On a rainy day on December 19, 2024, one day after her due date, Gaia went into labor. The days before, her normal behavior changed. She was very clingy and did not want to be alone. These were the first signs that labor would not be long in coming.
On the morning of December 19th, the children were at school and my husband was at work when I noticed that Gaia suddenly became very restless and started meowing a lot. She didn't really know what to do with herself and after a while I calmly put her in our bedroom with the bench. Here she could be alone without the other cats and the puppy and I hoped that she would be able to find her peace here. Unfortunately, she didn't like this and started scratching at the door. At that moment I decided to put the puppy with the neighbors and take care of Gaia all day long. She needed me and I had to be able to focus all my attention on her without neglecting the other animals.
I sat down on the bed with Gaia, several incontinence mats and a carrier. She seemed to find the crate too big and the carrier felt a lot more comfortable and secure for her. I noticed that Gaia was struggling and I saw that she was in pain. Fortunately, she calmed down a bit now that I was sitting with her. She seemed to really enjoy having all the attention on her. I petted her and told Gaia that she was doing well, that everything would be fine and that I would stay with her. It soon became clear when she was having contractions and she started to grunt in pain at those moments. For a while she sat on my lap and in the carrier on my bed to catch the contractions. After that she wanted to lie down in the crate that was also in the bedroom.
Once in the crate I measured the time between contractions and the duration of the contractions with a timer. After 7 minutes of intense contractions the first kitten was born. Gaia knew immediately what to do and started to lick the kitten clean. The first sounds of the kitten were soon heard and after eating the afterbirth Gaia could finally recover.
After half an hour I checked and weighed the kitten. Everything was there and it turned out to be a tomcat weighing 93 grams. After the short examination I put the kitten back with Gaia and now it was a waiting game to see if more kittens would come. After three hours in front of the bench everything seemed to be calm. Gaia was sleeping soundly and the kitten, who we named Apollo, had found a nipple and was drinking contentedly.
It turned out to be a litter consisting of one kitten. The vet suspected this already during the ultrasound we had done halfway through the pregnancy, so we had prepared ourselves for this. We were very happy with the birth of Apollo and the good outcome of the delivery. The first two days after the birth everything went well with Gaia and the kitten. Apollo gained enough weight and Gaia was a good mother.
Unfortunately, the end of the second day went differently than we had expected. Around 18:00 I went to Gaia and Apollo to give Gaia her wet food. When I entered the room I suddenly saw large blood stains in several places and a kitten lying at the end of the nest that was not moving. I started to panic a bit. Had Gaia bitten Apollo to death? Fortunately, I saw Apollo lying in the nest not long after. He looked fine otherwise, but Gaia was still missing. I called her and after calling a few times she came out of a corner of the room where the litter box was. Gaia came to me and fortunately she looked fine at first glance. It turned out that she had had another kitten two days after Apollo was born. The kitten was lying lifeless on the floor and when I looked at him a bit closer he appeared to have an open belly, skull and palate. It was some consolation that the kitten could never have been viable, but I was very shocked. After consultation with Gaia's breeder and the vet, I went to the vet shortly afterwards with Gaia, Apollo and the dead kitten, which we named Atlas.
At the vet they took an x-ray of Gaia to see if there were any more kittens in her belly. Fortunately this turned out not to be the case and after being given painkillers and antibiotics Gaia was cleared to go home again. Apollo and Atlas were also examined. Since Atlas was not fully grown, Apollo was examined extra carefully to rule out any defects. Fortunately Apollo was completely healthy and we were allowed to go home again with extra painkillers for Gaia. We left Atlas at the vet. Unfortunately there was nothing more we could do for him.
It has been a day and a half since Atlas was found. The events of the past few days have settled down a bit and Gaia and Apollo are doing well. We look back on a lovely birth where it was special how much Gaia enjoyed my presence and how special it was that she needed me during the last part of the birth. We are very happy with the arrival of Apollo, but we are also sad that we lost Atlas. Unfortunately, this is also part of it and it happens more often.
We look forward to the coming weeks as we watch Apollo grow up and in our thoughts we will not forget Atlas.
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