Maple's kitten adventures...

[maple]

Well, I woke up before my alarm clock had the chance to wake me up. Is that mother's intuition?

All babies are well. I tried to get the baby 1 to latch...she tried a little bit and fell back asleep so I would stroke her...just like I had to do with my own real human babies...fallin asleep before the job is done. I eventually took her and fed her some replacement and she took it and put her back with mama and mama gave her a good lick down from head to bottom along with her other 2 babies.

So just the 3 kittens at present. I was relieved to just see the initial 3 when I went in there tonight in the middle of the night. It's a nice number to just have to worry about the 4 of them...including mama. Mama is really about wanting that replacement formula...I shot a few squirts in her mouth. I see on the jar it says to give to mama on her food as well so I will start that in the morning for her. It says until 2 weeks after welping. I tried to feel her belly for lumps and movement but I'm not thinking I feel anything...plus the babies crawl all over her when she presents her tummy to me. She's such a loving girl and purrs loudly at the attention and rolls her head upside down.

 

[oesdog]

Glad to hear they are all alive and doing ok right now. I was alarmed you said you cut what you thought was cord when there was doubt it may have been intestine. Make sure it is kept really clean. Like a baby humans and hopefully it will heal itself. It is good that mom is licking that baby now. However it woudl be better if it was stronger and would latch itself to mom. I wouldn;t get too excited about that little one as others have said it is very much weaker than the rest. Has it pood? You may need to rub its bum until it does if mumma doesn;t do that but as you said she is licking it now so should be doing all that herself. You don;t want her rejecting it.

Oesdog -

 

[lockedhearts]

We had a puppy born once that was 1/2 the size of it's siblings, we supplemented with a bottle the whole time it nursed. It eventually grew and gained and was fine. So I would keep supplementing and alternately trying to get it to nurse, even if you have to take the other 2 away for a few minutes to get it to nurse.

 

[tazcat70]

I am glad everyone is doing good this morning. If I can do it, you can do it. I cared for 2 orphan kittens that were only a couple of days old. They are now big, fat, sassy, and spoiled cats!

 

[valentinebaby]

Beautiful cat! I too took in a pregnant stray, Winnie - her 1st litter she delivered without any problems. But a head's up: they CAN get pregnant while they're still nursing their baby kittens! Found that out the hard way, and she became pregnant again. Her 2nd litter she had problems with - several babies were breech and I had to help SLOWLY pull them out. Best mama cat in the world, but I made sure I didn't waste any time getting her spayed after her 2nd litter!

Good luck - your kindness will come back two-fold!

Gail

 

[schellie69]

I lose internet for one day and miss everything. Keep and eye on that opening on kitten one it might close it self. Keep feeding the baby or getting it to nurse that 2nd kitten is so big compared to the other 2 the orange one looks like its a week older then the other 2 great job. Glad to hear that mommy and babies are doing good. Keep us posted.

 

[maple]

1st kitten is not looking good this morning. I found it in a corner of the box and kinda cold. I picked it up and put it next to a heater and got it warmed up and tried to get it to eat. It didn't want to. The liqued just sat in her mouth so I tried to rub it's throat and then it's back...anything to get it wiggling but she's just laying there with a tiny mew every now and then. I saw last night and this morning it had poo so I used a rag to wipe it up. I put her in with mom to snuggle but fear she won't last the day.


I only cut the cord part down to the bubble on it's tummy by the way. That seems to have been the umbilical cord and the mass seems to be hernia. I heard from the girl at the store who lives on a farm and has many cats that she has a cat with umbilical hernia and when the cat is old enough to get neutered than the vet will fix that as well. So I know there are cats out there that get this and it can get fixed and as time goes by it does need to get addressed or more of the mass will fall down and out of the stomach.

Unfortunately, my little girl was very small and having issues to start with. If I had not gotten her and rubbed her, I feel she just would have drifted right then at birth. She came out crying but it was soon apparent that she was going to lay there and not thrive without intervention. But alas, sometimes no matter what is done....some babies when born so weak will not make it and this is what I am dealing with. She is very frail and weak and who knows what is going on internally. At this point I just want the little baby to live out the rest of her moments in peace and comfort of her mother and siblings. I put this in God's hands.

My children are well aware that this baby is sick and may not survive. The 9 year old is handling it better than her sister who's 5. We've had fish who have died. We've raised chicks who have passed. A baby duck did not make it from it's shell. Some chickens have died. Coyotes got 2 of my turkeys. I had to put my elderly dog down last spring. And my 5 year olds favorite cat passed of old age last fall and we had another cat die of old age before that. Then last fall one old farmer friend of ours passed away as well. My children have been blessed by their lives and have an understanding of life and death. It's never easy but it's a healthy understanding and such as it is, it gives them the ability to strengthen thier coping skills for getting on in life...because life isn't always easy and there are some sad parts that we must get through in life. We must remember to be thankful for the moments we've been able to share with each of God's living creatures for it is a blessing unto us and brings us joy and happiness as well as comfort and love even when some of those moments can pass as quickly as sand through ones unclenched hands. It is better to love than to never love at all...says scripture.

Thanks for all the support, encouragement and stories each of you has shared. I am overwhelmed by all of your kindness and help. Thank you. I look forward for sharing more pics and stories as the kittens grow.

 

[schellie69]

Sorry to hear about that little one but sometimes its for the best. Good luck with your new little family.

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

Quote:
Try putting a little karo syrup on the kittens mouth/gums. It might help to perk her up.

 

[wegotchickens]

I think you're doing the right thing in letting her drift away peacefully. You have had a lot of challenges in your life and met them bravely. But sometimes letting go is the right choice.