Mary Heath is an ardent animal lover, so when a stray cat from her neighborhood was in need after giving birth to kittens in her yard, Heath jumped on the opportunity to assist, reports the Jackson County Floridian.
"The cat came crying and hollering for help," Heath told Paw Nation, "and then when I picked up one of the kittens, all four came up with it!"
She assumed that the newborns were conjoined at birth, but Dr. Don Kelly, a vet at her local animal hospital told her the good news: They weren't connected by their internal organs or limbs, their umbilical cords were tangled up. Normally when a cat gives birth, she separates the kitten's cords. In this case, the cat didn't do that. Kelly was quoted as saying he's seen similar cases only about six times or so in his career.
The doctor performed a quick procedure on the quadruple kitty combo and they returned home with Heath and their mother that day. Unfortunately, Heath tells Paw Nation, one of the four kittens did not survive the day after the surgery. "My heart was broken," she commented. But the other three are doing well.
Heath is looking for forever homes for these lucky kittens -- and she's hoping that someone will be kind enough to adopt the mother, a stray, as well.
"The cat came crying and hollering for help," Heath told Paw Nation, "and then when I picked up one of the kittens, all four came up with it!"
She assumed that the newborns were conjoined at birth, but Dr. Don Kelly, a vet at her local animal hospital told her the good news: They weren't connected by their internal organs or limbs, their umbilical cords were tangled up. Normally when a cat gives birth, she separates the kitten's cords. In this case, the cat didn't do that. Kelly was quoted as saying he's seen similar cases only about six times or so in his career.
The doctor performed a quick procedure on the quadruple kitty combo and they returned home with Heath and their mother that day. Unfortunately, Heath tells Paw Nation, one of the four kittens did not survive the day after the surgery. "My heart was broken," she commented. But the other three are doing well.
Heath is looking for forever homes for these lucky kittens -- and she's hoping that someone will be kind enough to adopt the mother, a stray, as well.
Related Videos
More Cute Stuff
- Lion Love (Daily Squee)
- This Cat Means Business (I Can Has Cheezburger)
- Zebra Tan! (I Has a Hotdog)
- Cat Guys or Dog Guys? (Petside)
- Reducing your Carbon Paw-Print (Discovery)
Sponsored Links
Advertisement
Time-Lapse Tortoise Noms Salad
Ms. Heath and Dr. Kelly, thank you for stepping up and providing such kind acts for God's creatures.. I currently live in southern Louisiana and have been an animal lover, trainer, groomer, vet assistant, etc.. There are almost no laws to protect animals here. I saw this horse that was tethered by about a six foot rope to a rusty bicycle for an entire week and finally called the sheriff. I was told that no law was being broken and if the owner wanted to keep the horse tethered for "its entire life" it was ok. I asked the sheriff, "What kind if quality of life is that?" and was told, "A perfectly legal quality here." It broke my heart. He did say he would try to find the owners and inquire about the tethered horse. I'll never know why and don't need to, but the very next day and since the horse was back in the pasture with two others and a goat. Thank goodness.. And again thank you so very much for not "turning the other cheek"! You will be blessed for your kindnesses.
The poor Mama cat should have been spayed or this would not have happened
And how do you believe we are to get all the strays out there fixed? Who has the money for that? Are you going to finance the operations? I know from experience that fixing a female cat is about $150 for no complications. Not to mention the testing they do to make sure the cat will be ok and not get sick some other way...
Cindyd, I couldn't agree more. And I don't know where Megan who responded to you, lives, but here in Monroe Co., FL there are vets who do spay/neuter clinics for a very reasonable cost for the shelters here throughout the county. It's nowhere near $150. It's something like (if I remember correctly, $30 or $40). These vets are wonderful to do what they do and make a big difference.
Megan, Why do you assume that ther is no one out there willing to pay for that surgery? I have spent many hundreds on stray cats (feral) and am just a nurse. It all depends on priorities, If you give up a luxury or two, you would be surprised how much you can give to others.
And why does everyone assume that the cat had just been running around in plain sight for the entire gestation period? It was a feral cat...usually you don't know they're there till they bed down somewhere on your property and pop them out. Put yer damn torches away.
That said...here C-SNIP does cats for about $45 but it takes about a month to get through the waiting list.
Megan, there are also many local shelters who spay/neuter strays and ferals for free. I have also taken in many strays and taken the time to have them spayed, some for free, some that I paid for. Pat is right, its about caring enough for something other than yourself and making the sacrifice to make the cat's life better.
It is a shame that people run off and leave their critters like garbage for us, big hearted people to take care of. Once the litttle puppy/Kitten becomes an adult, the fun is over and we are left to care for the critters. We scramble to find ways to vaccinate and spay/neuter and try to get a vet to help us.
Good Answer - Monday Morning Quarterback....
There are people who work tirelessly to make sure the strays and trapped, neutered and released. I agree that if the cat was spayed, she would not have the kittens, but maybe someone reading this will have their pet neutered and that will be a win-win.
The new laws here in California and the angels who trap, neuter and release are the reason that our pet overpopulation problem is seeing the light of day.
Cindyd70 it is what it is. You missed the entire point of the story. The Cat was not spayed so why dwell on the negative rather then such a positive moment in life with decent good people out there who rescued these adorable kittens!!
I have to agree with Megan spaying/neutering can be very expensive, especially when you are on a budget. I just had my cat fixed and it was $180.00 and that was for a male. For a female it would have cost $250 and an overnight stay. Yes it can be done at a more inexpensive way, but even the SPCA's cost is $100.00 plus. Kudos to Ms Heath and the Vet for acting quickly in saving these babies. I wish I lived in Florida so I could adopt one of them they are just precious.
The article clearly states the mother cat is a stray. ok all you who say spay spay spay go ahead round up all the cats you can find, take them to the vets and YOU pay for the spaying. You allow just one female to reproduce. in 6 moths all her kittens canneach have 6 or ore of their own plus the mother can have her own 6. ok in one year how many have you got if the first litter produced 6 females answer 252 cats. got that??
I am all for spaying or neutering your pets if you don't want the pyramid effect in your home environment.
But, consider this, if we spay and neuter ALL the cats and dogs...where is the next generation of kitties and puppies going to come from? Or are you all willing to pay outrageous prices to the pet shops, puppy/kitty mills, and "rescue" shelters, since they will have a monopoly on the animals?
It's not uncommon for a mother cat to not chew off the umbilical cords. I had a cat in 2001 who had a litter of 4 and she did not chew the umbilical cords like she should have. I waited until the next day, in case she ended up doing it but she didn't after which I called the vet and the vet told me to sterilize a pair of stainless steel scissors and cut them about an inch from the cats navel. I did so and the cats were all fine. One of them is still my cherished pet. I wonder why these kittens died?
One of the four kittens died, not all of them.
I agree that if there is a feral in your area, it should be trapped, fixed and then released. LOTS of vets are willing to do this at a small price, and often times there are snip vans that come to areas to do just that.
As far as the one kitten passing away, it is not uncommon. It happens from time to time with kittens and puppies...it is very sad...I am actually pretty proud to say that I took in a pregnant stumpy manx last summer. I put her on the kitten formula (which is really good for the preg cat to have during gestation) along with normal cat food. She gave birth 2 days after my birth day to a litter of 7!!!!! They all found forever homes, I even get emails from the families that adopted them with pics and updates!!!
Ms. Heath,
Thank you for stepping up and taking the mama and her babies in. I know it can be very expensive but I hope you will consider having all of the kittens and their mother spayed/neutered before giving them away in order to cut down on more kittens who someone must find a home for.
everyone wants u to get your pets spade but in some states the vets have a big price tag so u cant take care of your animal like it should be taken care of -- -the vets know u love your pets so they take it to the limit --a check up everytime u need a little medicine that wont hurt them --the vet certainly deserve to make the big money, they have spent many years in school ,but not everyone can afford it----it goes against get your pets spade ,stop unwanted puppies -- some states charge u just because they have allowed u to have a pet ---now tell me how are u suppose to pay for all this
Yes, there are vets that charge a lot, but there are also, as it has been mentioned about 10X...spay/neuter clinics and the price is quite low and for low income people, often free.
My Mom collected cats (yes, I would call it collecting) and we would trap what we could and spay...not cheap, a pain in the patootie, but in her old age she loved them....