E.T.'s babies
E.T. (Exquisite Taste) gave birth to her kittens a little more than three weeks ago. During the first days I prefer not to talk about the kittens to have time to focus on them and make sure everything's fine before I announce the good news.
To go to the litter's page and read about the mating and the fiancé, click here.
To know about what we went through the past three weeks read below...
The story of our four kittens that crossed the Rainbow Bridge far too soon...
E.T. and her newborn kittens. All was so perfect at the beginning...
The first two weeks of life of the litter were such a nightmare.
First we lost one baby girl at three days, I noticed she had a cleft palate when she was already two days. As I heard that veterinaries can sometimes do surgery on older kittens I wanted to save her because I felt she wanted to live. Despite her congenital defect she had put on some weight during her first two days of life so I kept believing and started to tube feed (here where I learned to do it: Pawpeds) her: I was planning to feed her that way until she'd reach the proper age for a surgery. Sadly she still died at 3 days in my hands due to an infection...
My sweet little girl... RIP my angel.
Then at 5 days other kittens started to show signs of infection and weakness.
I put them on Synulox but it didn't help: the kittens all died one after another day after day.
There's now only one kitten left, a lovely female that I called Galenka. She's been raised by Kiddy together with her other kittens. Kiddy's a very good mum and she accepted to feed the little one right away.
Autopsies revealed that the kittens died from something that led to septicemia and the antibiograms showed that E. Coli may be the reason why they all died.The immune system of newborn kittens develops thanks to the colostrum and maybe they didn't get enough of it or maybe the mother's milk didn't contain enough antibodies, I must say I'll never really know...
Besides E.T. didn't want to take care of her kittens so it was hard to fight rather alone.
Don't get me wrong, I don't blame E.T. for what happened, I know it's not her fault.
She's an adorable female that loves to cuddle and play. She gets along with everyone and adapted herself to her new family very quickly when she arrived here. I know she was a very good and proud mum when she had her first kittens. With this second litter maybe she felt bad because she lost many kittens and maybe like me she felt powerless and was at a loss what to do.
Every once in a while problematic litters happen and nothing can be done.
Some say that female cats can feel when kittens are too weak and when there's a problem.
It was very frustrating because I tried my best and yet kittens died. All I did wasn't enough and it was so very hard to see my little poor babies cross the Rainbow Bridge so soon...
Here's an article about E. Coli:
It's a very common bacteria that usually is harmless but it can lead to many diseases like I experienced here with my kittens. Some vets told me E. Coli is "benign" and I truly hate it when people just say things as if it's a general truth. Lots of kittens and litters died from E. Coli so it's nothing benign for newborn babies...
Many breeders prefer not to talk about problems, diseases and losses. I prefer to talk about the problems I encounter. During the first 3 weeks I only discussed about this with a chosen few and seeked for advice. As a young breeder I still have a lot to learn and even when I'll have bred for many years I guess I'll still have things to learn...
I haven't told and written about this story before today because I preferred to wait until I got the results of the autopsies and the antibiograms.
Now I know the hard way that breeding can be very trying and that sometimes Mother Nature is just there to remind us how powerless we are in the face of death.
In my opinion breeders should talk to each others and try to figure out together what kind of problems we have to face while breeding. It takes time, costs money, is very tiring... but it's for the best, isn't it?
I hate it when I don't understand why things (especially bad things) happen. I always want to try and do my best...
While many breeders would put to sleep at birth kittens with cleft palates (it's their choice and I respect that) because those kittens usually die very soon from starving or pneumonia, this is exactly the kind of decision I don't want to (can't) take at least right now.
I think if the kitten doesn't suffer from its condition and that I can help then I must.
One can agree or disagree with me but that's my opinion. I've been told about one breeder who once devoted herself to tube feeding the kitten for months before it could be operated so I believe I'm not the only one who can't give up on a kitten's life if there a chance even tiny to save it.
Many breeders would put to sleep a kitten born with only 50g while others would help it catch up with the siblings. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't... sometimes the kitten lives and sometimes it dies eventually... that's why I believe there's no rule that says what one should or shouldn't do in those sitiations.
It's up to every breeder to decide what feels like the right choice in every single situation: the most important is to do whatever we can with all our heart.
I thank my friends who were present to support me with comforting words and advice during that tough time.
** Rest In Peace, my poor little souls, taken away from us to soon...**
Galenka is now 23 days old and she's doing very fine!
(Click on Galenka's picture to go to the litter's page)