Sad News

[stoutfellow]

This morning, I made a quick check on the kittens. When I peeked in, it looked as though Shadow was dead, but I didn't have time to make sure. When I returned from work just now, I made another check, this time with a flashlight, and confirmed it. Part of Shadow's hindquarters seemed to have been bitten off; I'm fairly sure that was not true this morning, but I have no explanation. Tab seems to still be okay.

Comments

[neonnurse.livejournal.com]

Probably the kitten died first, and the mom then followed her instinct of keeping the nest odor free (to help hide from predators) and started to eat it. It really does sound to me like something is not right with the health of the mom, the kittens or both.

In other words, it wasn't you walking in on her now and then which caused this.

[stoutfellow.livejournal.com]

That scenario had occurred to me, but I didn't want to voice it. Superstitious, perhaps... Shadow had always seemed weaker than Tab, so it didn't surprise me too much. Upset, yes; surprise, no.

[mmegaera.livejournal.com]

Oh. I am so sorry. You're just having a rough go with this, aren't you?

[stoutfellow.livejournal.com]

I'm not so much sad as angry - at whom or what, I don't know. But I'm going to do what I can to keep it from happening again, in particular by continuing to feed mamma cat. It might make a difference next time around.

[cynthia1960.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry to hear this. Here's hoping Tab and the mom are ok.

[stoutfellow.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I haven't checked them yet today; I'm going to hold off until the evening, when I take mamma cat's food out.

[hornedhopper.livejournal.com]

Oh, man! The first LJ reading I've done in weeks, and it's the saddest story!

It sounds like you did everything you could possibly have done. Feral cats are so unpredictable: when they don't come back for a while, *anything* could have happened. I'm glad she didn't, in the end, abandon her kittens, but life in the wild is hard. I agree with Cuz NeonNurse that there was probably something wrong with it to begin with. Good luck with the situation. Console yourself that you've provided a better safe harbor from the elements that Mama couldn't have expected to have.

P.S. Great new picture for your icon!!

[stoutfellow.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I'll probably continue to feed mamma cat even if Tab doesn't make it; maybe that'll make the difference in her next litter.

Kittens

[(Anonymous)]

Feed the tab with a baby bottle full of milk. Thats creepy and odd that half the other kitty is missing.

Re: Kittens

[stoutfellow.livejournal.com]

The mother does seem to be feeding Tab. The vet told me that bottle-fed kittens need to be fed about every two hours, and I'm not in a position to do that.

[desert-vixen.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, mother cats who do not have good mothering skills eating their dead kittens is not uncommon. Every time I encounter it, it makes me irrationally made.

DV