Last night, I guessed Matilda was about to go into labor because she stopped eating, she started grooming herself much more frequently, and she was going in and out of the recycling bin I set up for her as a safe nesting site. She did not vocalize or sound like she was purring any more than she usually does, and after a few hours of waiting, I went to sleep around 1am. Matilda was lying on the living room floor, just hanging out. I don't know when she made her way into the bin in the bedroom, but at about 3am I was woken up by a small mew. I was awake in a flash and went to check the bin. Sure enough, Matilda was licking the first kitten. The second kitten came shortly thereafter -- a big visible contraction down the body, a gooey amniotic sac expelled with kitten inside... Matilda licked it free and then waited for the placenta to come out, another big contraction. She ate the placenta and chewed off the umbilical cord. Thus began a frustratingly long hunt for a teat on the part of the newborn kitten. Both the first and second kittens were trying to get milk, and I must admit I tried to help them get to a source, but with their eyes shut and probably some leftover mucous on their noses, they were having a hard time of it.
The third and fourth kittens were born pretty much in the same fashion, no complications. The third one had the hardest time finding a nipple, but the fourth one found one pretty quickly and did not let go for dear life. At one point the third one was trying to suckle on Matilda's paws.
Matilda didn't yowl at all but she did purr very rhythmically and loudly while she was in labor. The fourth kitten was born around 5am, and since the sonogram showed only four kittens, I went back to sleep after cleaning the bin a little and making sure all four kittens were nursing.
I had to leave for work by 7am, so I left Matilda's water and food right by the bin and checked up on the kittens. They seemed ok, no signs of URI, just rolypoly helpless things with tiny paws.
I returned home a little after 4pm, and noticed a little bit of blood on the towel I had laid in the bin after the fourth kitten had been born. I figured this was normal, for Matilda to have some discharge even after being done with the birthing process, but then when I went to check on each individual kitten (remembering their birth order by coloring), I realized there were five, not four. In retrospect I remembered thinking that Matilda's breathing had remained labored and I did feel what I had thought to be a fetus still in her body, but figured maybe it was some organ since I was only expecting four babies. Matilda was still purring heavily, so I was afraid maybe there were more, but soon after I changed the towel again, I noticed new blood and a placenta at the bottom of the bin. It must have been the last one, suggesting that Matilda was in labor for about 14 hours or more. I presented the placenta to Matilda, who had snuck away from her kittens to groom herself. She ate it right away, then proceeded to eat pretty much a whole can of kitten food and drank up a lot of water. Poor Mama, she must have been so exhausted.
Right now, Matilda has actually left her litter and has taken refuge on the bed. She is a skinny little thing! I am a little nervous that she has left her kittens for something other than food, water, or the litter box, but I know she must be a little overwhelmed. I miss Matilda the Pregnacat, with her own distinct "feline"-ality. Now she is bound by motherhood, at least for the few weeks while her kittens are helpless without her. I am struck by how things are different now that the kittens have been born. They've been in my home for two weeks now, but inside the womb, not outside clinging to Matilda's teats. We mammals are pretty crazy like that. It's nice to finally meet the crew.
Heheh, Matilda just went back into the bin, where her kittens were in a pile in the corner, trying to stay warm on their own. She lay down to nurse them but in the wrong direction, so she ended up sitting on them. They complained, for sure, and she switched positions right away.
Photos for you:
First-born
Second
Third
Fourth
Last! So glad you could join us!
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