05/17/2026
The exhaustion of being a breeder and sometimes emotional toll. My sweet girl Freyja. She had 4 kittens with 1 survivor. Herman was born tiny and I have had to lay there putting to ni**le and tube feed kitten every 2-3 hrs. Thankfully Herman is gaining weight and muscle mass. The importance of teaching in conjunction with tube feeding is vital to build hind leg muscles to be more independent. The first born, tuxedo girl I prayed for. Freyja had labor without me. Chewed cord to stomach and killed the kitten. Traumatic to see. 2nd one, Herman I helped cut the cord for safety. 3rd one was stillborn. Then she had interrupted labor. My intuition is always right and I could sense there was one more. Xray confirmed. Next day we did ultrasound and it showed heartbeat. Kitten was very high up which reduce likelihood kitten will come out. After settling for several hours and a low dose 0.2ml oxytocin shot. Kitten came out breeched. Was largest kitten I’ve ever delivered. Very stuck. Sac broke inside the canal and all I can assume is kitten suffocated. Zero movement. With every contraction I had to help pull. Was very scary and traumatic I’m sure for Freyja, as again this kitten was huge. I only paired for 48 hrs. Freyja is very stable but sometimes one kitten isn’t enough to trigger maternal bond. All I can do is be hopeful. Some people think this is all about money. With vet care, raising queen, echocardiogram, genetic test, labor vet visits, and currently 7 days off of work. I will 100% lose money on this litter and be in the red even if Herman survives and is rehomed. Witnessing death can bring you to dark place emotionally. I’ve never experienced this before. Sometimes it is normal to lose one kitten but 3? It was a lot to witness and process. As I’m sure it was emotionally stressful for Freyja to have all 3 taken away after such hard work she provided. I’m just grateful she didn’t need surgery 🫶🏻