I’m so sorry. I hate losing the babies. They do worm their way into your hearts so fast, and they’re so innocent.
But in my experience, it’s really odd to lose an entire litter like that. I’ve hand-raised kittens, even preemies, with lots of success; I’d think a doting mama doing all the right things would be even more successful. I wonder if it’s something congenital that they were all born with, such as a heart defect, that caused it. If so, that would be more of a reason for me to spay her.
First time mom was her biggest hurdle, I think. 6 kittens that she had outside before I found them, in Alberta on the onslaught of Fall - it’s been hovering around 0*C in the mornings. I found them while the last baby was still wet and I immediately brought their entire birthing “suite” inside and gave them heating pads and a space heater to keep the entire room warm. My guess is they immediately were on an uphill battle just because they were born so late in the year, outside. One kitten got stepped on, I’m almost 100% positive of that, given the state I found his little body in. Another was so badly bloated and it’s tummy was black, which leads me to believe there was some type of internal liver/kidney issues. The other 4, Google leads me to believe they were victims of Fading Kitten Syndrome. Even minutes prior to their death, all the kittens were as active as 2 day old kittens could be. A couple of them had already mastered rolling over and righting themselves and being able to move on and off their heating pad. They were definitely louder than I imagined baby cats to be. I saw mama nursing them multiple times. When we lost the 2 suddenly, I stepped up my efforts and started supplementing the remaining kittens with a little bit of sugar or honey water just in case their blood sugar was dropping, and KMR. Someone else suggested that perhaps, even though they were nursing, maybe mama cat wasn’t producing enough milk. The kittens didn’t appear to be losing weight and while they felt delicate, they didn’t feel frail. They had enough strength to grip at my fingers with their teeny little claws. But last night, mama didn’t even seem that interested in nursing them so maybe she knew. I fed them very carefully, a drop at a time so they wouldn’t aspirate, but maybe their little bodies were just too week.
I’m sorry for the loss of the kittens. Could you please bring the cat to a vet to be checked post-partum, and also spayed?
Any chance the mother is Fe Leuk positive?
Very sorry to hear of the kittens passing away.
That, I wouldn’t know. I’m off to Google it though.
Mama Cat moved back outside and is no worse for the wear. I checked her over and was prepared for her to be a bit engorged with milk. Nothing. If she wasn’t slightly chunky and I didn’t know she had delivered kittens, I wouldn’t think she’d ever been pregnant. So now my suspicions are, even though the kittens were suckling, they just weren’t getting enough, or any, milk. Poor things.
My doberman is still absolutely distressed. Last night was the first night she slept almost through the entire night without crying to go check the babies. She made it to 2:30am before she was begging to check the room where they were. She checked, saw the empty kennel, and then went back to bed until I woke up at 6am for work. I’ve showed her the bodies so she doesn’t just think they’re lost, but the poor girl… she was convinced those babies were hers.
Glad mom’s okay and hope she gets spayed soon to break the cycle. I always weigh any kittens in my care twice a day to ensure they are gaining on track. Anyone who is stable or down more than two weighings in a row goes straight to the vet. I’ve had 62 come through since 2017 and the only one I lost came to me brutally sick and passed after a week of hospitalization.
Momma cat can get pregnant again right away. They come back into heat before weaning a litter.
It sounds like you weren’t particularly prepared for this litter, and that it was a bad time of year for it, and that perhaps momma cat doesn’t get regular vet care? You’ll need to keep her in to prevent her from being bred before you spay her. Which we are all hoping is the plan. Is it the plan?
Gotta say, I’m kind of shocked at how cavalier you are about an entire litter of kittens dying under your care.
You seem to be avoiding the numerous comments suggesting she gets spayed. Why is that? Neutral observer here, just curious
The kittens were weighed twice daily. I am well versed in that, as I keep hedgehogs and it’s common practice to weigh them routinely through the day if they’re ill. The kittens maintained their weight. It didn’t differ much AM or PM, not even after they pottied. They were pretty small, being just a few days old. Like I said in a previous response, they felt delicate, but not frail. They were moving around, crawling and were figuring out how to roll over and right themselves when they got turned onto their back.
I’m sorry if you feel I’m “cavalier” about losing a batch of kittens. I live on a farm and life and death is inevitable. I did what I could by bringing them in, making sure they had their heating pads and checking on them. I supplemented with KMR, dabbed sugar water on their gums in case their blood sugar was low and made sure they were going to the bathroom. I was in contact with an emergency vet to make sure I was doing the right things for them. But sometimes, life is rough and cruel and baby animals aren’t viable. No matter how hard we try and how much we want them to live. I may seem cavalier to you, but you also don’t know how much I’ve cried over each of the tiny creatures. Each one got kissed and snuggled. They were wrapped up and placed in a box in the freezer, so they could be buried with my other pets who have passed. They were only 3 days old, but they were loved. It may not seem like that to someone reading, but emotion doesn’t always translate in text. I’ve lost sleep over this, wondering why the entire litter passed and like my vet has reassured me, sometimes things just happen. Sometimes the kittens just aren’t strong enough or healthy enough to survive and that’s the sad fact of life. My vet told me it’s very unlikely that I could have saved them, that having an entire litter expire so quickly points to a congenital issue or something like that.
And just so you don’t accuse me of avoiding this question. No. My barn cats do not get regular vet care. They are barn cats. They get dumped here, we feed them and take care of them, but they do not see a vet regularly. They have a warm, safe barn to be in. They do not want to be inside. This mama cat didn’t even want to be inside when I brought her and her kittens in - she tried to escape every time I went to check on them. She’s friendly and loves attention, but she is not used to being in a house and she doesn’t want to be in here. Keeping her in probably stresses her out more. We have exactly 4 cats here. They will all be spayed in spring time.
You will like have 16-20 additional cats by then. Why would you wait six months?
With all due respect, I do not need to justify or provide further explanation. Have a wonderful day.
Also with no disrespect but as a biologist it’s very irresponsible to not spay your cats :-/ not only are you dooming your barn cats to be uncomfortable (being in heat isn’t fun for them) as well as bringing more kittens in the world who are likely to die quickly like this litter did, but loose cats have cascading effects on ecosystems because they constantly kill small animals and birds. So, it is logical to posit that by not spaying your cats, you are directly harming your local ecosystems as your decision will cause more and more cats to be born.
As someone who lives on a farm I assume you are familiar with responsible stewardship. This ain’t it
You’re a heck of a lot more concerned about your Doberman’s reaction than you are about the wellbeing of an animal that’s going to give birth again. And that makes me sick.
Not receiving regular vet care and unplanned litters are pretty much the hallmarks of irresponsible pet ownership.
You have no idea why these kittens died. It could have been preventable, or not, but you don’t know, because momma cat received no vet or prenatal care, the kittens were never seen by a vet, and you chose to not necropsy any of them. If you want to hang your hat on a congenital cause, spaying momma cat asap becomes even MORE important, so she doesn’t produce even more non viable kittens.
Whatever tom knocked up this cat (is she even an adult? You said “first litter” which suggests this is her first heat and that’s she’s really just a baby still herself? Yet another reason to prevent her from being bred again.) is still around, and more than happy to service your barn full of intact cats. This one is ready to come right back into heat.
Just because they’re “just barn cats” doesn’t mean they’re unworthy of basic care. Jesus, I am so much MORE on the ball with getting my barn cat into the vet for his annual stuff because a) his risk of disease is so much higher than the house cats given his exposure and b) we really value his skill set of rodent control. We treat him as a very valued employee, in addition to his pet status.
Preach.
The callousness is appalling.
Trust me, if they are all females, they can and will have litters by then.
I’ve spent two years trapping, neutering, and spaying all the cats that I’ve inherited from my neighbors. I was too late in some cases and ended up with more kittens, some I could save and some I couldn’t. Two mamas had to be spayed while pregnant because I simply could NOT have any more cats, and that killed me. But I’m being as responsible as I can for cats that aren’t really socialized.
I believe I told you this upthread, and you brushed me off and said it was just failure to thrive. You’ve also had several others tell you it’s not normal. Attentive mothers don’t lose entire litters in a safe environment. This is EVEN MORE OF A REASON to get them spayed sooner rather than later. By spring, you will have a dozen more kittens running around who will also have to be spayed/neutered.
With all due respect, you came here asking us for advice. So yeah, you owe us ‘justification,’ if you can provide one.
I will say that I hate young kittens in barn settings. Out of a whole litter that actually makes it to weaning, you’ll be lucky to have 2 reach adulthood. Hawks, coyotes, stray dogs, equipment - a barn is a hostile environment for kittens and most of them die.
So, when someone is excited about having kittens in the barn, I just cringe - it got to the point of when the BO would bring new ones, I wouldn’t want to know their names or pet them or anything, knowing they were likely to disappear to a very unpleasant end. I didn’t want to get attached.
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
