat bedding, a towel, small pieces of fabric, no pillows, no laundry baskets either, they work their heads through the holes.

Even in a small closet with a barrier at the doorway to keep them contained.

Forgive yourself.