We discovered early Saturday morning that blind Cinder finally had kittens. Well, only one. And she didn't want anything to do with it. Uh oh.
We had Cinder staying in our isolation cottage, and when we checked on her that morning, we found a tiny kitten lying by itself in the one place in the cottage NOT covered in bedding. Cinder was meowing by the door, prancing about and purring loudly, much more interested in human attention than in her hours-old baby.
When we brought the kitten over to her, she promptly bit into it, hard. The kitten shrieked. I flicked Cinder on the head with my finger to get her to let go and jerked it away. Cinder hissed at me. This from a cat who had never done anything but purr. I could tell we were off to a bad start in the maternity ward!
Cinder wanted no part of the kitten, let alone nurse it. Alayne found some kitten milk replacer in the kitchen, so she brought a bottle with the formula out to the cottage and we began feeding the kitten. After the kitten drank from the bottle, we tried to put her back with Cinder, but no dice. She hissed at it. "Not mine, never seen it before in my life!"
Oh, brother. We knew the baby needed mother's milk right away for the colostrum, and at this rate she wasn't going to get it.
Cinder was still huge, and clearly there were more kittens inside. But why hadn't she delivered them?
I called our vets in Helena and spoke with Dr. Jennifer Rockwell, who was on duty Saturday morning. Jennifer assured me that it could be hours between kittens and not to worry ... yet. She suggested I try milking Cinder -- "if she'll let you" -- both to get some of the colostrum-laden milk for the baby, and also to help jump-start some of the maternal hormones that obviously hadn't kicked in yet.
About this time our volunteers began arriving, so Laura W. from Helena offered to help me, yes, milk the cat. That's what we're doing in the first photo that Alayne took. Amazingly, Cinder let us do it. She actually continued to purr while I gently pulled and squeezed on her nipples, but would squirm when it got to be too much. We never did get very much milk -- and as much cat hair as milk ended up in the measuring cup I was using to collect it. Yet after several minutes of playing feline dairy farmers, we realized that Cinder was tolerating this so well we should get the kitten and see if we could get her to latch on to a nipple while we held Cinder still.
Alayne and Laura held Cinder down while I guided the kitten to the milk bar. I had to squeeze some milk out first, then make the nipple "pop" (or stand up) so the kitten would have an easier time of grabbing it. But grab it she did! It took a long time for Cinder to relax, but she finally did, and that's when Alayne was able to step back and take this photo.
It wasn't until 7 p.m. last night that Cinder began to show genuine maternal interest and affection for her baby, and that's when we finally were able to leave the kitten alone with her. Whew!
This morning when we got up, we found kitten number 2 had been born overnight. That baby is doing fine, too, and Cinder is mothering both babies very well. We think she still has more to go, so we'll see what Monday morning holds!
(Click on photos for larger image.)
You continue to amaze me with the dedication and compassion you have with all the animals in your care. Cinder and her kittens have been so blessed by all of you. Thank you (from Cinder herself) and from all animal lovers everywhere.
Sandi
Posted by: Sandi | September 14, 2006 at 10:28 AM
I had a similar adventure. A friend's Lab had to have a Caesarian to deliver a stuck dead pup. After surgery the vet didn't want her to nurse the surviving 9 pups, yet she still produced milk and was very uncomfortable. Mama Dog cooperated as my friend held her and I squeezed. She seemed to feel relief to get rid of all that milk. So I'm an experienced dog milker.
You guys always figure out great solutions. Glad Cinder and babies are doing fine.
Posted by: Debbie Burke | September 11, 2006 at 11:25 PM
After milking a cat; you've probably taken part in just about every experience in life, Steve!
You all put in a lot of energy with Sinder's delivery. I'm so glad she's accepted her baby(s).
Hope to see more posts on the kittens in the future.
Nice delivery job, Dad!
Posted by: Leilani | September 11, 2006 at 06:05 PM
Thank goodness you were there to help the first born kitten, along with Laura & Alayne, since Cinder didn't have any maternal instinct to start. That must have been an extremely long day with lots of stress! That's a precious kitty! Glad to hear the second was born & Cinder now is doing okay with them. Whew! I know you're relieved as well. Are you passing out Chocolate cigars?
Hugs to the proud family,
ginger & Tobias
Posted by: ginger & Tobias (the greythound) | September 11, 2006 at 02:38 AM