Last saturday, Destiny gave birth to four healthy babies.  This was her
second litter and it seemed perfect.  Also, I had a backup mother for Isis
and her babies which were due the next day.  Isis had her first litter the
year before but was not a good mother.  Luckily four of the six babies were
saved due to a foster mother.
 
Isis was showing signs of contraction saturday evening.  I was immediately
on "baby watch".  I woke up several times during the night to make sure I
would be around when Isis had her first baby.  Nothing happened.  Finally,
around 5 pm on sunday, she had her first baby before anyone seemed to know
it.  Unfortunately, Isis was faster than I was.  The baby died.  I felt if I
had been there a few seconds earlier, it would have survived.
 
After that, I put Isis on my lap and waited.  I felt something in her, so I
knew she wasn't finished.  Nothing happened.  I placed her back in the
maternity cage and had another sleepless night.  Still nothing by morning.
I called Dr. Kawasaki's office.  Maybe I was wrong about feeling something
in her but I wanted to make sure.  Dr. K told me to come on down.
 
He felt her, and told me there was one more kit left.  Most likely it was
dead, so our concern was for Isis.  He gave her three doses of oxytocin, one
half hour apart.  Oxytocin would cause her to contract and, hopefully, push
the baby out.  I kept her on my lap stroking her.  She began having
contractions but no baby.  Finally, it was decided that a c-section would be
performed.
 
I can't say enough about Dr. K.  He came in on monday for surgery on other
patients even though he is suffering from pneumonia.  I thought he was going
to keel over.  But he performed the emergency c-section on Isis.  I also
decided to get her spayed at the same time since she had to be opened up
anyway.  He treated her as though she were going to have a live baby.  There
was a foster mother available just in case.  But chances were about nill of
a live birth.
 
I stayed and watched the c-section.  The huge baby was removed and the
amniotic sac broken.  And to everyone's surprise, the baby was alive.  We
got the baby girl breathing and she started to cry.  I was ecstatic.  Not
only was Isis OK, but here was a miracle coming into the world the hard way.
The uterus was removed but showed no signs of obvious infection.
 
I rushed the baby home with a groggy Isis.  The baby took abvantage of this
as she suckled on a nipple.  When I arrived home, the baby was given to an
eager Destiny - "Aaaa...What's one more?  Hopefully this baby will stay near
me like she's suppose to; unlike that big, two-legged one."
 
BTW, all concerned are doing fine; although Isis doesn't think that being
opened up and having her insides yanked out is doing fine.  Complain, complain.
 
Ellen
Isis(Good.  No more babies.)
Destiny(More babies.  More babies.  Pleeeeease.....)
Babies(More nipples.  More nipples.  Pleeeeease.....)
[Posted in FML issue 1169]