Three days ago I rescued a very pregnant cat from a yard, responding to a call from the residents saying they were moving, had been feeding her, but with them gone dogs would most likely get her and the kittens. About four o’clock yesterday afternoon I found a full term kitten dead in her nesting area. It had been cleaned, and I didn’t see any obvious problems. Over the course of last night she delivered five more, either still born or who had died shortly after birth; I don’t know which. All had been cleaned, they appeared to be full term, the placentas were gone, and other than the fact that this cat refuses to eat, she looks fine. She is fiercely protective of one kitten who is alive. I’m devastated. Does anyone have any idea what would cause this? She wasn’t in the best of condition, but her coat looked good. They had been feeding her some sort of Purina kibble. I am assuming that if she simply didn’t have milk, they would have lived at least a few hours?
Sounds like she had trouble delivering them and they died in utero. One of my cats that gave birth had one kitten and it took awhile before she started to have another. The reason was it was breached and stuck. I was able to pull the kitten out while she was having contractions. At first I thought the kitten was dead, but with some stimulation, it started to breathe. With that much time spaced apart from delivering, she should of been brought to a vet. After I had delivered that kitten, another one came under ten minutes later.
Dogs? Could they have shaken them to death, or maybe a Tom cat? Saw a Nature show that followed cats around, sure enough a Tom cat killed all the kittens in a litter that way. Something about they werent his kittens and he was the new Tom in the area.
No, no dogs. She is safely in a birthing area in my house.
I had the mother at the vet the night before she began birthing. It is possible she was in early labor then, as there had been spots of blood-tinged urine on the floor. He checked her out, confirmed she was pregnant (duh), and sent her home. Dying in-utero is a possibility, but it doesn’t explain the first kitten’s death. I’m kicking myself that I didn’t take her to the emergency vet when no kittens appeared for a couple of hours, but she didn’t look like she was straining, or even in labor. Many years ago I had another queen who had kittens, and she had a very large kitten get stuck. I got it out and the rest followed. I guess I’ll never know for sure, but I certainly am heart-sick over this.
I’m very sorry, it can be so devastating when you aren’t sure what went wrong. I once had a mama rescue cat that gave birth to a kitten whose heart or stomach (or mass, I’m not sure) was on the outside of her body. It was really sad because I felt like she had been born just to die. 
Perhaps you could ask the vet reasons for still birth. I hope you feel better.
The first one could have been stuck and messed it up for all involved… I’ve seen cases where one big puppy was first, got stuck, and the rest of the litter died. Poor mama would still want to take care of them.
I’m glad she got at least one live kitten out of the deal, let her be protective for a while until she forgets the others.
Sad. 
Are the dead kittens calicos? They maybe be males. Very, very few male calicos survive.
The mom is a torti, and one kitten was also, but the others were an assortment of orange and black and white. The surviving kitten, and it may be a torti also, is still alive, but this mom is seriously lacking in mothering instincts.
Will she let her nurse? If the milk can make it through the baby the mama will smell it and start to bond. She might be frantic that the others died… they just don’t understand. If she won’t nurse her, you have a project on your hands, or not. I’ve hand raised a lot of kittens but it’s not for everyone.
She is protective of her baby tonight. If she didn’t have milk, I’m sure at the least the baby would be screaming and most likely, would be dead. I just went in and changed the bedding again, and she got very huffy that I had moved her baby while I did that. That is a good sign. I really don’t want to hand raise a singleton baby from the day of birth. I have done that before.
what makes you think she isn’t a good mama?
It is very sad that the other kittens didn’t survive. However, the world really didn’t need those kittens, although you wanted them very much. It doesn’t take away the hurt of losing them. I know I sound mean and awful, but in truth, I’m only being realistic. I am very sorry that they died but maybe 6 shelter kittens will find homes now.
I have no idea why it happened as there are so many possibilities. I can’t think of many possibilities that would have been aided by taking her to the e vet so please don’t let guilt factor in to your good deed. Hope mama and baby do well from here on out.
Sometimes it’s not meant to be. Please don’t kick yourself about it. Those kittens had everything stacked against them. Could have been a problem caused by mom’s lack of vet care weeks ago, by the first kitten being a difficult delivery and the delay/trauma affecting the rest, just total failure to thrive-- who knows. Mom and the remaining kitten are lucky to have made it. And they’ll have a much better shot thanks to you. You can’t dwell on things like this, it won’t help.
[QUOTE=cowboymom;7457111]
what makes you think she isn’t a good mama?[/QUOTE]
Left to her own devices, she will go sleep somewhere else. She may be a first time mom; it is hard to age her, but her teeth are pristine.
Thank you for all your support. I know that with no shortage of kittens in the world that losing these is sad only to me. And if I weren’t so involved, that is exactly how I would feel; other kittens will get a chance. The baby is still alive this morning, so she must be doing something right. 
When our cat had her kittens she didn’t stay with them all the time at all. At first she would only go in to nurse them and then leave them alone. Seems that most of the barn cats did the same thing…I don’t think it’s unusual.
cowboymom, I hope you are right. I don’t have much experience with queening cats; our rescue usually aborts them. However, I don’t like the very late term abortions and in her case, she had the kittens before she could have been spayed. Last year I had a mother cat from a similar situation and when she had her kittens I don’t think she left them for more than five minutes for about three weeks.
