Halo, also known as Regal Lane Heaven Sent, a Queen prospect, was born on March 23, 2023, along with seven siblings. This was the first litter born at Regal Lane, and it quickly turned tragic.
Trigger warning: Animal death
Adelina carried this litter, which was sired by Madman. Her pregnancy was perfectly normal until she reached day 62. For comparison, Maine coons typically give birth on days 65 to 70. Adelina had no indicators of labor on March 23, 2023, such as excessive cleaning, loss of appetite, nesting, or general discomfort.
Around 3 p.m., my siblings were going down our dirt road after getting off the school bus when they came across two older kittens, which was odd because we don't have many cats in the area and have never seen any kittens. My siblings picked them up and brought them to our property before texting me to come outside and see them. To my surprise, there was one boy and one girl who happened to be the same colors as my cats, Madman and Adelina. Looking back at what happened just hours before the tragedy still gives me goosebumps.
Disclaimer: these cats never entered my home, and I did not pet them, however, I was careful to wash my hands and change my clothes before coming into contact with my own cats.
At 7 p.m., I went into my room to perform one of my regular evening checks on Adelina, she was acting normally on day 62, as I expected, until about 30 minutes later, she went into her birthing area and began pushing randomly. She gave birth to eight kittens, four of which were not alive and could not be revived, one of the four was clearly dead before birth and had most likely been dead for days. Another died soon after birth, leaving me with three, one of which was a very small runt.
Adelina had no interest in the kittens and wanted nothing to do with them. I feel this was due to the labor being so quick that it resembled a miscarriage. This was caused by a bacteria known as strep G, which was unknown at the time since its effects include reproductive problems.
I was left with three kittens who needed to be fed every two hours and had not slept for the entire day. The runt lived to be one day old before passing due to failure to thrive, and the other kitten, whom we named Saint, died a few days later from what I believe were injuries caused by his sibling latching and sucking on him. After losing seven out of eight kittens, I had very little hope for the final remaining kitten, I was mentally exhausted. However we took it day by day, and she continued to thrive.
The last living and surviving kitten was a little girl named Halo, who turned one a few months back. Her registered name is Regal Lane Heaven Sent and she will live the rest of her life at Regal Lane.
The seven kittens crossed the rainbow bridge and serve as a daily reminder that nature does what it wants, when it wants, and doesn't care what you think. When dealing with living, breathing animals, the question isn't whether something will go wrong, but when. This is the reality that breeders face.
Adelina had two successful litters after being treated, and she is an excellent mother.
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