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Expert: - 6/7/2009


Question
My cat gave birth Thursday night (6/4/09) to 3 still born kittens. They appeared to be a little underdeveloped due probably to the fact that they were about 2 1/2 to 3 wks premature. (I figured the due date according to when my children let her escape the back door)She has had 1 previous litter w/o problems. She is a relatively small female to begin with and looked much bigger w/this litter. She appears to have a few more she's still carrying and is in no distress, eating drinking and playing. Is it possible that she "aborted" these babies as she's not big enough to carry such a large litter? And is it possile the other kittens will be ok?

Answer
Cyndi,

It is possible she still has viable kittens ready to be born when she comes to term.  I have seen situations where mama will have one or more premature kittens and the rest of the litter at term.  

What you need to do is take her to the vet to see if there are truly kittens in there and that she has not retained any placentas or the like.  With ultra-sound, the vet can also see if the kittens little hearts are still beating, if there are, indeed, kittens still inside.

Please let me know what you find out from your vet.

Best regards... Norm.

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Norman Auspitz

Expertise

I can answer most non-veterinary questions about cats. My particular expertise is pedigree cats, breeding and showing. However, I am versed in feline behavior, cat breeds and their characteristics, general feline husbandry, and the like.

Experience

I judged for the Canadian Cat Association from 1975 until 1982. I am currently an approved allbreed judge for the Cat Fanciers'' Association (the world''s largets cat registry), and have been judging for them since 1991. I have been breeding pedigreed cats since 1971 and have been exhibiting pedigreed cats in shows since 1970. I obtained my first pedigreed cat in 1970 and have never looked back. In 1971, I obtained my first Abyssinian which has become my primary breed. In addition, I have bred Manx and Persians. Currently, besides the Abyssinians, I am also breeding Maine Coons.


Organizations
Cat Fanciers'' Association, inc. (CFA) and the Manx, Maine Coon, and Abyssinian breed councils. I am currently Abyssinian breed council secretary.

Publications
Cat Fancy Magazine, The Abyssinian Chapter in The Cat Fanciers'' Association Complete Cat Book, and Articles for various editions of The Cat Fanciers'' Association Yearbook

Education/Credentials
I received a B.S. from Drexel University in 1968, a M.Math from University of Waterloo, in 1970, a Ph.D. from University of Waterloo in 1975, and a MBA from McMaster University in 1980. I received my approved allbreed judging status in the Cat Fanciers'' Association in 1999.

Awards and Honors
We have produced a number of Cat Fanciers'' Association (CFA) National winning Abyssinian and Maine Coons. We have produced a number of Abyssinian and Maine Coon Distinguished Merit females (an award for a top producing cat), including the first Distinguished Merit Abyssinian in the red (sorrel) color. I am the CFA Abyssinian breed council secretary and belong and/or hold office in a number of cat clubs. I am also a member of the CFA Judges Association.

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