Supplemental Diary Information

The Stats at birth

#1 6:55 pm  blue  – 106.8 grams (3.75 ounces)

--- 7:05 pm  unresponsive  2.625 ounces

#2 7:13 pm  red – 88.97 grams (3.125 ounces)

--- 7:25 pm non viable  2.5 ounces

#3 3:30 pm  orange – 92.5 grams (3.25 ounces)

--- 7:42 pm – 1" foetus  - ounces

--- 8:30 pm unresponsive 3.25 ounces

#4 8:50 pm  green – 92.5 grams (3.25 ounces)

#5 9:10 pm  white  – 96.0 grams (3.375 ounces)

At about 3pm Keva started talking a lot. I figured she was telling us she was going to have the babies.  She started having regular contractions around 5:00 pm and started pushing and panting about an hour later. At about 6:25 I could see a little bubble with a tail and toes when she would push but it wasn't moving forward. With each contraction she would growl and push. The tail and toes would peek out then slip back in. Once a kitten is presenting it needs to be delivered in a timely manner. After 15 to 20 mintues of this I tried to help her but the kitten wasn't out enough and her pushes weren't long enough. I tried gloved finger with KY gel to see if I could hook the legs, nope. I tried with a face cloth to get a hold of the tail and feet but I couldn't see what I was doing, it just wasn't out enough. I was really frustrated and worried. I finally just broke the bag and used my hand to grab the tail and toes as well as I could and very gently pulled with each contraction. Keva was yelling and growling poor thing. I would bet she was swearing a blue streak in kitty language. Three contractions later we had everything but the head. She gave it one more good push and got it out at 6:55pm. The kitten (blue) was fine, big (3 3/4oz) and strong. 

Kitten two came at 7:05 Keva really strained to get it out. I was worried she was getting too tired. I broke the bag from its face. It was unresponsive. I gently tugged the placenta out with her next contraction so I could take it right away and rub it. I performed CPR but was unable to help it. I know that when there is a difficult delivery it is the kitten behind the stuck one that suffers. Still knowing that fact didn't help me. It really breaks my heart.

Kitten red arrived at 7:13 head first (3 1/8 oz). I suctioned its mouth and wiped its face to clear its nose and mouth.

Kitten four arrived at 7:25. The bag was intact and its organs, from the liver down, were floating outside its abdomen.  It was moving a little bit. I tore open the bag to make sure these were not some sort of extra (twin) pieces. It looked like the muscle wall had failed to close below its cord. It never took a breath. I honestly couldn't see any way of saving it.  I took it and placed it into the freezer quickly so it wouldn't suffer. I really was not prepared for this and it hit me very hard. I honestly thought about altering all my cats and just quitting breeding.

Kitten green delivered head first at 7:40 weighing 3 1/4 oz.. I rubbed its mouth and nose and suctioned its mouth several times. It was sucking its abdomen up with each breath. I swung it lightly to make sure its airway was clear. I've seen this breathing before but it still worried me. With this kitten's placenta came Kitten six with it's placenta. It was undeveloped, about 1 inch in length, I would guess around 4 weeks gestation. There is no way Keva was impregnated later in her pregnancy. The boys never were out of their rooms and she was never down on their floor. At about this time in gestation is when the placenta takes over production of progesterone and rapid growth takes place. Because the placenta was still healthy looking (not white) I think it was still functioning. The foetus didn't resorb,  what was needed for growth was not being produced. In a way we were blessed that Keva didn't become toxic from this biological error.
Kitten green is moving about and has cried a couple of times. It's doing okay.

I know there is another kitten I can feel it laying cross ways at the bottom of Keva's ribs. I am stroking Keva who looks exhausted. Not even cleaning kittens now. She just has her head down resting. I massage her belly lightly and she starts more contractions.

Kitten seven delivered at 8:30pm. unresponsive. It is in it's sack with the placenta wrapped around it in a flat band. Like it would be when attached in the uterus. I have never seen a kitten deliver like this. The outside surface is whitish. I break the bag and remove the sack and placenta. The inner part of the placenta looks normal.  I again rubbed and rubbed the kitten with a face cloth and did CPR. I was unable to help it. I believe this kittens placenta separated too long before its delivery,  even before it was moving down the uterus.

I still feel the kitten crossways on Keva's side. I continue to rub her belly and stroke her face.

Kitten orange arrived at 8:50pm. Keva tries to eat the placenta and I try to get her to lick the kittens face. I end up cleaning it with a cloth and get it crying. Keva is to tired to care. It is raspy and I clean its mouth and nose, and swing it lightly to clear its airway. I swear I still feel a kitten. Its no longer up on her side bit I feel hard little bones. I am not pressing hard when I feel her belly. She doesn't like me doing it. I think she may be sore.

Kitten white  #9 arrived at 9:10pm. I cleaned its face and made sure its breathing was clear. Keva was too tired to clean it at all.  These last two kittens delivered easy.
Okay we went from knowing there were 5 in the x-ray,  with me thinking maybe 6 because Keva was so big, at the point we delivered 9 all my confidence to know if another one was in there was gone. I thought I felt tiny bones of the ribs and spine, maybe a butt. But it was no longer tight to the surface like it had been when they were all packed in there.

Keva never broke any of the sacks, I did them all for her. She is not a good birth mom when it comes to cleaning them. She worries more about eating the sack and placenta. She has a hard time with them. It takes her about 45 minutes to eat one. With kittens coming every 20 minutes so sooner We end up taking the placentas away from her. I did allow her to eat one that I helped her with. I think it was green's placenta. We did make sure all placentas were delivered. I had to push Keva's mouth away from the cords when she was chewing the sacks until each placenta was out. I didn't want a repeat of the retained placenta episode we had with Maeve.

I called the Vet at 9:30pm and told her the number of kittens and that I was unsure. She agreed to meet us at the office and check Keva.  She said that when you get this large a number of kittens you start seeing all kinds of things going wrong. It's just too many to manage normally. There just isn't enough room. In the x-rays she took to see if any kittens were left, all of Keva's organs except her bladder and uterus were really pushed up to her ribs. Her intestines were all squished flat, poor kitty.