# Earliest kittens are born?



## kelzcats (Aug 1, 2011)

Hi guys what is the earlist ones queens have gone in labour (gestation days) and kittens surviving. My elsie is digging around and is very restless, she is 57 days so hopefully she hangs on for a few more days....kittens due easter sunday. No plug yet. If born now would they survive? my girls always go over so this has not happened before. She went 67 days last time.


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## spotty cats (Jul 24, 2012)

I've been told they're not viable before day 60.

But I've never had anyone go early, Elsie may just be getting ready and checking out her bed


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

Minni had her first litter at 57 days - one was still born and the other two were very very wee - 54g and 56g - they both survived but it was touch and go for a while.


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## catcoonz (Aug 4, 2012)

my queens first litter was born at 58 days, 8 kittens in total, all was alive but 4 was too weak to survive despite best efforts and died 2 days and 3 days later. The other 4 survived and i still have a kitten at 9 months old which ive kept, big and healthy.


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## kelzcats (Aug 1, 2011)

spotty cats said:


> I've been told they're not viable before day 60.
> 
> But I've never had anyone go early, Elsie may just be getting ready and checking out her bed


Thanks spotty cats i thought this but wanted to now if anyone had a girl go into early labour and the outcome.

Hopefully she will hold on her tummy has dropped and she is huge!


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## kelzcats (Aug 1, 2011)

catcoonz said:


> my queens first litter was born at 58 days, 8 kittens in total, all was alive but 4 was too weak to survive despite best efforts and died 2 days and 3 days later. The other 4 survived and i still have a kitten at 9 months old which ive kept, big and healthy.


Thanks cc i'm just keeping my fingers and everything else crossed... i dont think i could go through the upset as i have had more bad luck with breeding then i have good, i always bounce back though.:biggrin:


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## catcoonz (Aug 4, 2012)

Hopefully she will keep hold for another 3 days, every day makes a difference.
Good luck. xx


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## kelzcats (Aug 1, 2011)

spid said:


> Minni had her first litter at 57 days - one was still born and the other two were very very wee - 54g and 56g - they both survived but it was touch and go for a while.


God that was small but a good outcome with the little ones, sorry for the loss of the other baby. I hope she hangs on as i lost 2 from her last litter of 5 at 67 days gestation one had the placenta come out first so it obviously suffercated and the other was still born both big babies.


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## kelzcats (Aug 1, 2011)

catcoonz said:


> Hopefully she will keep hold for another 3 days, every day makes a difference.
> Good luck. xx


It certainly does thanks cc will keep you up-dated


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## catcoonz (Aug 4, 2012)

Thats sad losing a kitten. my worse experience ( well they are all sad when you lose a precious baby) he was 5 weeks old, running around playing no problems when suddenly he just dropped dead in front of me, i rushed to the vets, (dont know why as he had already gone) and the post mortem told me he died of a blood clot. That was really heartbreaking as i waited 2 years for him with the perfect colour and markings.

On a brighter note, this queen is due again 27th april so although im worried she did on her first litter have 5 healthy kittens who are doing really well as adults.

I will be thinking of you, and paws crossed for a smooth and easy labour and healthy kittens. xxxx


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## chloe1975 (Mar 17, 2013)

Good luck with your girl, hopefully she will hang on for a few more days. I have had a couple of girls displaying the same behaviour that go for a week with me expecting the delivery any second. On the other hand have had a couple of times where girls show no sign of nesting or finding a suitable place and so think I've got plenty of time only for them to suddenly go into labour.

My youngest litter has been 60 days, a litter of 4 with one stillborn but the others were fine. 

Threads like this are good because they show other side of breeding, I think for a lot of people they think its easy, everything goes right everytime and you end up with healthy bouncy kittens but of course its not always the case. But people don't talk about the otherside in public. Sadly kittens don't always survive and obviously the more litters you have the more chance that something does happen or a kitten is lost, just the law of averages. I still always cry and grieve over a stillborn kitten or one that dies soon after birth. i consider myself very lucky that we have had relatively few problems but it still happens, my most recent litter had 3 but one was stillborn.

Anyway fingers crossed she will hang on for few more days and you will be presented with some lovely healthy babies


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## spotty cats (Jul 24, 2012)

catcoonz said:


> Thats sad losing a kitten. my worse experience ( well they are all sad when you lose a precious baby) he was 5 weeks old, running around playing no problems when suddenly he just dropped dead in front of me, i rushed to the vets, (dont know why as he had already gone) and the post mortem told me he died of a blood clot. That was really heartbreaking as i waited 2 years for him with the perfect colour and markings.


That's so sad, and some situations are worse than others for sure. My worst was a girl who came into heat with two 5 week old kittens, she attacked them horribly and one didn't make it. 
We could make a really long thread about the other side of breeding, one comment that always irks me is "I know she'll be a great mommy" usually said by pregnant Justa owners before birth.


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## catcoonz (Aug 4, 2012)

Ive had somebody tell me when i purchased a queen, she will make a great mummy. Obviously i didnt know better at the time and continued with the purchase, well she didnt make a great mummy as when her kittens was 4 days old she de-limbed them.

I think it is a good idea for others to know the sadness involved with labour and kittens. Mostly everything goes well but there are some very sad, heartbreaking times aswell.

That queen was then spayed and then of course my other queens started fighting with her and she wasnt happy with me so i found her a new loving home. Shes doing well and very happy now. Guess sometimes cats just dont have the maternal instincts like some think they all have.

Also with a singleton, in one experience mum got fed up at 3 weeks old and walked away, it was then left to me to continue with the feeding.

Some people also dont know that a cat can come back into season 72 hours after having kittens, they can and do.


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## kelzcats (Aug 1, 2011)

catcoonz said:


> Thats sad losing a kitten. my worse experience ( well they are all sad when you lose a precious baby) he was 5 weeks old, running around playing no problems when suddenly he just dropped dead in front of me, i rushed to the vets, (dont know why as he had already gone) and the post mortem told me he died of a blood clot. That was really heartbreaking as i waited 2 years for him with the perfect colour and markings.
> 
> On a brighter note, this queen is due again 27th april so although im worried she did on her first litter have 5 healthy kittens who are doing really well as adults.
> 
> I will be thinking of you, and paws crossed for a smooth and easy labour and healthy kittens. xxxx


Well we are still here and still pregnant thank god

Hope all goes well with your girl cc and she has a healthy litter and is problem
free:thumbup1: xxxx

I have another girl due 5 days after elsie her last litter was a singlton and was partially reabsorbed (that was terrible) this is her last try if it doesn't work out i'm getting her spayed, i was hopeing to keep one from her. I always have some sort of worry going on as i do with all my litters as they dont always run smoothly.


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## kelzcats (Aug 1, 2011)

chloe1975 said:


> Good luck with your girl, hopefully she will hang on for a few more days. I have had a couple of girls displaying the same behaviour that go for a week with me expecting the delivery any second. On the other hand have had a couple of times where girls show no sign of nesting or finding a suitable place and so think I've got plenty of time only for them to suddenly go into labour.
> 
> My youngest litter has been 60 days, a litter of 4 with one stillborn but the others were fine.
> 
> ...


Thanks chloe1975 yes i have found all my girls are so different i think she is just becoming accustom to her kittening box which she is currently sleeping in.

So so true.We all need to know that it doesn't always run smoothly that problems do happen.I always tend to loss one of have a still birth,and yes i always cry and grieve it never gets any easier. Sorry for your loss x


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## Treaclesmum (Sep 26, 2011)

catcoonz said:


> Ive had somebody tell me when i purchased a queen, she will make a great mummy. Obviously i didnt know better at the time and continued with the purchase, well she didnt make a great mummy as when her kittens was 4 days old she de-limbed them.
> 
> I think it is a good idea for others to know the sadness involved with labour and kittens. Mostly everything goes well but there are some very sad, heartbreaking times aswell.
> 
> ...


Oh that is Awful - she de-limbed them?! Did she bite all their legs off? What happened to them, did any survive?


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## kelzcats (Aug 1, 2011)

spotty cats said:


> That's so sad, and some situations are worse than others for sure. My worst was a girl who came into heat with two 5 week old kittens, she attacked them horribly and one didn't make it.
> We could make a really long thread about the other side of breeding, one comment that always irks me is "I know she'll be a great mommy" usually said by pregnant Justa owners before birth.


That is terrible poor kittens.

We never now if a queen will make a good mum she can be fine with one litter and not the next....fine with one pregnancy and not the next as i have experienced. I have found there are just as many downs sides to breeding as there is positive but USE dedicated breeders crack on with it.


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## kelzcats (Aug 1, 2011)

catcoonz said:


> Ive had somebody tell me when i purchased a queen, she will make a great mummy. Obviously i didnt know better at the time and continued with the purchase, well she didnt make a great mummy as when her kittens was 4 days old she de-limbed them.
> 
> I think it is a good idea for others to know the sadness involved with labour and kittens. Mostly everything goes well but there are some very sad, heartbreaking times aswell.
> 
> ...


No experianced breeder can ever tell another breeder that a queen will make a good breeding cat as they also cant with stud boys or show kittens we never can quarantee this.

Thing i have found with alot of breeders is they sell you a cat or cats and then dont wont to now after....i had a lady sell me a stud boy and a active female quite happy to take my calls and MONEY prior the sale and then after i have walked away NOTHING not one answer to my calls or messages. We all start somewhere and we all need help at some point. With the girls living indoors and it being so warm yes they do come on call all the time.

That is terrible for you cc to see your girl do that to those kittens at least she is happy now.


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## chloe1975 (Mar 17, 2013)

kelzcats said:


> No experianced breeder can ever tell another breeder that a queen will make a good breeding cat as they also cant with stud boys or show kittens we never can quarantee this.
> 
> Thing i have found with alot of breeders is they sell you a cat or cats and then dont wont to now after....i had a lady sell me a stud boy and a active female quite happy to take my calls and MONEY prior the sale and then after i have walked away NOTHING not one answer to my calls or messages. We all start somewhere and we all need help at some point. With the girls living indoors and it being so warm yes they do come on call all the time.
> 
> That is terrible for you cc to see your girl do that to those kittens at least she is happy now.


This is so true and so sad. When you are starting out it is difficult and you really need the support of the breeders of your girls. Unfortunately sometimes they are quite happy to sell a girl and then if things don't work out don't want to know. I rarely sell a girl on active but if I do (and I will sell to a new breeder) one I don't charge extortiate amounts for an active girl compared to a pet because at the end of the day until she has a successful litter she is only a pet regardless of the bit of paper. And some girls never become mothers so I would feel terrible selling a really expensive girl who never produces. i know some people would say thats the risk you take but it matters to me. I have been lucky to find several breeders with the same ethos as me


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## catcoonz (Aug 4, 2012)

It hasnt been all bad for me though as ive found the perfect mentor, if i need her at 3am she is there for me no matter what and i appreciate this.
I am getting a stud boy from her this year, if there is a kitten suitable for stud and my mentor is fantastic.

TM, she took the tail off one kitten but also chewed quite high up, the kitten has the rest amputated but sadly died 2 hours after the operation, i didnt hold out much hope really but was still sad. 
What this queen also done was look for other kittens which was 6 weeks old and tried to chew their tails aswell, obviously i couldnt keep her after shes tried to do this. I was honest with the new owners and said under no circumstances can she ever be allowed near kittens, but when kittens are 5 months old she would leave them alone, the owners was happy to give her a loving home and its worked out for the best. Whether this was due to her having kittens at 58 days or was just her not being maternal, i dont know, but i couldnt risk another litter from her. She was immediately speyed and i wanted to keep her but she wasnt happy so although i miss her alot, i did make the right decision rehoming her.


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