Confessions of a Cat Breeder

My cat went into labor Sunday evening, she seemed to be doing well and the first kitten came within an hour. Yet after four hours and no more kittens, I had to rush her to the emergency clinic. It ended up that she had to have an emergency C-section to get the other kitten out. But at 4:30 in the morning I got a call that everything went well and both kittens and mama were doing well. Yesterday, 5/31, I picked all three up with instructions on how to hand feed the kittens because mama cat was a little groggy and sore still. After about 2 hours at home she started nursing and caring for both kittens. Everything seemed great I would check on them at least every hour. Well today I went to check on them(it had been about 1.5 hrs since the last check) and the C-section kitten didn't make it. I immediatley removed him and mama is still caring for the one kitten but keeps slowly getting up and searching for the dead one. I'm just wondering what might have happened to this kitten when everything seemed to be going so well. Also I'm concerned about mama, she is so sore she moves very slowly and doesn't have intrest in food unless I hand feed her soft food with a spoon. I'm afraid she isn't getting enough nutrition to nurse. Any ideas or helpful advice would be appreciated this is the first time I've cared for a kitten so young.

Contact the vet asap ~