I tried to save a 2 day old kitten, i didnt succeed. what could have been done?

Question

the question is s bit odd, but i am just having problem dealing with this. my cat had 6 kittens 48 hours ago. the first one was still in the sack, dead. the other one was underneath her dead, like it may have stopped breathing. the other 4 fine. the runt started acting funny today. its mouth wide open, it seemed to have difficulty breathing. i feel like i didnt help it in time. i finally read on yahoo answers about how you should use warm wash cloth to wipe its nose off to help breath. to rub its privates with a warm wash cloth to stimulate it so it can pee and p**p. it had hard p**p sticking out of its r****m. i got that out. it was not moving, then it gasped. i blew in its mouth some, hoping it would help it breath. but it just didnt seem to have a chance. it stopped moving, i kept petting it and trying to help it breath. i feel bad. its 3:00am. no vets open. i just wish i knew what happened. the other three are fat and healthy and just about fight each other to get a nipple. this little guy was really slow and didnt seem to have a chance. maybe i just need a counselor to help me with it. i just wish i could have saved it. thank you for your comments and suggestions.

Answer 1

You tried. You did what you could. It's a shame there were no open veterinary clinics, but it's very possible the kitten could not have been saved even if you had gotten it medical attention. Concentrate on showering those 3 healthy kittens with love and attention, and please don't beat yourself up over it--you are clearly a caring pet owner.

Answer 2

I'm sorry you had to go through this.

If your cat is very young and this is her first litter, it could explain why so many of the kittens died.

It sounds like you did everything you could, but this little one just wasn't going to make it. Perhaps something was wrong internally, and you couldn't have done anything for it. But you were with him and held him and pet him, so he didn't die alone. I'm sure he felt your warmth and love, and felt at peace when he passed. I don't think a vet could have helped even if you took him there at once.

The BEST thing to do, to honor the brief life of the little ones who didn't make it, is to have Momma cat spayed as soon as you can. There are just so many homeless kittens who die in shelters every day, there just aren't homes for them all. If you have Momma spayed, it will save the life of so many more babies who need homes.

Don't beat yourself up over this wee one not making it. Focus your attentions on Momma cat (make sure she gets good food! She has babies to nurse now and that takes a lot of her energy, give her kitten food and some KMR which you can buy at the pet store or even WalMart) and the 3 babies who are still with you.  

Answer 3

All we can say is you tried and that is what matters. These things happen and you shouldn't be upset so much about it. It is not your fault the kitten died. These things are very common and nearly every first litter a pup or kitten either dies or nearly dies. It didn't die because of you, its just nature.

Answer 4

The fact it was the runt may mean there was a problem with it already.  It may never have developed properly in the womb and just not be able to survive (6 kittens is a large litter).  There are conditions such as blood type mismatch where the kitten's blood group is different to the mother's bloodgroup and the antibodies in the colostrum (first milk) attack and break down the kitten's blood in the first couple of days.  The fact the p**p was hard was a bad sign.  Kitten p**p should be soft at that age as they are living on mother's milk.  There may have been a problem with its intestines.  

I think the kitten was never destined to survive.  Most likely it wouldn't have survived even with a vet to treat it.   Sometimes mother cats can't cope with large litters (maybe 2 that died earlier were because she couldn't cope with cleaning off the kittens at the same time as giving birth to more kittens or nursing the ones already born).  

Keep an eye on the surviving kittens and if any of them show signs of getting weak then take the whole family to the vet. Having the mother spayed will mean you won't have to face this situation again.

Answer 5

its ok its good to know that know the little kitten isnt hurting anymore. dnt worry it knows u cared about it  

Answer 6

you tried your best. and thats all you can do sadly :(

Answer 7

you did all you could do. @ least you tried. the little one was just not suppose to live, god makes no sense most of the time. good die and bad live. i'm glad you were holding the little kitten, he knew he wasn't alone.

Answer 8

Sometimes the kittens just wont survive and there isn't anything anyone could have done for it. I can't remember the term. It sounds like you did what you could have. Don't feel bad, know you did what you could for the baby, and concentrate on the rest.

If you can, I'd get mama cat fixed ASAP. It'll save you further heartbreak.

Answer 9

you did all you could do to save the poor little one we had the same problem with one of our cats in the past sometimes kittens when born just dont make it and we cant beet ourselves up because of it.