Kitten Tragedy

[whodunit]

This is a long story, but just kind of wondering about what happened.

Our mother farm cat was pregnant. Last night when DW and kids came home in the early evening, they found that it looked like the mother had given birth, but they couldn't find the kittens anywhere.

Not knowing the above, I came home late that night and found the back door standing open. The mother and our yellow lab were sniffing under the back door step. I examined the mother and she still felt round and pregnant to me, so I figured she was just looking for a place to give birth.

I thought twice about shutting the back door on the off chance that she had kittens inside somewhere. Our small dog, who likes to roam sometimes, was still inside.

This morning DW found five dead kittens on the outside dog's "bed" (an old pillow). There was a small amount of blood on the pillow and a small amount around the neck area of some of the kittens. There were three kittens together in one pile and two in another.

When DW told me the mother had given birth the previous night, I explained about the back door being open and asked her to let the mother inside to see if there was a kitten around. She did and the mother went to our closet, but wasn't "frantic" about it. DW found a live kitten inside; cold but active and apparently healthy.

The mother doesn't seem too interested in the kitten. We would have thought that after eight hours of being away from it, she would immediately feed it and get it warmed up.

We put mother and kitten in a small carrier, but she just doesn't seem to be too intent on tending to her kitten.

This is her second litter and I don't think she was very good to the kittens the first time either. The difference that time was that her sister (who we since given away) also had a litter a few days after her and the two mothers co-nursed. The two mothers and about 13 kittens would all be in huge pile as happy as could be.

Interestingly enough, the mother did allow an older male kitten (either hers from the last litter or her nephew) to nurse, but won't allow an older female kitten to nurse and hisses at her.

Later this morning, DW found a seventh kitten on the lawn. This one had been slightly mauled.

We don't suspect the lab did anything wrong. She is a spade female who never had puppies but has been around numerous litters of kittens and even exposure to some chicks. She has always been gentle to them. We don't think she laid on them either, since if the kittens had been there last night, DW would have seen them there.

I had a horrible thought that I had run them over, since this pillow is under the carport next to where I park, but she said the kittens didn't appear to have been squashed.

Now the smaller dog, a younger male Shih Tzu, may have "mauled" the kitten on the lawn. He would have been able to get out due to the door standing open. If he did, it was probably more in play, since he has never shown signs of aggression and was around the other kittens in the past and is around chickens.

Anyway, we are just kind of wondering what happened and if the last remaining kitten will die, too, due to neglect. Maybe something went wrong with the litter. She is a very skinny and lanky cat, so seven kittens seems to be alot to me, but I am not an expert by any means.

[neparose]

I could be wrong but it sounds like she was in the process of moving them when she got seperated from them. Mothers will often move the kittens to a new spot because predators are attracted to the birthing smells. 8 hours might have been long enough for her motherhood instincts to go dormant and thats could be why shes not very interested in her kitten. Or, like you said, she just might not be very maternal. It happens. It does sound like one of the dogs got to them. Dogs will paw and mouth things that look like fun, and mewling, squirming kittens probally fit that description. I'm so sorry for you. We all know things just happen sometimes, but it still sucks when they do. If you know of any other nursing momma cat, try rubbing your kitten all over her other kittens. If shes friendly enough, rub the kitten on her too. She might adopt it as her own. If not, you can always bottle feed, but that whole process is VERY time consuming. Good luck and hope everything works out ok for baby.
rose

[Ravenlost]

I strongly urge you to get the cat spayed.

[frogmammy]

I "adopted" a female cat once that'd I'd been told ALWAYS killed all her kittens. She'd had about three litters before I ended up with her, and she was pg when she showed up at my place. I cared for her, fed her and she had six kittens. I kept them all in the house 24/7. She seemed to do well with them and then I woke up one morning and ALL of the kittens were dead, scattered throughout the house....most chewed in half.

It happens. If you like the cat, I'd second the thought, get her spayed, she won't become a "good" mother...ever.

Mon

[ladycat]

When I was a kid, we had a female cat for years that had kittens regularly. She would choose one female from a litter to raise and kill all the rest.

Cats can be so strange.

[mekasmom]

Sometimes cats just abandon their kittens, especially if they are first time Mommas. And it is possible the dog was just curious, and brought them to her bed to try to cuddle them, but they died from exposure.
Cats are very prolific, and you will have kittens at some time in the future from one cat or another. I'm sorry it didn't work out this time, but sometime in your life it will. Nature has both life and death. It's just the way it is.
I'm sorry.

[Allen W]

Had one once that would go out and have her kittens and never go back to them.

[jen74145]

One of my "nicest" queens, when I bred, was an awful mother. Would jump up on a nearby counter and leave ehr newborns crying on the cold tile, starving.

Some cats are bad mamas. I'd spay her in, at least, the interest of no more infants suffering so.

[ladycat]

Originally Posted by Allen W

Had one once that would go out and have her kittens and never go back to them.

That's one way to chuck your responsibility.

[WstTxLady]

guess i was lucky, our young first time mom had 5, all survived & she was a great mom but then she got out after i gave away the last kitten & got knocked up again literally just before i was to take her to the vet to get fixed. i paid extra to end her pg & fix her all at once.

[whodunit]

The remaining kitten seems to be doing well. We are keeping the mother locked up with the kitten and giving her breaks to go eat and do her business. She is nursing the kitten as I type this.

As far as fixing her, we live in the country and we have a mice, pack rat and vole issue, so several cats are good to have around. They also tend to disappear (wander off or get eaten by other animals), so the thought of spending money on something that may not be around tomorrow, doesn't thrill me. We do fix the males ourselves.

There also seems to be an interest in barn cats in these parts. For the last batch, I placed an ad in the local paper and the local animal group put it on the radio. I must have had 7-8 people call wanting a kitten. A lady who lives in the country and loves cats around took three kittens and a pregnant female.

[Cannon_Farms]

how do you fix a male cat yourself?

[ladycat]

Originally Posted by whodunit

We do fix the males ourselves.

They do that around here but male cats can be tricky.

My step-father and my SIL's grandfather were cutting pigs one day when SIL brought her tomcat to them to fix. Don't know what went wrong but that cat bled to death right then and there.

SIL was MAD!!!!!! My stepfather and her grandfather had to avoid her for a couple weeks.

[whodunit]

We band them. A vet once told me that sometimes you end up not getting the whole "sack" and they can still reproduce, but the ones we have done end up looking more effeminate, so I guess that might be an indication they were successful. They are usually appear to be uncomfortable for a few days, but otherwise seem fine. They continue to be friendly afterward so they don't seem to hold it against us. I couldn't bring myself to use the old-fashioned method.

[Minelson]

Neutering a cat is soooo easy. That is why some Vets do "Neuter Clinics" and do it for a very low cost. We do it once a year here...$10/cat and usually do around 40 cats before 1pm. Neutering a cat without knocking them out is cruel and I wouldn't want to be any part of that.

[Ravenlost]

Thanks Minelson. I just bit my tongue and exited earlier.

[beccachow]

Holy cow, do it yourself?? Well, I guess if you do sheep and goats and cows...I don't know why I put furry purrys in a different category. I had Bosco (rest in peace) nuetered immediately via vet visit, I think it cut down on his roaming tendancies and kept him around the farm doing his thing. That is neither here nor there, I s'ppose.

Hope the kitten makes it, sounds like the cat has regained a maternal instinct.

[thaiblue12]

Well if she is a bad mother spay her or give her away and hope they spay her. Our shelter does ferals for $15 and that includes shots. the mobile vet clinic here does either sex for $25 and includes shots, rabies as well.

I have two farm cats. They have a cat door to the garage, food water and etc and they are now 4 and 5 years old. Both are black making it harder for predators to see them and they have a safe place to go. They are spayed and neutered, vaccinated yearly and wormed 4 times a year. They are worth their weight in field mice and etc so I make sure they are "paid" well for it. Unaltered animals are far more likely to wander off so fixing them and forcing them to stay home for about 2 weeks makes a loyal farm cat/kitten.

The bands are meant for livestock and there is a reason they are not used on dogs and cats, they can and will chew themselves up to get it off. That also puts them at higher risk for infection.

Cats and kittens are easy to adopt, on Craigs and some shelters for free or very low cost. Ours has ferals already altered and vaccinated looking for farm homes for free or a $25 donation. So instead of breeding why not adopt the next time one comes up missing? This way you do not have to deal with dead kittens and wonder whodunit.

[Ravenlost]

Well said thaiblue12!!! I agree with every word you said!

[WstTxLady]

Yea livestock (pigs, sheep, goats, cows) get the do it yourself method of fixing for the males. We even castrate wild pigs & turn them loose if we dont want to keep them at the moment. But when it comes to females or cats & dogs, vet only.