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| By Janice Reichle
Diadem Silvers When itís about time for kittens to be delivered, there are two pieces of equipment I place handy to the area or cage where the queen will deliver her kittens. One is a small carrier that opens from the top - it will be used as an incubator. In it are all the necessary birthing supplies: the aspirator, white iodine, small scissors, hemostat and several syringes are stored in a small plastic box. Also in the carrier are about a dozen regular face clothes, a small digital scale that weighs in grams, a heating pad, several towels and magic markers. When delivery is imminent, Dopram-V and oxytocin are added to the collection. The face clothes are a good size to wrap a kitten in if you have to clean it up or need to help it into the world. The hemostat is for clamping the umbilical cord and the scissors are for cutting it before dipping it in the iodine. Opinions are mixed on this but after the kitten is cleaned up I put it in the carrier on the heating pad that is well protect by several thicknesses of toweling. The mother usually spends more time cleaning herself than cuddling and warming the newborn. She may be in labor for the next one and her movements ěscatterî any already delivered. It doesnít do for a newborn to get chilled which is apt to happen before they are dry. After all the kittens are born, theyíre returned to their mother - warm and dry. If there is a long time between kittens, I put a baby back with her. Before I put the kitten in the carrier, I weigh it and that begins the record keeping. I use a digital scale that weighs in grams; that is much more accurate than one that weighs only in ounces. By the time a weight loss shows in ounces, the kitten may be in real trouble. Thereafter the kittens are weighed at about the same time every day. If you have two or more kittens of the same color and sex you need a way to identify them in order to keep accurate weight records. Chrissie x Eric 9/17/00 due 9/15 del. 64 days 12:35 a.m. silver female 107 grams 1:05 a.m. silver male 103 grams 1:25 a.m. silver male 119 grams 2:05 a.m. silver male 113 grams mom has settled down comfortably and is nursing all kittens; canít feel any more - all delivered easily 3:05 a.m 5 units oxytocin. 3.30 a.m. silver male --- Surprise! 98 grams Birth Thur Fri Sat Sun Mon Tues S f 107 102 107 111 115 126 140 Sm-g 103 113 122 136 146 181 202 Sm-r 119 132 134 150 171 205 233 Sm-b 113 124 130 142 163 192 206 Sm 98 103 109 122 131 173 186 (g = green, r = red, b = blue) (SAMPLE PAGE) For this type of record keeping I use a plain ěschoolî notebook with lined paper. The records can be transferred to computer later on if you wish but this is much handier because itís ěon the spotî. Below is a sample page but in explanationÖ The first line on the left is the name of the dam and sire and on the right, the date of birth. On the second line left is the due date - I count 63 days from the day of the first mating. On the right is the number of days the kittens were carried. Iíve had cats deliver anywhere from 62 to 69 days so itís handy to look back and see how many days a particular female usually carries her kittens. United Silver Fanciers vol. 29, no. 2 June 2001 Next is the record of the actual birth - time, color, sex, breech or head first if you know, and then the weight. If you want to add any comments about the delivery this is a good place to write them instead of depending on your memory when she delivers her next litter. In a column to the left of the time of delivery, make a check mark when the afterbirth is delivered. Iíve had females develop infections as a result of not delivering the afterbirth and I would rather begin an antibiotic after the delivery than risk an infection if one is not delivered. When the entire litter is delivered, I do give an injection of oxytocin - just five units and only if you are sure there are no more kittens to be delivered. Record the time and dosage given. That is the only time I give oxytocin and it is a ěclean-outî shot. . The next line will carry the dates you will weigh the kittens; I do it daily. The following lines will be one for each kitten. You will need to identify each one for the weighing to be accurate. For instance, write ěs mî if it is a silver male and if there is more than one make a colored mark to the left of that red line. It will be whatever color is used to identify that particular kitten and I mark them with a magic marker in the ěarm pitî of the front leg. You will probably have to re-do the mark each time you weigh the kittens because mom cleans them so thoroughly. There is a line for each kitten. After a few days, the page will look like the sample on the previous age. Copyright © 1996-2002, Janice Reichle/USF. All rights reserved. This site is maintained by Pam Martin/Castle Paws. Downloading, copying and printing any article or picture from this site is allowed only for private use. It is strictly forbidden to download, copy or print any material from this site for purposes of republication elsewhere on the Internet or in print. |
| "Recordkeepinging" A Beginning and a Bit More! |
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