Lost Litter

by Carl Stoke
(Pennsylvaniax)

My queen Himalayan was bred to a beautiful Flame Point male. She was due May 27 + or -. On May 26th she was showing no signs of distress or onset of labor.

Early in the morning of the 27th I got up for a drink and found a path of kittens with afterbirth still attached. They were approximately 2 feet apart. I picked them up in the order they seemed to have been delivered.

The first two were cold and rigid thus dead. The next kitten was cold but started to move just a little as was the 4th one. I tied the kittens cord from the afterbirth and set about providing a warm place for the last 2 and I had a nursing set all set up just in case.

All 4 had not been cared fore and the first 2 died evidently from suffocation. I did try to resussitate them but there was no hope for the 2. The other 2 I cleaned up and wiped their bottoms with a warm paper towel.

I nursed them through the night and I managed to get the queen to start cleaning them and letting them nurse but her heart was not in it. The queen is a blue cream lilac and I could not believe how well she had herself all clean off. You would never know she had had kittens.

I was still feeding and cleaning their bottoms and the mother would nurse if you put her in the box, scratch her belly and then lay the kittens on top of her.

The next afternoon 28th my queen was having contractions. I then decided to call the vet to bring her in. An x-ray showed another kitten in the birth canal. The vet highly recommended a caesarian which cost $1000.00 up front. I suggested a shot of oxytocin. They agreed to my suggestion but were not confident that it would help. That was now 9:00PM.

By 10:00 PM she passed her last kitten which was very big. The mother still had no interest. At 6:00 AM the next morning the mother was taking care of the three but not enthusiastically. I reluctingly let her stay with them and get some sleep for myself.

Than later in the morning when I awoke all 3 were dead from the cold. Two days later my male mated with her and she was definately going through a heat cycle. At this point I don't want to possibly alter her natural cycle so I am letting her continue her pregnancy and I will be very observant.

How To Take Care Of Your Pregnant Cat answers all your questions about pregnancy in cats and kitten care.