Worried About The Rest Of The Litter After Sudden Kitten Death

[ArticunoBreeze]

Long story short, we received a cat back in December after a neighbour asked us to care for her because they no longer wanted her after they had moved.
We didn't know much about the cat, but it seemed she not been neutered because she came into heat, and unfortunately, managed to escape from a top window that my mother left open slightly, and which she didn't think she could reach (we tried to keep her in when she went into heat). I guess this was enough time for her to get pregnant, as around early-mid February, she started showing clear signs of pregnancy.

She gave birth to 5 kittens last Tuesday (6th). She didn't eat the placentas for 3 of them, so we eventually had to snip them off. We also had to help two kittens get out of their membranes after they were born with a wet cloth, as she did not appear to be licking them even after 10-15 minutes. I've only ever had one kitten litter before, back when I was 11-12, and that cat seemed more "competent" and seemed to know what she was doing, whereas this cat didn't seem to be paying a lot of attention to her newborns.

The vet booked the mother cat in to be neutered in May, apparently we can get it free because I'm still a student, and my mother is currently only working part time.

The important bits: Unfortunately, today, after 9 days, one of the kittens passed away suddenly. We don't know what caused it, she (was a tortoiseshell kitten) was fine this morning, and my mother had only left the kittens unsupervised for about 30 minutes, I had just come home for lunch as I don't live too far from my college, and we when went into the room to check on them, we noticed blood coming from her nose, and some had gotten onto the blanket. She wasn't breathing and was very limp so we assumed she had already passed. We rushed her up to the vets who only confirmed our fears, they told us there was no sign of external injury, and it could have just been a genetic issue or fading kitten syndrome.

This has made me worried about the rest of the litter. They seem fine at the moment, but I am unsure if I should call out a vet come and check on them? I should note that the kitten that died was definitely the runt however, and we started to notice around last weekend that she was smaller than the other kittens, and didn't appear to be growing. 3 of the other 4 kittens have opened their eyes now, she had not opened her eyes before passing either, and ended up being nearly half the size of the other kittens. We used to monitor her quite a bit to make sure she was drinking, and she was, just as much as the other kittens. For the past 2 days though she hadn't been drinking much, and kept isolating herself from the rest of the litter when sleeping.

Does anyone have any advice on what I should do? The other kittens seem perfectly healthy, especially in comparison to the kitten that died, but it still has me worried. I don't understand what could have caused the bleeding, and for her to die so suddenly when she was perfectly fine half an hour before dying.

 

[bklyn]

The bleeding is definitely off, combined with the quick death it seems to be the result of some sort of trauma. Maybe a congenital defect, although I'm not sure which one. That said, the fact that she hadn't been nursing well, and so small compared to the rest, the odds were really stacked against her. In hindsight, it seems clear that she was unlikely to make it, such young kittens cannot sustain days of poor nursing.

Make sure the rest are nursing well. You should weigh them every day at least once a day, but preferably morning and night at the same time. They should be gaining ~10 grams a day. If they are not, you may have to supplement their feeding with kitten milk replacer.

It's not uncommon for a kitten to die and the rest to thrive. In fact, mom cats commonly reject the runts/weak of the litter, leaving them for dead and focusing on the strong. They can also sense congenital defects/abnormalities that we cannot. They can sometimes even intentionally kill them (versus just reject), which may be what happened here.

Sadly with such young kittens, fading kitten syndrome is common and we're left without any understanding or closure of why what happened happened. If I were you, I would not be overly concerned yet. I know each loss is hard, but there's no reason right now to think the others are in any sort of danger. Monitor them closely. Things do happen, mom may stop producing milk, become ill herself, or decide she doesn't like one, and human intervention can save their lives.

 

[ArticunoBreeze]

The bleeding is definitely off, combined with the quick death it seems to be the result of some sort of trauma. Maybe a congenital defect, although I'm not sure which one. That said, the fact that she hadn't been nursing well, and so small compared to the rest, the odds were really stacked against her. In hindsight, it seems clear that she was unlikely to make it, such young kittens cannot sustain days of poor nursing.

Make sure the rest are nursing well. You should weigh them every day at least once a day, but preferably morning and night at the same time. They should be gaining ~10 grams a day. If they are not, you may have to supplement their feeding with kitten milk replacer.

It's not uncommon for a kitten to die and the rest to thrive. In fact, mom cats commonly reject the runts/weak of the litter, leaving them for dead and focusing on the strong. They can also sense congenital defects/abnormalities that we cannot. They can sometimes even intentionally kill them (versus just reject), which may be what happened here.

Sadly with such young kittens, fading kitten syndrome is common and we're left without any understanding or closure of why what happened happened. If I were you, I would not be overly concerned yet. I know each loss is hard, but there's no reason right now to think the others are in any sort of danger. Monitor them closely. Things do happen, mom may stop producing milk, become ill herself, or decide she doesn't like one, and human intervention can save their lives.

Yeah, the bleeding is what mainly worries me. I really hope she didn't suffer too much before she passed. I've ordered a weighing scale specifically for kittens that should be arriving tomorrow, and my mother had bought kitten milk replacement, a bottle and syringe this morning for the tortoiseshell kitten, though of course we never did get to use it for her.

The mother cat was still licking her and responding to her cries. There was one time about 2 days ago where she even picked her up in her mouth and dropped her with the other kittens when I guess she felt the kitten had wandered too far into another corner of the large box we have them in.

I'm not sure if the mother killed her, there was no external wounds as the vet said, just some blood leaking from her nose and perhaps the mouth (I was in too much of a panic to really check thoroughly, her mouth was open though). When we went in there, she was just laying with the other kittens that were sleeping (mother cat was out of the box and eating), so we just assumed she was sleeping as well, but then we noticed blood by her nose, picked her up to check, and she was completely limp and lifeless. I don't know if the mother would have left her body with the other kittens if she had of killed her, but I'm no expert on cats and their behaviour.

 

[ArticunoBreeze]

Also, feel I should have done this before, and I'm not really sure how to edit posts on here (if it's possible?), but here are some photos of the tortoiseshell kitten from yesterday just for size comparison with the other kittens.

 

[bklyn]

Trauma doesn’t have to take the form of a wound, she could have been stepped on or dropped from too high. Nosebleeds are definitely a sign of trauma. The fact that she was visibly struggling for two days prior makes me wonder if it was more likely a congenital defect, as it’s otherwise coincidental. I haven’t had the experience of seeing a kitten so young bleed like you’re describing, but a quick search shows blood clots and other defects can cause that. In general, if a kitten is isolating itself from the group and/or poorly nursing, immediate intervention is necessary. That said, I really don’t think there was likely anything you could have done to save her given her young age and the severity of what happened.

She was a beautiful calico, definitely very small though. Extreme runts can survive, but it’s always harder for them. I’m very sorry for your loss, it’s clear how much you care. Th good news is the others look nice and plump, and sound healthy from your description. They're also adorable and beautiful. Stay the course, monitor them closely, and try not to be too discouraged.

 

[laurenfosters]

What a beautiful litter. The poor little calico definitely looks like she was the runt. If you are looking to prevent another kitten falling behind, you can start by weighing them once a day (or twice a day is even better) at the same time and making sure they gain ~10g per day. If one starts to lag in weight gain, or loses weight, you can begin to supplement that kitten (or those kittens) with kitten milk replacer and a bottle or syringe.

Edit: Oops, somehow I missed that you already have a scale on the way. Sounds like you're on top of things. I hope the rest of the litter continues to thrive.

 

[ArticunoBreeze]

Trauma doesn’t have to take the form of a wound, she could have been stepped on or dropped from too high. Nosebleeds are definitely a sign of trauma. The fact that she was visibly struggling for two days prior makes me wonder if it was more likely a congenital defect, as it’s otherwise coincidental. I haven’t had the experience of seeing a kitten so young bleed like you’re describing, but a quick search shows blood clots and other defects can cause that. In general, if a kitten is isolating itself from the group and/or poorly nursing, immediate intervention is necessary. That said, I really don’t think there was likely anything you could have done to save her given her young age and the severity of what happened.

She was a beautiful calico, definitely very small though. Extreme runts can survive, but it’s always harder for them. I’m very sorry for your loss, it’s clear how much you care. Th good news is the others look nice and plump, and sound healthy from your description. They're also adorable and beautiful. Stay the course, monitor them closely, and try not to be too discouraged.

Perhaps the mother stepped on her, she has accidentally laid on top of a kitten twice before (the torty/calico, and the black one once), but she doesn't seem to have done it recently, at least not while we've been watching them. The fact she appeared to be struggling is what prompted us to buy the milk and bottle/syringe, to try and nurse her ourselves, but unfortunately it was already too late.

She definitely had some very pretty colouration. Hopefully the others don't have any issues, there isn't anything in particular with any of the kittens that makes me concerned. They seem to be able to find teats very easily, whereas the tortoiseshell kitten started struggling to find teats even if she was right in front of one, moving her head all around it but not seeming to latch on.

What a beautiful litter. The poor little calico definitely looks like she was the runt. If you are looking to prevent another kitten falling behind, you can start by weighing them once a day (or twice a day is even better) at the same time and making sure they gain ~10g per day. If one starts to lag in weight gain, or loses weight, you can begin to supplement that kitten (or those kittens) with kitten milk replacer and a bottle or syringe.

Edit: Oops, somehow I missed that you already have a scale on the way. Sounds like you're on top of things. I hope the rest of the litter continues to thrive.

Yeah, the scale is estimated to arrive tomorrow so hopefully it does so we can start weighing them. My mother did take the calico kitten to the vet back on Tuesday when she first started to show signs that she was struggling (but was still drinking plenty, compared to how she was yesterday). The vet said they weren't concerned, though apparently she was a bit cold (might have just been her being exposed to the outside weather though? She was wrapped in a blanket when she was taken there though), and to just keep an eye on her. I wasn't there at the time, but my mother said she thinks they said she was around 100 grams when they weighed her. That seems a bit off to me for a kitten that was a week old, but I'm not sure what the exact weight was, they didn't provide any paperwork or records of it.

 

[biancavd]

She was a beautiful little baby, I am so sorry for your loss.

She was obviously a lot smaller than her brothers/sisters. I don't think she died due to a trauma. If kittens stay behind this much, usually there is something wrong inside, and they are a lot more vulnerable.

Was she breathing normally the last few days? No fluid coming out of her nose or heavy breaths?

I don't think you have to worry about the others. They seem to grow well and have a good size.

 

[ArticunoBreeze]

She was a beautiful little baby, I am so sorry for your loss.

She was obviously a lot smaller than her brothers/sisters. I don't think she died due to a trauma. If kittens stay behind this much, usually there is something wrong inside, and they are a lot more vulnerable.

Was she breathing normally the last few days? No fluid coming out of her nose or heavy breaths?

I don't think you have to worry about the others. They seem to grow well and have a good size.

I noticed she was often opening her mouth quite a bit randomly. It somewhat looked like she was going to cry, but nothing came out. She could cry quite loudly when she wanted to though, but she barely made much noise at all these past 2 days. No fluids coming from her nose however.

 

[ArticunoBreeze]

The weighing scales arrived this morning, so I weighed each of the kittens and took notes of the weight, then weighed them again tonight. I've noticed two of them have lost a small bit of weight since this morning, one hasn't gained or lost any, and one has gained a bit of weight. Here's the weight comparisons from this morning to tonight:

277g-277g
275g-273g
282g-279g
281g-287g

Is this any cause for concern? They're 10 days old now. Sorry if I seem a bit paranoid, I'm just worried about losing any more kittens after what happened yesterday.

 

[Sarthur2]

You will know better by weighing them at the same time every 24 hours. Do this for a couple of days and you will see a pattern.

A small loss of 2 grams is not too worrisome.

Your kittens are at very healthy weights! The lowest weight kitten, at 273 grams, is 9.6 ounces at 10 days old. A 14-day old kitten should weigh 8 ounces.

Your largest, at 287 grams, is a little over 10 ounces.

At 3 weeks the kittens should weigh about 12 ounces, and at one month - 16 ounces.

So far so good! Let’s see what the next couple of days bring.

Do let us know if there is further loss or failure to gain that lasts for more than a day or two. In that case supplementing would be in order.