Expert: Ali - 9/29/2008

Question
Hello,

Thank you for taking the time to help those of us who are a little lost with our little feline family members.

I have a cat, Bella, who is about 1 1/2 years old.  We adopted her and her mom when she was just about 3 weeks old.  Her mom sadly died about 6 months later.  Bella, is a beautiful calico who is very playful, but sometimes it is not a good thing.  She has always been very tempermental - we go from petting and cuddling one minute to her scratching and biting us the next.  She has been known to climb into my childrens bed at night and bite them for no apparent reason, they now sleep with their doors closed!  She will also attack our feet almost violently twice leaving my kids with scratches so bad they could not wear shoes for a couple of days.  Even myself and my husband have been badly scratched just for walking by.  I don't know what to do with her to stop this behavior but I really can't have this cat controlling us this way.  My kids are all afraid to get off the couch in fear that she will get them.

Now, the latest.  She is an indoor cat that escaped a couple of times and surprise surprise became pregnant.  She has been inside during her entire pregnancy and still is "attacking".  On Friday I noticed that she was having contractions.  She morphed into the most affectioned and kind loving cat I've ever seen.  I stayed up with her all night, rubbing her belly, petting her and snuggling with her and feeling her little ones moving inside of her.  It was an amazing experience to have with Bella.  Unfortunately she never entered into "hard" labor so I brought her to the vet first thing.  They said that she had no foul discharge and no kitten stuck so they would monitor her and perhaps she would need a c-section.  Today I was notified that she was in labor this morning and she had an "ordeal".  Eventually they "pulled two large dead kittens" from Bella.  The news, for my kids (and me), was heart breaking after how hard we tried to help and nurture her.

So, my question is - why would this have happened?  I feel like if they had done a c-section right away they could have saved the kittens.  Should she get pregnant again or is this likely to happen again?  If I spay her will her behavior change? And lastly, will my poor Bella be sad when she comes home with no kittens?  As a mother, my heart breaks to think about it.

Thanks for answering and getting this far - I know its long winded but I am just at a loss.  I love this cat - yet fear her but after this pregnancy bit I don't know what to do with her or how to hel her.

Thanks again!

Angela

Answer
Angela,

Firstly I would like to say that you are very welcome. I volunteer on this site because of a sheer love of cats and the hope that I can provide down to earth, humane education and tips that will allow people who are experiencing a tough time with their furry friend for any number of reasons. Hopefully I will be able to help you with a few things.

It's not uncommon for calico and tortoiseshell cats to be jealous and temperamental in my experience. I have found that calicos and torties tend to be much more dominant personality types than other domestic cats. It has been my experience that draining excess energy and being clear about boundaries can make for a nicer relationship between cat and guardian. I would strongly suggest that you (pardon the pun) nip the aggression in the bud. It's never too late to teach a cat to follow household rules and respect boundaries. Obviously scratching and swatting her human family members doesn't indicate that Bella has a great deal of respect - she may indeed think that she is the boss within your household. Sometimes using unpleasant consequences to deter a cat from scratching or biting is all that is necessary. It's not a bad idea to pick up items that can either stop Bella's inappropriate behavior on the spot or deter her from repeating said behaviors. Items like air horns or spray bottles (like those used for misting tropical plants) are fairly inexpensive and easy to find. Regardless of the specific educational tool you opt for it's a good idea to have one handy in each room and provide one for the adult family members and children old enough to understand that the training aids aren't toys and that they are only to be used if Bella tries to bite or scratch. I would suggest that you use spray bottles or air horns as a consequence for undesirable behavior and use an easily portable food reward like cat treats or dehydrated meat or fish. The cat treats are a good thing for each family member who will be helping in the re-education process with Bella to have some of her favorite treats in a ziploc bag in their pocket or close by. Positive behaviors are to be rewarded with praise and treats while negative behaviors should have a consistent negative consequence like getting sprayed with a stream of water from a spray bottle or a loud noise. Cats don't tend to like loud noises like air horns, vacuums and other comparable sounds because their hearing is so sensitive so a short blast of loud sound is all that's required.

I'm truly sorry to hear that Bella's kittens didn't survive, it's been my experience that sometimes a prompt caesarian can save kittens and other times the kittens just don't survive in spite of their vet's medical efforts. In this situation I can't offer an unequivocal answer as to whether or not Bella's kittens would certainly have survived if the c-section had been done earlier, but I normally recommend that a cat who has been in labor for more than a couple of hours without producing a kitten should be assessed by a vet to determine whether or not it would be best to perform an immediate surgical delivery. I can confidently say based on personal experience not all vets would have taken a "wait and see" approach with a cat that had been in labor for such a long period of time. It's possible that Bella's labor stalled as a result of too much activity and stimulation, I often recommend that a cat in labor should be provided with a quiet, private environment in a dimly lit room where the activity level is kept to a minimum. This preparation allows the labor to progress naturally, and you can still check on mom fairly frequently to ensure that things are progressing normally. In a situation where labor stalls it's been my experience that vets will either perform an immediate caesarian section or try giving the mom an injection of a hormone called oxytocin which would stimulate strong, regular uterine contractions that would have hopefully allowed a speedy and safe delivery of both kittens. I can't guarantee that if things had gone differently the kittens would have survived, especially if they were larger than average and endured a tight squeeze on their way into the world. Sometimes large kittens don't survive, I don't know the specific reason why, but I would guess that kittens with larger birth weights are more likely to have a more traumatic experience coming into the world.

Sadly there is a serious pet overpopulation issue affecting animal shelters and communities worldwide. There are a number of good medical and behavioral reasons to have a cat surgically sterilized. Female cats (queens) who are sterilized never have to go through the traumatic experience of such a long and difficult labor and delivery. Other medical benefits to spaying and neutering household pets include the decrease in certain types of cancers like those which commonly affect mammary tissue. Surgical sterilization of cats also prevents uterine, ovarian, testicular and prostate cancers. Cats who haven't been spayed or neutered are at an increased risk of contracting potentially serious infections that affect their mammary glands (queens only), urinary tract (toms and queens) and reproductive system (toms and queens). In queens this can manifest itself in a condition known as pyometra which essentially means that the uterus becomes severely infected and is often filled with pus. In the event that a queen develops this very serious infection the only cure is to have her spayed immediately, however there are significantly higher risks of surgical complications in a case of pyometra because the uterine horns could potentially burst and infection could spread throughout the abdomen which carries a very poor prognosis. In a queen like Bella who has had such a difficult time with her labor and delivery I do think that it would be best to have her spayed as soon as possible to avoid the potential for another very tough labor and delivery should she become pregnant again. In moms that have had a difficult birth experience it's just more humane to spay them so that you avoid any potential for a second traumatic labor and delivery.

Many people believe that spaying or neutering a cat changes their personality. The most common changes in a cat that has been surgically sterilized are related to the fact that mating and giving birth are not the primary instinct any longer. Some cats are naturally more high strung than others as a result of territorial instincts and the hard wired instinct to reproduce. Bella may settle down some, but her true personality won't change. Having Bella spayed will also decrease the potential for serious behavioral issues including aggression, being an escape artist, late night howling and caterwauling to advertise her availability to mate as well as urinating and defecating to mark her territory. Bella may very well become less preoccupied with instinctive territorial behavior and the urge to reproduce after she is spayed which can certainly mean that she is more focused on bonding with her human family members. Spaying Bella will allow her to live a longer, healthier life without the potentially serious medical complications that she has recently experienced as a result of her traumatic labor and delivery experience.

Cats do have the capacity to mourn the loss of their kittens as well as other family members (two legged and four legged). You may notice that Bella is subdued, she may even travel throughout the house calling to her kittens and searching for them. Given your obvious love for Bella if she does search for her little ones it will be especially difficult to watch. The only thing that you can do is to be gentle with her, give her lots of love and affection and try to be as comforting as possible. In extreme cases where a cat is grieving for deceased kittens or other family members time will be the only thing that will help to heal those wounds of the heart. If Bella stops eating, drinking, using the litter box, playing or having much interest in life you should have her assessed by a vet to determine whether or not placing her on a course of anti-anxiety or anti-depressant medications will help her to return to her usual self. Symptoms like those described above can also be an indicator that Bella is ill so if you notice those types of behavioral changes it's very important to have her assessed promptly by your vet. I would also like to make sure that you understand that you can have a second vet examine Bella if you feel that something is wrong, it's better to be safe than sorry when it comes to cats and health issues. I have noticed that cats tend to be masters of hiding injury or illness, it's the way that they evolved to avoid being attacked by predators prior to being domesticated, this means that by the time you see signs of illness or injury things are already more serious than they look. If Bella does require anti-depressant or anti-anxiety medications to cope with the loss of her litter I would strongly suggest that you do your own research and not be afraid to ask any questions about risks and potential side effects of these powerful drugs. In many cases anti-depressant/anti-anxiety medications that are used to treat cats for a variety of issues are small doses of the anti-depressant medications designed for use in people. I would recommend that medicating your cat with powerful psychotropic drugs be used as a last resort because there are risks and side effects. You could certainly try a homeopathic remedy called Bach's Rescue Remedy which is a blend of flower essences meant to calm and reassure. Rescue Remedy is a very safe homeopathic remedy that is used worldwide by some vets and pet guardians to treat anxious, fearful or traumatized animals and help to calm our pet friends down. I have found this remedy to be fairly effective in a variety of situations, so I would say that it's worth a shot if Bella seems to be grieving the loss of her babies. I would suggest that you try a dosage of about 9 drops per day in a bowl of fresh water each morning for a few days. You may find that Rescue Remedy will help Bella through the traumatic events of the last few days. Rescue Remedy can usually be found in health food/natural health stores for around $ 15 CAN.