Pet Information > ASK Experts > Cats > Breeding and Showing Cats > My newborn kittens are dying one by one

My newborn kittens are dying one by one

13:41:09

Question
Hi I've been writing to you throughout my cats pregnancy so I figured you were the best person to follow up with although I'm not sure if this is your speciality. My cat gave birth to 5 kittens on Easter Sunday; everything went great. She delivered all of them within about 2 to 3 hours cleaned them and they seemed to be eating ok. Now today they are three days old; I woke up this morning and took a peek and all was fine. Then when I got home from school about an hour and a half later one of the kittens had died. I was devastated, I called the vet and he explained that sometimes these things just happened and to keep a close eye on them; well I did and I noticed that two more of the kittens weren't really eating, I made the decision to by a supplementation and feed them. I called the vet and he said that was a good idea. I came back into the room not even five minutes later and another one of the kittens had past away. I cried for about an hour then rushed to the store to buy the bottle products; when I got  home I followed the directions carefully and did as instructed but the one kitten I was worried about wont even suck on the bottle I tried to squeeze a little of the formula into her mouth to stimulate sucking, nothing! I tried again a half hour later and she did suck a little but then it started coming out her nose. This kitten is also one of the smaller, and less vocal kittens. I almost never hear her cry for mom when shes hungry. Obviously this is not normal but do you have any advice. I took very good care of the mother during her pregnancy and I did a lot of research so I would be prepared for the kittens arrival but I am lost here, probably because I got too emotionally involved but any advice, encouragement would help. I couldn't stand to lose another kitten. By the way the other two kittens seems to be doing amazingly feeding just about every 15 minutes and crying when hungry. Please Help. Thanks!!!
Amy

Answer
Hi Amy
Unfortunately even the best minds are often stumped by things that happen without clear explanation. The loss of your kittens is difficult to determine without a close examination, perhaps you could ask your vet to carry out a post mortem but that could be expensive I'm afraid.
One other thing to remember is God is fair and allows life to continue and welcomes others early into his kingdom. He may have wanted these little ones early to play with himself. Also in the reality of life sometimes only the strong do survive.
Take heart please that there are still two strong little ones, give them all the love you would have shared amongst their brothers and sisters. And please understand that losing kittens is all part of the rich tapestry of life and breeding.
You have been brave up to now, continue to be brave for the two that are left
And write to me anytime either here or to my private email raymondwigley@gmail.com
Good luck

Ray