Donna Battaglia took on the job of midwife and foster mom to a pair of pregnant twin sister calico cats who delivered their litters within days on one another. The little Mamas are devoted to each other, and each sister hovered over the other as she prepared to give birth.
Donna is fostering Ruby and Sapphire and their kittens for Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue Association (VOKRA), in Vancouver BC.
Below are Donna’s YouTube videos with Ruby and Sapphire, along with her telling of their story. You can check back with Donna’s YouTube channel to look for future updates.
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A Holiday Weekend, A Heat Wave & A Missing Newborn Kitten!
It was 32 degrees Celsius (89.6 Fahrenheit), the first Heat Wave for the summer of 2013. It was also Canada Day holiday weekend and the vet’s office was closed.
It would be an exciting but frightening evening starting with Ruby’s amniotic sack dangling from her behind and me not knowing what it was. And then later… there would be a MISSING newborn kitten, one frantic momma-cat, one frantic foster momma and one frantic sister-cat! “How could you lose a newborn kitten?” you ask.
But don’t worry… Ruby had her four kittens and everything was fine in the end.
Hi! My name is Donna and I am a volunteer foster mother for the Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue Association (VOKRA) since July of 2012. During my first year I have fostered four momma-cats and their 25 kittens of which one litter of five had to be bottle fed. My first momma-cat had already given birth to her kittens before she arrived in my home. The other three momma-cats gave birth during the night while I was sleeping and all went well. But Ruby’s event would be different. It would be a challenge and a somewhat harrowing experience.
This is an ongoing story about two rescued cats, Ruby and her twin sister Sapphire who are both pregnant and who came to live in my foster care on June 18th, 2013. They will live here with me while they have their kittens and until their kittens are weaned and fully litter trained. This usually takes about 8 to 12 weeks.
Ruby’s twin sister, Sapphire is also pregnant and is expecting to deliver any day now. (see below)
Donna made this lovely 8 minute video that tells the story of Ruby and the delivery of her kittens.
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Ruby’s kittens at 3 days old, a short look. Foster Mom can’t believe how big they are.
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A brief introduction to Sapphire and her kittens, plus the two Mamas with their combined litters of 9 babies.
It was a stressful night for Sapphire, Ruby and myself when Sapphire’s kittens were coming faster than she could handle. This is just a quick intro as I know many people are anxiously waiting to see her and the kittens.
There are five kittens but one of them is struggling to breathe. It’s been a very scary stressful 24 hours and having to involve Karen who helped us over the phone and then today Twyla who provided homeopathic advice and care. He’s the little orange and white one who at this time I’m been calling “Raspie”. He’s quite a little character and appears to be strong but I have yet to actually see him nursing and it’s driving me crazy. I can’t relax and every time I go into the room I am fearful of what I might find. Please pray for our little Raspie.
It was quite a night.
Ed. note: After raising Donna’s hopes by nursing and looking stronger, little Raspie did not make it after all.
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