Even though Zhang Zian was sleepy, his nervousness and excitement kept him awake. He closed his eyes to listen to the mother. When he heard the sound of licking, he opened his eyes with a start.
He turned his head and saw that Fina seemed to have fallen asleep. He hesitated for a moment whether to wake it up or not. However, he saw that the tail of the third pup had come out first, and it was a reverse birth, so he called out to wake Fina up. He might need its help.
The kitten seemed to be bigger than its two siblings. The mother meowed again and again, sounding like it was in pain and exertion.
Being big wasn't a bad thing. Big kittens tended to be stronger when they grew up, but it was a pain for the mother that gave birth to it.
The mother looked at him as if asking for help, then stuck its head between its two hind legs and kept licking.
Zhang Zian immediately stood up and lubricated the kitten with some glycerin.
One of the kitten's hind legs came out first, but the other leg didn't. It seemed to be stuck inside the mother's body.
Bloody liquid kept flowing out of the mother's body. The mother's meowing got louder and louder, and its body twitched. It looked like it was in pain.
"Shit! The amniotic membrane might have ruptured, "Zhang Zian said nervously. "This is a dangerous situation. If it stays like this for too long, both it and the kitten might be in danger."
"What? What should we do? "Fina was also nervous." Pull the kitten out? "
"Not yet, I can't just pull it out like this … I need to adjust the position of the kitten so it can grow out again." Zhang Zian observed the area between the cat's legs. This was the only solution he could think of. If he pulled the kitten out by force, it would be hard for it to survive, but if he kept waiting, both mother and kitten might die.
He stared at the mother's abdomen and counted its breathing rate. When it inhaled, the kitten retracted a little. When it exhaled, the kitten slid out a little. However, the other hind leg was stuck.
He placed his hand on the kitten's butt. When the mother inhaled again, he tried to push the kitten back into the mother's body.
His movement seemed to have hurt the mother. It shrieked and curled its body. It even tried to jump out of the cardboard box.
"Meow!"
At this critical moment, Fei Na shouted to stop it, causing it to be as silent as a cicada. It instantly stopped resisting and obediently returned to its original position.
Zhang Zian used this moment to push one of the kittens' legs back into the mother's body.
The mother's pain had lessened, but it was also almost out of energy. It laid on its side in the cardboard box. Its breathing was rapid, and it tilted its head to look at Zhang Zian. Its eyes were filled with exhaustion and gratitude. It seemed to have understood that Zhang Zian was helping it, not hurting it.
The delivery room was too hot, and Zhang Zian was very nervous. He was sweating profusely.
He wiped the sweat that almost flowed into his eyes. "Fortunately, you were there. Otherwise, we would have been in trouble …"
"Hmph, that goes without saying." Fei Na curled his lips in disdain.
"Tell it to change its position a little so that the stuck cub can be born at a different angle," he said.
Fina meowed a few times, and the mother cat changed into a different position.
Zhang Zian applied more Glycerine near the kitten's tail and massaged its stomach from top to bottom. As the contractions came again, the kitten's hind legs were forced out of its body, but this time, both hind legs appeared at the same time.
The kitten was really big. Both hind legs had appeared, but its butt was stuck again. The mother's cries were filled with pain again.
"I'll help pull it out."
Zhang Zian decided that he couldn't wait any longer. He used his rubber gloves to gently hold the kitten's hind legs and tail … But there was a problem. His gloves were stained with blood and were very slippery. He couldn't hold them at all, so he tore off a piece of clean gauze and placed it in his palm to increase the friction.
He silently cooperated with the mother's rhythm. When the mother exerted force, he would pull it out a little. When the mother panted, he would stop. After a lot of effort, he finally pulled the kitten out. It was bigger than the previous two kittens.
The mother was exhausted. It didn't even have the strength to lick off the amniotic membrane. It laid on its side in the cardboard box and looked at the motionless kitten anxiously.
Zhang Zian peeled off the amniotic membrane covering the kitten's mouth and nose. The kitten still didn't move. It didn't even open its mouth to breathe. It had been giving birth for too long, and its amniotic fluid had ruptured prematurely.
He wrapped the kitten in a tissue and quickly went to get the hot water he had prepared.
The water in the thermos had dropped to between 40 to 45 degrees Celsius. He poured the hot water into a small basin, held the kitten's head in his hands, and placed the kitten's body into the hot water. He held the kitten in this position with one hand, and used the other to pry open its mouth. He put the cotton swab he had prepared into its mouth and sucked up the amniotic fluid.
"Help me massage its back."
He couldn't free his hands, so he could only ask Fina for help.
"But …" Fina, who was always fearless, showed a hint of fear. It wasn't afraid of fighting with other cats, but it couldn't do anything about this situation. "Didn't you say you were afraid of my scent …"
"We can't care about that now. Let's save it first!" Zhang Zian urged. "Quick, massage its back from the bottom up."
Under his urging, Fina stretched out a front paw and carefully pressed on the cub's back. "Is that so? Isn't it too heavy? "
"No, the strength is just right."
Following Fina's movement, the amniotic fluid in the kitten's lungs was squeezed out. Its body suddenly moved, and it squeaked.
"Is it done?" Fina wanted to retract its paw.
"Not yet. Continue."
Zhang Zian changed another cotton swab and continued to suck the amniotic fluid out of the kitten's mouth. There were already three or four soaked cotton swabs on the ground.
The mother stared closely at them, pinning all its hopes on them.
After two or three minutes, the kitten's cries and squirming were intermittent. It was heart-wrenching.
"Stop first."
Zhang Zian could only use his last resort. He called Fina, put his palms together, and held the kitten in his palms. He slowly closed his palms so that other than its tail, the kitten was covered from head to toe like a cage. He straightened his arms and swung them up and down, using centrifugal force to shake the stubborn amniotic fluid out of the kitten's lungs.
This was a very dangerous move because the kitten was very big. If it was a girl with small hands, she wouldn't be able to hold the kitten's entire body in her palms. The force of the swinging might very well break the kitten's neck or spine.
After swinging two or three times, Zhang Zian could feel the kitten squirming intensely in his palms. After coughing out a stream of amniotic fluid, it squeaked loudly.
"It's done."
He let out a sigh of relief and opened his palms. The kitten was already breathing on its own. It was no longer in danger.
He changed some hot water and washed the kitten's body clean of Fina's smell. He used a tissue to dry its body and put it in the mother's arms.
The exhausted mother sniffed the kitten, pulled it to her chest, and let it drink milk. This meant that it accepted the kitten as its child. If it didn't accept it, it might push the kitten out of the cardboard box. Luckily, that didn't happen. Otherwise, Zhang Zian would have to feed the kitten manually.
Zhang Zian was sweating profusely, and Fina was so hot that it stuck out its tongue. They were no longer sleepy, and the night was still very long.
"Let's continue to rest. We'll see if it gives birth again later." He leaned against the wall and closed his eyes.
Fina didn't doze off. It stared at one of its front paws, lowered its head, and sniffed. The scent of the kitten still lingered on its paw. The way it looked at the kitten was different from before. It felt like there was something invisible connecting them together.
Saving … No, saving a cat felt really good.
It tilted its head to look at Zhang Zian's face. This useless mortal wasn't that useless sometimes …
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