Septo Mom

Left for a few days for a short vacation. Came home late Monday night.
Tuesday was going to be our planting day. We have to get our seeds in asap.
Well, Pyewacket had other plans. This was the day she decided to give birth. Oh, and it wasn’t going to be your normal birth either.
She went into labor around 10:30 a.m. Her water broke, and I got her all settled down into her basket. I did try and go outside and get some work done, but everytime I did, she would meow very loudly at the door for me. I figured she needed my support.
She started pushing a short time later, but was having some difficulty. I had read up on cat birthing to be ready, and knew that it shouldn’t go much over an hour. Around 11:30 I called the vet and told them what was happening. They said if she didn’t deliver within the next 20 minutes or so, we should bring her in for an exam to see what the problem might be. We called them back, told them we were on our way. With Pyewacket in her basket, we nestled her in for the hour car ride.
The vet brought her in right away and did an x-ray. From experience, they thought that the kittens were probably just big, and the first was stuck in the birth canal. To our suprise, when the x-ray came back, there were 6 kittens, and they were going to have to do a c-section. We had figured 2 or 3. We would have to return later to pick her up.
When we returned to the vet we were told that there was 7 kittens. One was hiding behind the other, and they hadn’t seen it on the x-ray.
That was only part of the story. Because she hadn’t given birth naturally, the hormone that stimulates mild production hadn’t kicked in. So, we were going to have to bottle feed every hour all night until it did. This was a totally new experience for the both of us. Not that I haven’t had my share of nightly baby feedings, but it was never a 3 ounce kitten.
Today, they are suckling from Mom, and are doing well. Pyewacket is now a proud mother of 7, and doing well. She seems to love the role.