Kittens

[wiggal]

We had a new litter of kittens arrive last night, we had to move them as the mum had them in different places all over the place.
We put a box near the radiator and filled it with towels and placed the kittens in.
Only thing is K.C (mum) wont feed them, go near them & hadnt even cleaned them or removed the afterbirth. Woke up this morning and all the afterbirth was tied up and tangled together and they couldnt move.
We took them straight to the vet, who spent half hour untangling them, 3 are ok but very weak & cold, but 2 had their back legs tied in the mess, well 1 back leg each. They both stand a very big chance of having to have the legs amputated.
Luckily my partner and I were off work today, but only because its my birthday :(

Firstly, do they stand much chance of surviving an op at such a tiny age?

2nd, Is it my fault because i moved them? I know i didnt have a choice, we had one in the kitchen, 1 upstairs under our bedroom door, one at the bottom of the stairs, one in the front room.
We couldnt of left them there, but i cant help but think maybe its my fault the kittens are at such risk?

[B00]

not having much luck with your pets lately are you? :-(

I'm no expert but I would have thought the reason why the mum won't feed them is because you handled them too early. Like you said, you didn't seem to have a choice but I think she's abandoned them due to this.

Only your vet can tell you how their chances of survival are should they need surgery.

I know it's not much consolation, but happy birthday anyway!

[wiggal]

The thing is with the handling, are other cats have had kittens in strange places, and we have needed to handle them, they have had no problems at all and have perfectly happy healthy kittens. Its like our cats trust us and know we would never do them an harm.

This is K.Cs first litter (and only litter may i add!) Maybe that is why shes acting strange?
When she was in labour, she basically didnt know what she was doing, after the first was born, she just got up & started to walk out the kitchen before even biting through the cord, and was just dragging the kitten behind her. I stopped her and lay her down on her side. That was before we had handled any kittens!
She just basically doesnt seem to have that motherly instinct and didnt have a clue.

[megan07]

Dear wiggal i agree with Boo but i do hope everything works out for you and i would like to wish you a very happy birthday have a good one lots of love megan07

[wiggal]

Also had a call from a lady who works at the vets, and she has said that the kittens can survive the operation, its obviously not garunateed but they can survive the op at such a young age.

[B00]

fingers (and toes!) crossed for them then.

[megan07]

That s good news i am going to be willing them on for you wiggal hope it goes ok love to your little ones and you try and have a nice day

[wiggal]

Ok,

I have just phoned the vets for a check up on K.c & her kittens, they are now back to normal kittenage and suckling from her :) We dont yet know if we can bring them back this evening or they will stay over night, a vet will call me before 7pm.
Unfortunately we dont yet know about the 2 little ones back legs as they are too small and havent had enough time since the afterbirth was untangled.
It hasnt been the best birthday i must admit, my partner took me out to lunch but hardly ate anything, and then to play pool at Rileys, but i couldnt concentrate and wanted to leave, so here we are back home!
Thanks B00 & Megan for your messages, i will keep you updated and give K.c & kittens lots of love from you when they get home!

[wiggal]

The vet has called!
The kittens are bleeding a little from where she had to cut the cords on each of them, one of the ones with a bad leg is doing surprisingly well but the others leg is not looking to hopeful.
As we are off to mums for dinner tonight, they are staying at the vets overnight in case there are any more problems, and also til the bleeding stops.
Hopefully they will come home tomorrow evening, and K.cs motherly instinct has now kicked in & she is doing fantasticly with them :)

[megan07]

Dear Wiggal thank you for keeping us informed in my mined i will ask the god / goddess (protector of animals ) to help your little ones gather strength and a speedy recovery my burty basset hound sends them his love he is siting by my side lots of love megan07

[kaylamay]

No. You had no option but to move them. How old is the mum? If she is young and this is her first litter then she may just be inexperienced .That she birthed them all over suggests she was not sure what was going on. Keep the babies together use thick towels, heating blanket or hot water bottle under the towels so they stay warm. Warmth is vital to their digestion and survival all such a young age. You can bottle feet them a kitten formula. Pet store should have all the supplies you will need. take warm water dipped cotton balls to gently stimulate them to pee and poop. Try putting mama and babies in a small quiet room alone to see if instinct takes over. Do not allow this to continue for long(passed the next feeding time) or they will not survive. Kittens are very delicate at this age and can die from constipation, coldness and underfeeding. If you are going to hand raise them yourself they will need feeding every 3 hours or so including through the night. You might want to get a kitchen scale that measures in ounces(i'm in the US) so you can make sure they are gaining weight daily which is crucial.If you do not have the time to raise them, involves taking them to work with you then call local animal rescues and see if they have a nursing queen that will take over the raising the kittens until ready to be homed at around 10-12 weeks is best(a mother cat will nurse for up to 12 weeks) do not wean before 8 weeks.
I do not believe it is your fault that the mama abandoned them so put your mind to rest. I have successfully raised many rescued newborn kittens from feral situations and once when i was trying to catch the mama i tried using the babies to lure her in and she just kept trying to take her babies back even after they had been handled by me. Good luck!
feel free to email me if you decide to raise them yourself and have anymore questions.
[email protected]
Mikala

[kaylamay]

Oh I am so glad things are looking up for new mama and her little ones. I will keep everything i can cross crossed for a good outcome on their back legs.
Light & Love to you and you new family from Mikala and all my kitties.
(ps-again, NOT YOUR FAULT!!!!)
If she is not a pure bred that you breed maybe you can have her spayed after babies are weaned?

[wiggal]

Hiya Kayla,

thank you so much for your message :)
I will be phoning the vets as soon as i can in the morning to check on her, she is a moggie, and we have already planned for all 3 female cats to be spayed as soon as the babies they have had are weaned. We had that plan before, unfortunately it was to late! So yea, we do have a house full at the mo!
K.c is around a year old now and it is her first litter, she just didnt seem to have a clue what she was doing.

We are hoping she and the kittens will be home tomorrow night and they will be kept in a small quiet room for a while.

I am just soooo so lucky it was today, had the day off for my birthday and my partner surprised me by telling me this morning he had taken the day off to be with me, if he hadnt been around, getting her to the vets would of been pretty hard, and if we had both been at work, i dread to think what we would of come home to, well, 5 dead kittens.

Thanks again, and i will let K.c know your thoughts are with her and little ones when i see her :)

[Goodsoulette]

Hey wiggal, I know you have lots of answers here but my cat gave birth on the sofa so my ex took them all up to the airing cupboard which is where she had been putting bedding down and nesting and she was fine. I dont think it had anything to do with you to be honest, I think its more down to your cats personailty.