Foster mom, Jen, took in a pregnant cat from a shelter a couple weeks ago. An x-ray showed possibly eight kittens, probably within two or three days. She looked ready to pop. She was way bigger than Elsa was with her eight kittens. No way would she make it two days longer. Well, mama Hope didn't get the email because she went over a week longer and had her kittens Saturday night. Jen hadn't seen kittens being delivered and was looking forward to the experience. Aunt Barb was on standby, and standby, and standby.
Jen checked on Hope about 6pm on Saturday night, and all was fine. She checked again at 10pm and there were eight kittens in the box! Jen was changing the towels and heard a slurping sound as #9 came out. She changed towels again and #10 came out.
I've never heard of a cat having 10 kittens. I'm sure they have, many times. I've just never heard of it. I had a litter of eight kittens here two months ago. Now Jen has 10. Heartland sure does like to grow them big.
Beautiful Hope with her babies.
The kittens will learn how to eat in shifts. Mom only has eight nipples.
The kittens are about 15 hours old.
This is all 10 kittens, but it's hard to tell the individuals. All are black, white and gray.
The vet techs shaved Hope's tummy when she had her x-ray. It helps the babies find the nipples easier.
Jen has a digital scale and reports that most kittens have doubled or tripled their birth weight in three days.
One of Hope's nipples was inverted - pushed inside and not usable. I tried to gently squeeze it out like popping a pimple, but it didn't work. I tried to put a kitten on it and have it sucked out, but that didn't work, either. Jen also reported today that it's fine now, so someone did suck it out. Probably a very hungry determined kitten.
From day one, a kitten will hold a sibling off with one paw while eating. The universal sign for, "Bug off."
This beautiful little girl is Jen's daughter, Samantha. She's a very lucky girl to be around all the cats and kittens they have.
Oh that poor mother. I hope she does ok with so many babies. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteHoly cod. That poor mother all right. Can only imagine how much meat protein she has to eat every day, just to keep up and produce enough milk. Wow.
ReplyDeleteFingers crossed for all the babies, that they survive and thrive.
Thanks for posting Barb - everyone is doing great and momma is hanging in their just fine! She gets 2 to 3 cans of wet food that get mixed with kitten milk replacement for an extra boost. She also has two large bowls of dry food so she can eat from whenever she wants. She's doing excellent!!!
ReplyDeleteWow, that is a LOT of babies! Hope they are all doing okay.
ReplyDeleteWHAT KIND OF CAT IS IT....... Oriental bicolour ??
ReplyDeleteShe's just a short-haired black and white cat.
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