Aunty e Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 Last night Cleo went into labour the moment I got home from rehearsal, and gave birth to four kittens, with some help need from me along the way. Sadly two of them had protruding umbilical hernias (intestines outside the body) and the vet and I felt that the kindest thing was to let nature take its course, as surgery on such tiny kittens would be unlikely to succeed and the two affected had very low birthweights anyway. Obviously this is devastating again, so Cleo will be having one more litter with a different stud (our own boy) to see if it is perhaps the father carrying the hernia gene (as none of her last litter had this issue, but some were stillborn) or if the two aren't compatible. If she has a problem like this again, we will have to spey her rather than continue producing kittens with no chance at life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 Oh dear. Am very sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aunty e Posted April 17, 2008 Author Share Posted April 17, 2008 It's not all bad, the two robust kittens are doing well, and one of them is a huge spotty moppet, with a ruff around his neck! It's horrible losing kittens, but it can't be avoided if you breed your cats. This litter was unintentional, so we shall keep these kittens (if they survive Godwilling) until they're around 15 weeks and vaccinated, and hopefully modom will not come into season straight away again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 That's sad news Aunty E - do you have any photos of the surviving kits? Not that I'm broody or anything Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aunty e Posted April 17, 2008 Author Share Posted April 17, 2008 Not yet. One of the herniated kittens is still with Cleo, but very close to death, and I'm waiting for it to pass before I take pictures. I considered euthanasia, but the vet said that it was unlikely to be in any pain and I didn't want to mess it around any more than I had to. poor little mite. He also said that next time, I shouldn't let Cleo do the umbilical cords, but sort them out myself so I can see if it's happened straight away and get them to a vet. Apparently cats can cause hernia by being a bit vigorous with the cleaning. Such a worry, I was really hoping for a more straightforward delivery this time. Anyway, piccies later. Haven't even thought of names yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 That's very sad ... but glad that two have survived, yes please post pics as and when it's appropriate, they sound lovely. Well done Cleo! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jules. Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 Aunty e it's sad news about the poorly kittens, but happy news about the healthy ones. I'm looking forward to seeing the photos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trish Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 Sorry to hear about the two poorly little nes, if they are not in pain then letting nature take it's course ids kindest from them if hard on you. Glad to hear that there are two hardy ones though, looking forward to pictures. Kittens are the cutest things, after chickens of course Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 How are things today? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aunty e Posted April 21, 2008 Author Share Posted April 21, 2008 Sorry, been busy all weekend. As expected, the second herniated kitten died, but the other two are thriving, and absolutely huge for their age, so obviously doing well from the single-minded attention of their mum. Will take piccies later tonight. Still no names. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted April 22, 2008 Share Posted April 22, 2008 Looking forward to piccies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aunty e Posted May 21, 2008 Author Share Posted May 21, 2008 I took 40 pictures of kittens last night, and this is the least blurred of them all they just never sit still long enough to get a picture. I might try and get them while they sleep next time. Anyway, this is thomasina (tabby looking at camera) and Ignatius (spotty asleep) who are Cleo's kittens, and the little black nosy one is Hannibal, who is Evie's kitten but has been fostered by Cleo since he was about two days old. It's all a bit of a moot point now, as they tend to arbitrarily split the kittens up these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted May 21, 2008 Share Posted May 21, 2008 Ooo, they are divine Aunty e.. I'd so love another kitten, but am finding it hard keeping up with the prey my two are bringing in at the moment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted May 21, 2008 Share Posted May 21, 2008 Delightful. What fantastic names. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aunty e Posted May 21, 2008 Author Share Posted May 21, 2008 We also have Caligula, Poppea, Scipio and Zelda, but like I said, they never sit still. Know what you mean about the prey. Nero decapitated, partially flayed and disembowelled a blackbird all over the hall carpet last night. I nearly threw up cleaning it up, and I've gutted chickens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted May 21, 2008 Share Posted May 21, 2008 Lovely photos Scamp brought in what I suspect to be the male of my blue tit nesting pair this morning all mangled I could only tell what it was by the blue top to it's head. It quite put YD of her boiled egg The little Blue tit has spent all week flying in with food for his babies. He has spent a lot of time sitting on the garage guttering telling the nasty cats to go away. On Sunday Ziggy managed to launch herself onto the nest box and wa clinging to it like a monkey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted May 21, 2008 Share Posted May 21, 2008 I took my nesting box down because if that Liz - my old cat milly ate the parents and all the babies, despite me having wired the lid on securely Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aunty e Posted June 10, 2008 Author Share Posted June 10, 2008 More kitten pictures. Sorry it's taken so long (they'll be leaving home in week), but kittens are REALLY difficult to photograph. This is mostly Poppea who was being obliging, but all of the kittens are in them and you can see Nero in some of them looking gorgeous. He is the one who looks like their mother, but is in fact a big soppy tom cat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omletina Kyckling Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 Don't do that!!! Now I really do need two more cats!! They are absolutely gorgeous, they remind me of my boys when they were tiny (half bengals)....they look so peaceful (bet they're not a lot of the time ) I like the Ikea bedding - I have the same!! Diane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lizinsa Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 They are gorgeous! Must repeat 'IdonotwantkittensIdonotwantkittensIdonotwantkittens' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aunty e Posted June 10, 2008 Author Share Posted June 10, 2008 What I like about the Ikea bedding (other than the extreme prettiness and bargainousness) was that afterbirth washes right out when your cat has kittens on it. BTW I am about to post a link to the Burda site in the Crafty Fingers section, as they have an ambroidery pattern for the matching cushions. They don't credit Ikea though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Couperwife Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 what gorgeous kitties I love it when kitties cover their eyes "cos its tooooooo bright ) cathy x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 ooooh, I'm getting all kitten-broody. Luckily my friend Prudence is tapping me on the shoulder, saying 'you haven't got time to look after kittens'. There are times when I hate that Prudence, she's a bit of a spoilsport! they're gorgeous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 What I like about the Ikea bedding (other than the extreme prettiness and bargainousness) was that afterbirth washes right out when your cat has kittens on it. Great selling point there Aunty e. You must get them to include that point in their brochure. I love the word "bargainousness". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 ooooh, I'm getting all kitten-broody. Luckily my friend Prudence is tapping me on the shoulder, saying 'you haven't got time to look after kittens'. There are times when I hate that Prudence, she's a bit of a spoilsport! they're gorgeous. Me too Olly That Prudence can be a real wet blanket sometimes, but she's been a stalwart friend through thick and thin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
