Thanks to both you & Cindy too.
I was living in pie in the sky when I wrote that posting I am
afraid;o(

We have hit snag no:1

Tiggy has a retained a bit of placenta, so we have handed her over to
the new vet so that she can put her on a drip called oxitocyn.
Apparently, it makes her womb contract again until she expells the
placenta. She has already been seen once & we are waiting for the next
one @ 6.30GMT

This is actually better news than I 1st thought, because I thought it
was it might be a still born kitty in the horns.. so there are
something to be grateful for, eh..?

I am told that this is not terribly uncommon, but that she will need
to be on some antibiotics to ensure that she doesn't develop an
infection of the womb because of any lurking bits of placenta....?

I really was starting to sweat. (I mean perspire of course, lol;o) ..@
the thought of another $700 bill.. but things are looking far more
optimistic now, thank the Lord!

All of the kittens are fine, warm, & feeding. Mummy is purring & has
pulled a blanket over her head because she likes it like that. (I just
went to go and have a look at her. She has also started to clean
herself too which is great as well.

I was beginning to feel really pessimistic this morning.. but things
are definately improving.
I was feeling down, because I rang the vet, & I felt that they were
not listening to me..(I guess they were, but I was feeling under
pressure after recent events

Initially, she wanted to have them in Karen's bed, lol.. but we had to
convince her that it might not be the best place to have them..
Finding her blanket & her igloo seemed to help out though. she wasn't
too fussed about the igloo, it was her blanky that she wanted.

We have one runt in the litter, but he / she is still latching on
firmly & feeding, so right now things "feel good". no fighting over
teats as there are plenty to go around them all.
I HAD TO Cut a couple of cords, because she was simply exhausted
towards the end.
Here goes, to all going according to plan..!!

Photos will follow shortly too. Karen has promised to take a few for
me, If I can't get round there until after she leaves to take her to
the vets... my car has a dead cell in the battery so she is going to
take her down for me, & I am hoping to cadge a lift later on with my
sister in law. I wil post them asap!¬
S;o)

Thanks,
I happen to be a slave to not just Tiggy kitzholme, but also Biffy the
blue point Birman, Tazy, seal Ragdoll mitted, Blue -Belle, blue
Ragdoll mitted, Lucy(fur!!) & Ringo star too( not including our new
baby Kitty's too of course!!

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/sheelaghmadden/OURCURRENTFELINEFAMILY02

Phew...What a long 70 hours it has been!!

We got Tiggy down to the vet last night, & after much palpitation,
they decided that there was actually a bit more inside Tiggy than we
had anticipated. At this stage it was decided that a scan was needed
to determine exactly what we were looking for.

If I thought that 7 hours was a long labour, it was "nothing" compared
what was to follow...

After the scan, we knew that there were  2more kittens, & a small
amount of placenta matter still in there that she would need to
evacuate if possible.
Tiggy was placed on a drip of oxytocin, glucose solution, & also had a
shot of antibiotics too.

During last night her contractions restarted again & the first kitten
born was stillborn, sadly. The second one born was fine, breathing &
plump, but she rejected the runt of the litter, & the staff called me
to ask if I would allow him to pass away because he stood next to no
chance of pulling through. The staff discovered that he had a
condition similar to a cleft pallet, & would have been unable to feed
normally, with out gastric feeding & expensive surgery that was
unlikely to work..So I consented to allow them to let him go to
sleep... I think it was the best thing to do...

In total, Tiggy spent a full 70 hours in labour.
At one point during the night/ early hours of this morning, I got a
call to say that if the final kitten did not arrive in the next half
hour, that they wanted to proceed with a C. section. Fortunately,
Tiggy managed to get it out in the following  quarter hour. Aside from
the pain she would have gone through post op, it would have been very
difficult to get her to feed her surviving four kitten.

I can only say that I am Glad that I have decided to give up breeding.
In the past four years, we have never gone through any of the problems
that we have faced recently with both Blue-Belle & Tiggy more
recently.
I don't have what it takes to force any my cats to go anything like
this ever again.
It has been a very good learning curb, & also makes me wonder how
others can go through similar circumstances, yet go on to allow that
cat to become pregnant? again....

Presently we have a litter of 4kittens, that seem fairly healthy.
One of them is slightly smaller than the other 3, but no where near as
small as the original runt..

Tiggy is going to stay with the staff  at the veterinary surgery again
tonight, & depending on how well she does, she might come back to
Karen's tomorrow.
My poor little girl (or vice versa), is utterly depleted & looked at
me as if to say, "please help me"?
I believe that she is in the best place that she can be right now
though.

She is still hiding under her covers, in what I think is a very clever
attempt to keep her babes warm. The staff have helped her to clean up
a bit too, so she is looking a lot better than she was yesterday.. but
I still feel for her. At least if she needs assistance during the
night, she has all the help that she could possibly need.
I have just come back from visiting her, & Karen brought round the
photos that we took of her whilst she was having them. I thought that
would be too dark to post, but, she has worked her magic on them &
whilst they are not of usual standard, you can @ least make out what
is what.

With colour point kittens, you have to wait until they grow enough fur
around their ankles to be able to determine what colours they will be.

First their nose leathers & ears begin to tinge, then you can see what
colours they will become as the ankle fur grows too. All that I can
tell you presently is that we have one very dark seal kitten, because
the fur is very dark indeed. I am not sure what sex they are either as
yet, because the genitalia are still fairly swollen.
I can't thank the staff @ the new surgery enough, because they have
been there day & night with up to date information & don't mind what
time you call them at all.

Here are a few photos of her for you all to share with us

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/sheelaghmadden/TiggySKittens

awwww, poor mommy!

I hope that they arrive soon.
Tiggy is still in the clinic on antibiotics because she still has a
high raised white count & they are also quite concerned that her
temperature is also quite high.

All of her kittens have been passed on to a host lactating queen, very
kindly organised by the the Cat Protection League, so that she doesn't
have to feed them as well.

This decision was taken last night. It wasn't an ideal choice, but
because Tiggy is so lethargic, it seemed sensible to allow her another
24-48 hours to heal without the responsibility of caring for her
kittens as well.

I voiced my concern, which is that I am worride that Tiggy's milk
might dry up, but I have been told that this is not a prime concern
for them. it is looking more and more likely that we are headed for
another pyometra arising again.

So...., things are not too Rosy in the garden presently.
I have just been to visit both Tiggy & her kittens.
The kittens seem to be doing quite well, but poor old Tigs is looking
very sorry for herself.
If there is no improvement by tonight, they are going to take her to
operate, & remove her uterus. This would have happened anyway after
the kittens left her. However, now is not the best time, but due to
circumstances, I would agree with them, without question! The staff @
the clinic have been fabulous, & so different to when Lilly was
treated for the same thing at the original clinic. Nothing is too much
for them, & they keep us so well informed too. Brilliant!
I very much hope that your baby's turn up quite soon,  & that you
don't face the same difficulties that we have recently.
Another damned good reason not to breed cats!
Sheelagh