Coco's Kittens Report

Coco had a difficult time with her delivery this time :-(

She went into labor about 3:00am Sunday morning and the first kitten arrived about 4:20am, a typical length of time. The the first kitten, a black and white male, was stillborn. Coco then stopped labor for 4 hours. No contractions visible but she was content and comfortable and I could still feel kittens kicking.


After that long without progression, my vet recommended giving her an injection to help with contractions, but just one, in case one was blocking the birth canal or she had a 'twist' in her uterus which would be life threatening for her and any live kittens.

Within 15 minutes her contractions began again, and the 2nd kitten, a cream and white male, was delivered, but he was stillborn also. I was very sad, that they wouldn't be able to add joy to someone's life. I couldn't feel any movement from the two kittens yet to be born. I was devastated.

But as my vet advised, it would be better for Coco to deliver the kittens on her own rather than have to do a c-section on her, so I gave a third injection. Coco then delivered 2 live kittens, both black and white girls. A happy ending to a very stressful and sad morning. Both girls are spoken for by a couple who have been waiting for over a year for 2 available sisters.



Coco is always very anxious the first 24 hours, wanting to take the kittens out of the kittening box and even though she is confined to a large tent, you have to worry about hypothermia or trauma, so I am glad I am home today and also can go to bed early tonight and try and catch up on the sleep I didn't get last night. Coco, too! Disco's kinda mad he's been locked out of the nursery--he sprayed on the 'nursery' door (really mewmie's bedroom).



I will have both kittens that were stillborn necropsied (have an autopsy done) to find out if there was a cause, such as a virus or internal abnormality, but they were normal birth weight and looked fine from the outside. Doing the pathology is the responsible thing to do, to help ensure the continued good health of the remaining kittens and to know if there was a cause, in which case it might be time to let Coco be spayed and retire...

I will rest a little easier when these girls, Spottie and Dottie, have made it through the critical first 72 hours and relax a bit as each week passes. Kiki is due to have her kitten(s) around August 23rd, and by that time, Coco's babies will be 4 weeks old!

Someone recently commented on my blog, 'Didn't Coco just have babies?". Yes, and no...Her last litter was born January 27, 2010...almost 7 months ago (that's Miles' litter--you know, Miles, from Pierro's Happy Place)

Cats are stimulated to ovulate by the lengthening days, so between February and October, unspayed female cats are essentially in heat a week, out of heat a month and the cycle continues until the days get shorter, until they are bred or they are spayed. That is why, in 'the wild', one female cat can have up to 5 litters a year and contribute to the homeless cat population and the sad fact that many are euthanized.

People sometimes ask me why I breed cats when so many cats need a home. Well, most of the homes my kittens go to, also have mixed breed rescued kitties in them. Sometimes, just like with dogs, people are looking for a distinct temperament and physical look that they are attracted to. Oftentimes, people want to know how their cat was raised, see the parents and have a breeder such as myself, be there to help with any problems that may come up in the future. Both Coco and Disco went to new homes which didn't work out, and I took them back with open arms (and missed them so much the short time they were gone, that they have their furrever home here with me). Funny how that helped me decide that.


The cat in the photo above was returned to me when he was 12 years old, and I was able to seek a new home for him, although unfortunately he succumbed to nasal cancer a short time later. But I keep in touch with the people who have my cats and am therefore able to 'be there for them' should the need arise.

Many rescue groups do have a lifelong commitment to the cats they find homes for as I do, but many shelters do not, nor do they have lengthy adoption applications or foster homes to help evaluate a cat or kitten either. I am in awe of many rescue groups for the hard work and effort they do in springing cats from kill shelters and in the professional manner they find the best home possible for the cats in their care.

In breeding cats, the best way to keep them reproductively healthy is to breed them twice a year, so they are pregnant--which keeps the uterus healthy and lessens the chance of uterine infections or cystic ovaries due to repeated heat cycles without being bred. One health issue in breeding females is mammary cancer, due to not being spayed before their first heat cycle, but I am fortunate that none of my retired momcats has developed breast cancer.

As long as I have people on my waiting list for kittens, I will bred my momcats when their kittens are 12-14 weeks old and have finished nursing and the moms are fit and healthy. I have 6 people on my waiting list and only two kittens, so some people will wait for my next litter and some will seek a kitten elsewhere, and that's ok too...as it enables me to be very particular and choose the very best homes I can that way.

Well, besides a kitten update, hope you all enjoyed learning a little more about girl cats, too!