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Ok so a week ago I trapped a feral queen. We had the vet out to examine her. She looked heavily pregnant but we were not sure (not having dealt with unfixed animals in multiple decades). The cat turned out to be very defensive and wouldn't allow an exam. The vet and the vet tech literally could not examine her despite being adept at handling ferals.
So she had 5 kittens early yesterday but she is still panting. I sent a video of her to the vet and she thinks the cat might still be in labor, that they can sometimes stop delivering kittens for a few days and then start delivery again. So we shouldn't worry just yet but quite honestly we are worried because well the idea of it is so strange and we know she's hard to handle without sedation. Since she's nursing sedation is a bit risky (though it was more risky before she birthed the 5 kittens).
Has anyone experienced this sort of thing before? I worry that it's not labor but retained placenta or eclampsia but there is no way of knowing unless we bring her in to our ER vet- she'd be there for hours so the newborns would need to be bottlefed and incubated in the meantime or we can wait til next week when the mobile vet is back in the area.
I'd really like not to have to bottlefeed as the kittens are just one day old now. That is younger than I've ever bottlefed. I have supplies on hand just in case but ...
has anyone ever gone through this with a cat that suspended birthing?
Oh my....so sorry you and kitty are going through this troubling experience....
I have no answers for you...but why couldn't the vet take her in and give her anesthesia and/ or relaxants in order to examine and determine the status and if there are problems???
It seems they are shirking responsibility to me....it's not right leaving her with you while she's in that condition...
Have you contacted another vet?
Just my opinion but I'd take her the er vet....they are the ones supposedly trained for this type of difficult circumstance. I feel like you need to get this medical burden onto the shoulders of experts...and off your shoulders, as I can imagine you are beside yourself with worry and the feeling of responsibility.
Those are all good questions. The reason they did not sedate is that they assumed (rightfully so) that she was far along in the pregnancy and there was a risk of fetal fatality if they sedated the queen. Since the queen is feral intervention in emergency (ie. dead kitten undelivered) would be challenging so we opted not to sedate for examination. It really came down to playing the odds. Sedation would increase risk of stillborns or stuck dead fetuses and with us being unable to transport her it was too high a risk.
I have just left a message with our regular stationary vet but they don't really work with ferals. We've tried them in the past but they are really only good with scared strays- not true ferals. I still put in an inquiry for a house-call as that would allow mom to be accessible to the kittens. The receptionist said that a house-call might be- for lack of a better word- worthless, since the queen is not handleable. But we left a detailed message for the vet to call back and advise.
The ER vet is an option we are keeping on the table. We've had to take numerous shelter cats there in the past. It takes about an hour to just be checked out- I mean after all the examinations are done and you just want to pay- it takes that long. A typical ER visit takes 7-9 hours. So the kittens would be away from mom too long. The mobile vet said they can be away from her for an hour or two if they are kept warm. I don't know how warm is right. We are keeping the room at 80 degrees for them.
At one day old I'd really prefer not to have to bottlefeed the kittens. They are so young that they might fade without momma cat even if I do everything right. I also want the queen to survive. I've never bottlefed kittens that were younger than a week old.
Nature is hard. I've said it multiple times but man, the momma cat and the kittens have all doors open to them at this point. It is very stressful to know they might not make it despite all the things they have going for them.
Doesn't the vet have some kind of calming spray he or she can spay on the cat to make her "examinable" I took many ferals in to be neutered, but I will admit we only dropped them off for the neutering, I have no idea how the vets got them out of the trap cage, but it seems to me an experienced feral vet might have other options. I guess you can only sit tight for now, & hope Mama recovers or finishes ( any potential delivery). Thank you for showing so much kindness to her.
Can you take them all in so mom can feed them while you wait? A cage or box that the baby kittens can't escape? They wouldn't have to do anything to them and you wouldn't have to worry they'd go hungry.
Well mother cat and kittens are doing well so far. Momma is still angry. I had a mobile vet come out on Monday just to look in on her. The vet won't handle her without sedation so we have to wait for the kittens to start weaning. Right now they are too young- if they can suckle without problems and be cared for by momma then we will "milk" that as long as we can. They are so young. Just 8 days old now and their eyes are just starting to open.
On the flipside they need to start to be handled soon. She won't let us do that so far. Every single day is a different adventure with these guys and her.
All the stress of this just drives home the importance of spaying and neutering. She's not my cat- she's not anyone's cat but this will be her last litter and her babies will be homed.
Well mother cat and kittens are doing well so far. Momma is still angry. I had a mobile vet come out on Monday just to look in on her. The vet won't handle her without sedation so we have to wait for the kittens to start weaning. Right now they are too young- if they can suckle without problems and be cared for by momma then we will "milk" that as long as we can. They are so young. Just 8 days old now and their eyes are just starting to open.
On the flipside they need to start to be handled soon. She won't let us do that so far. Every single day is a different adventure with these guys and her.
All the stress of this just drives home the importance of spaying and neutering. She's not my cat- she's not anyone's cat but this will be her last litter and her babies will be homed.
TY very much for caring & your efforts. The world needs a whole lot more of you.
Well mother cat and kittens are doing well so far. Momma is still angry. I had a mobile vet come out on Monday just to look in on her. The vet won't handle her without sedation so we have to wait for the kittens to start weaning. Right now they are too young- if they can suckle without problems and be cared for by momma then we will "milk" that as long as we can. They are so young. Just 8 days old now and their eyes are just starting to open.
On the flipside they need to start to be handled soon. She won't let us do that so far. Every single day is a different adventure with these guys and her.
All the stress of this just drives home the importance of spaying and neutering. She's not my cat- she's not anyone's cat but this will be her last litter and her babies will be homed.
Awww...love those tiny kittens. Glad they are doing well as can be expected for now.
Thank you dear cat lady, for all your efforts on their behalf.
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