Poor Misha Here is a shelters cats journey ~ Misha presented last Wednesday morning after a foster carer noticed she was breathing fast and wasn’t herself. Prior to Misha being collected for foster care, an ultrasound was completed to confirm she was pregnant. It was suspected she was only half way. At this stage she was completely healthy. Then sadly on Wednesday morning a veterinarian assessed Misha noticing her extensive breathing, her gums were very pale, this poor cat was she was quiet and reluctant to get up, her heart rate was only 90bpm. A distressed cat should have been >180bpm at least. We quickly put her on IV fluids and repeated the ultrasound. It was found that one of the kittens (closest to the bifurcation of the uterus) was very unwell - with minimal movement and a very slow heart beat. The rest of the 5 kittens were very mobile and distressed with heart beats >240bpm. Misha was getting more and more flat by the minute so We decided we needed to go into surgery ASAP. We moved her over to surgery and preoxygenated her while we set up for surgery: anaesthetic machine, heat may, surgical kit, gloves, mask, gowns, towels (just in case kittens were of size), another oxygen line (just in case), hotties (just in case), etc. We clipped her belly and prepared her for surgery before sedating her just in case the kittens were viable. It was very important we placed Misha on the table angling her body downwards towards her tail. When pregnant animals are under anaesthetic the pressure of the belly can compromise the breathing - Misha was already breathing really fast. Misha was induced and we opened her up to find 6 kittens in the uterus. We had a team of 2 veterinarian and 2 nurses who assisted with this emergency surgery, plus an additional veterinary team should we needed assistance. Unfortunately the kittens didn’t have fur and were very premature, the kittens sadly did not make it. Mum cat did amazingly on recovery, only being a little cold. She was lucky not to have any haemorrhage. We are unsure what caused the kitten in her uterus to be unwell and cause mum cat distress. She was so young herself. But we are very lucky our foster carer https://www.instagram.com/p/B7j2lXblux2/?igshid=dyn569a8i5ar