Talistar's
Preemie's 
I was eagerly awaiting the birth of Xandria's first litter of kittens, but hadn't quite got the room all set up yet- after all I had at least two weeks to get it all done (and I was busy trying to build a stud cage for Xydeco). One morning (day 51 of gestation) as I came downstairs following Xandria I noticed what appeared to be a pink spec on her rear leg. Upon closer inspection it looked like watery blood. I looked her over and didn't see anything, but noticed she may have a slight vaginal discharge. I decided to watch her closely, but called the vet anyway to alert him to the situation. The next morning when she got up off the dog bed (she thinks it's a very large cat bed) I saw a blood stain where she had been sitting. I called the vet and we were off to see him. By the time we got there it looked like she was having a bit more of a discharge, but didn't appear to be in any distress. After a physical, an X-Ray was done to see how many kittens we should expect and gage their size. The x-ray showed 2 kittens of similar size, one in each horn of the uterus. I was told there is nothing that could be done to stop labor, just watch her closely and hope nothing more developed.
By that evening Xandria was in the beginning stages of labor. She actually began pushing about 12:30 PM and delivered the first kitten about 3:30 am. He was 62 grams in weight, with just a little peach fuzz, perfectly formed and with a very strong will to live. Xandria would have nothing to do with him. I called the vet the next morning and in we went for my first lesson in tube feeding. It was amazingly easy (a Maine Coon breeder friend gave me a hint that helped - if the kitten is crying you have the tube in the right place as they can't cry if it's in their lung. My vet also told me it's far harder to put the tube in the lung than the stomach), so I went home with my new "French feeding tube". I was so afraid I wouldn't know how much to feed the little guy or that I would "blow him up" with too much food. Thank goodness for the Birman-Fanciers list and all the helpful suggestions and encouragement. I finally was told that I should feed about 1 cc of formula about every three hours. I was also given the suggestion to use Esbilac instead of KMR, as with less protein there would be less chance of diarrhea. So I began the next stage of my life - being a "new mother" again at 48. I was also giving Xandria marshmallow root hoping her milk would come in. By early evening Xandria was pacing again, but this time I had her settled in a "show cage" all draped and padded to keep her confined with her boy. She delivered kitten number two about 8 pm. This one was a little girl weighing about 58 grams. Although born almost 12 hours apart, they were both born on the 53rd day of gestation). So now I was tube feeding two kittens, all the while trying to get them to nurse on Xandria, just in case she had some colostrum. At this point I began administering oxytocin three times per day for two days. Xandria didn't want a thing to do with either kitten, so they were also on a warming disk (the kind you heat in the microwave and stays warm for up to 12 hours). Both kittens appeared to be doing well.
The next day, Friday, all seemed to be going well with the kittens until late afternoon, when the little boy began to appear blue and I heard a slight rattle in this chest. I attempted to remove any fluids by swinging him (elephant trunk style, while keeping his head well supported), just as I had done after birth. Nothing seemed to help. I felt very helpless and depressed. It seemed so unfair that the little boy with such a will to live might not make it. As I could tell his lungs were filling with fluid and making it hard for him to breath I contemplated helping him to cross the Rainbow Bridge, but couldn't do it. So I decided to make him a s comfortable as possible, hold him and let him go as gently as possible. He crossed the Rainbow Bridge during the night.
As devastated, however, I believe it made me more determined than anything that I would keep one of those kittens alive. The little girl continued to thrive and as I became more adept at tube feeding and less frightened of hurting her I slowing increased her amounts of food until she began a slow weight gain. I must admit I had a fright on Sat. night when her tummy looked to huge I was sure I had over stuffed her. However, she did fine and I began to adjust her food amount a little more slowly. Xandria still showed no interest in her so I also became the clean up crew as well as the milk provider. By the end of the first week, I was feeling pretty confident about her survival, even though the vet told me I needed to wait for two weeks to say she was over the hump. I named her Yuliette. Yuliette continued to thrive, against all odds, and made it to her second week. By this time she was gaining almost 10 grams a day. During her first week and a half her weight gain was generally limited to 4 to 5 grams per day (which would have put her at the weight of a little over 100 grams at her due date).
Yuliette's development has been similar to that of a human preemie - some areas she shows "normal development from her date of birth and in other areas, her development is more from her due date. For instance although she was born with almost no fur, she showed full gloves and laces and point color from the first day. I kept thinking I was imagining this, but as her fur came in the gloves, laces and point color remained - almost perfectly marked. So one month after her birth (two weeks after her due date) she showed well-defined gloves and laces and was clearly a blue point by day two after birth). Sometime during the first week or so, Xandria happened to see Yuliette on the bed, she stopped and stared, her eyes widened, and she leaped into the bed with her and began to lick her. I think it was her first recognition that this was her baby and not some alien mouse that was dropped off by unknown characters. From that time on, Xandria cleaned the baby and began to care for her. She seemed to know she had no milk, but that I did. If I missed my alarm, or Yuliette was hungry before it went off, Xandria very carefully deposited the baby on my face while I slept. There were times, when she "chewed' me out for not getting Yuliette's milk fast enough. By three weeks she was walking around the room, and attempting to run, she knew her name and came when called. Yuliette loves to be held and cuddled and sometimes cries to be picked up. Her teeth began coming in about 5 weeks after birth, which is the normal time for kittens. She also began showing interest in food about the same time. By six weeks she was eating raw turkey diet in the morning and devouring her bottle (she was now drinking about 3 teaspoons each feeding) every four hours the rest of the feedings. Yuliette continued to develop , but stayed on the small side. She made her show debut at the Wichita Cat Fanciers in early February 2002. Although she made no finals - Jan Rogers gave her the "Miss Congeniality" awards. By the end of February I began to notice a "lazy" eye. WE made an appointment with the ophthalmologist who indicated that she may outgrow this or not and only time would tell. He also told me that all Birmans have potential for this (whether it is expressed or not) due to point colored cats being a form of albinism and therefore all have potential for crossed eyes or one lazy eye. Thus ended Yuliette's show career, which is a shame since she loved it! Today Yuliette is a normal sized 8-month-old female. She is very active and playful, loves dogs and to go places. She is a talker, a cuddler and loves dogs. Yuliette had her first heat cycle on her 8-month birthday and will remain as part of the Talistar breeding program but will hopefully not have her first litter until spring of 2003. Hopefully she will produce lovely babies with no eye problems and that they will arrive on their due date. She is a lovely miracle who delights all who meet her with her looks and charming manner. [Return to Kittens Page]
