The one pregnant queen I was trying to keep until her kittens were born, but I had to return her as the owners insisted they wanted their kids to witness “the miracle of birth” is now back upstairs. She had 11 kittens of which 7 have died! 🙁 The owner called this morning in tears, the 5th kitten had died and several of the others had “swollen heads.” She insisted I tell her why the kittens had died and what was wrong with the other ones, but I just told her that I wasn’t a vet and I couldn’t see the kittens. Even if I could, it is quite possible the cause of death would still be a mystery.
She was freaking out a bit and wanted me to come and get and the kittens, but I told her she needed to bring them to me and I would do what I could. So she did.
The two white babies are the worst. One little boy is so lethargic, I have been keeping vigil all night. I put a warm compress to his swollen eye and within seconds, the pus pocket broke and the dam opened. It was pretty nasty even for a seasoned rescuer. The eyes seem to crust over and swell about 20 minutes after their treatment so it has been a long night.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that the queen only has 6 viable nipples and she lacks the body weight to keep all 11 warm. I just hope the rest make it.
Oh, how awful! I hope that the little ones can make it. Do you think that they will have the mom cat spayed now? She doesn’t need to go through that again. Poor babies.
hi
will you be allowed to keep the kittens. as they all wil get the faith of the mother. i think because was carrying 11 kittens ,htat htey did not get the nutrient they needed being in her womb, and all squashed togehter maybe to explain the swollen head.
is the mother cat allowed to stay with you. that is why we got our english sheepdog neutured, as we did not wanted the kids to go through seeing puppies die ,as old english sheepdogs smother the puppies with their body weight. and sometimes nearly all the pupppies will die.