Chapter 672: Birth
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The miracle of life was a magical and solemn process. Fina, who despised everything, widened its eyes in amazement.
"That's clearly a rat's tail." Fina glared at Zhang Zian. "If you're joking, I'll feed you to Snowy Lionet!"
Zhang Zian explained, "That's a kitten's tail. Newborn kittens are tiny and weak."
"Really?" Fina doubted.
"Yes, labor would be much more difficult if the kittens were too big." As he spoke, he took out disposable rubber gloves from the medical box.
"What are you doing?" Fina stared at his hands, and had a bad feeling.
"We might be in trouble," he said honestly. "The kitten's head is supposed to come out first, but the tail came out."
Just like humans, kittens and puppies should come out head first. If the tail came out first, their limbs could get stuck.
If this happened to a human, the only option would be to have a C-section. However, cats were more flexible, so they had more options. Either way, Zhang Zian prepared for the worst.
He disinfected the scissors in alcohol. Honestly, he didn't know what he was doing. He wasn't a professional vet. He didn't know if the scissors would hurt the kittens.
It would've been great if they had Sun Xiaomeng, but she had gone back to her hometown, and most pet clinics were closed for the holidays.
After a few minutes, the cat realized something was wrong. It looked down between its legs, and hesitated before it tried to lick itself to lubricate the way for the kitten.
Fina was anxious because there was nothing it could do. It felt helpless.
The kitten seemed to come out little by little, with each contraction, but then it retracted back into its mother. It was stressful to watch.
"Hey! Are you just going to watch? Pull the kitten out!" Fina suggested.
Zhang Zian shook his head. "I can't. The kitten is fragile, it isn't fully formed. If I pull it out, the kitten can come out paralyzed. Let's wait a bit more. Don't stress out."
"'Don't stress out?' That's easy for you to say!" Fina said angrily. "You aren't the one giving birth!"
Zhang Zian sighed. "You may not know this, but labor can last a long time, sometimes a whole day. The kitten is breech, but it doesn't need our help right now. Let's wait and see if its back legs come out."
He went through the medicine box and took out a vial of glycerin enema, which was used to treat constipation. He opened it and moved closer to the mother.
The mother stared at him and Fina, then stuck its head between its legs again.
Zhang Zian waited until it finished licking, then applied a few drops of glycerin enema around the kitten's tail. It was a much stronger lubricant than the mother's saliva.
It worked almost immediately. During the mother's next contraction, the kitten's back legs appeared, one by one.
Fina wasn't satisfied with its spot, so it came closer and watched the process anxiously.
The mother pushed and licked, while Zhang Zian applied more glycerin enema. Thank goodness it was safe for the cat to eat glycerin enema.
The kitten's body gradually came out. The kitten was darker than its mother, as its body was covered in a thin film.
"Why isn't it moving? Is it dead?" Fina asked.
"We can't make that conclusion right now." Zhang Zian asked it to calm down.
The mother pushed again. Most of the kitten's body was already out, so the glycerin enema was no longer needed.
The front legs appeared, Fina had finally calmed down, the finishing line was near.
Yet, at this crucial moment, the kitten got stuck again.
The mother pushed and pushed, but the kitten's head wouldn't come out.
Zhang Zian couldn't wait any longer. He lifted one of the mother's back legs with one hand, and gently grabbed the kitten's body, which was covered in a thin film, with the other hand.
"What are you doing?" Fina asked. "Didn't you say that you couldn't pull it?"
"Things are different now." Zhang Zian stared at where the kitten and the mother connected. "Only the head is stuck. If we wait any longer, the kitten could suffocate!"
He couldn't use too much force, so he just slowly pulled the kitten's body out.
The mother knew that he was helping, and pushed harder.
Soon, the kitten's head appeared. Zhang Zian let his hands drop, and checked on the kitten.
The mother turned over to look. It saw the dark and slick little thing covered in blood, and paused, as if it didn't realize that this was the baby it just pushed out of its body.
The kitten was covered in the amniotic sac, connected to its mother by the placenta and umbilical cord.
The mother hesitated a while longer, then lowered its head toward the kitten.
Zhang Zian was nervous. This was the moment that tested the mother's maternal instinct. If the mother tried to bite the kitten, he'd stop it. If the mother didn't do anything, he had to tear off the amniotic sac that covered the kitten's mouth, or else the kitten would suffocate.
Fortunately, the mother stuck its tongue out and licked the amniotic sac open, and cleaned the kitten's body.
After its first breath of fresh air, the kitten wiggled and woke up. Its eyes weren't fully open, but it was adorable. It meowed gently, but it sounded like a bird.
Fina was relieved. "Good job."
Zhang Zian stared at the mother's belly. "It's too early to celebrate. There's more kittens on the way."