Zoe - Day 64 - 9 am

Yesterday evening Zoe started bleeding again. Just very slightly - and the bleeding soon stopped. No other signs, so aside from setting the alarm 3 times this night rather than 2, we did nothing special. My worry increased tenfold though.

This morning she was happily sleeping on her rug next to the bed (the one I incorrectly call "carpet" in the video below) and as I petted her when I got up to take Leia - the CyberDog - for her morning walk I could feel bouncing activity in her belly. Like a flash my worry dispated. However many there are in there, and despite Zoe spotting blood, the kittens are alive and kicking - literally :)

Zoe also had some KMR (milk replacement) last night wich she happily gulfed down. She is a bit of a worry to get extra strength into as she is your classic kibble-addict and simply does not consider anything else food. Not raw meat, not the most delicious wet-food, not even NutriCal. But, KMR was ok - so now at least I kow I can give her a strengthening tonic of that if needed.

Zoe - Day 49

WOW!

It's a good thing I started measuring, or I would never have believed this myself. If you recall, last time we measured her was Tuesday - 3 days ago. She was 42 cm (16 1/2 inches). Today she has grown by an amazing 4 cm (1 1/2 inches)!!

Her weight today is 3,6 kg, or 8 pounds. Before getting pregnant Zoe was a 3 kg, or 6,6 pounds, female.

As you can see from the pictures, she's still not too hot about being held for photos - but I want to clarify that there is no struggling involved. It's the way she is held that makes her squint - she has beautiful LARGE round eyes. You can tell a little bit from the first photo.

Today was Zoe's first day of double dose Raspberry Leaf (1 ml, the alcohol free extract). I'm running out so I have to get more.

I had to do a LOT of hunting to find a good place to buy this in Europe. I can easily find all the animal supplies I need, even herbal and holistic, at websites from the US, but we seem to be sadly lacking on this continent.

It would be perfect to find a supplier in Sweden, but since I haven't been able to, I order from an online shop based in the UK - Your Health Food Store. Nope, I'm not sponsored, they don't even know I linked - just thought some of you Europeans may want to know where to find it. Search for everything made by manufacturer "nature's Answer" and then scroll down to Raspberry Leaf. Reasonably priced and ships all over.

Zoe - 7 weeks today

Its a good thing we got Leia, so I am able to leave Zoe alone and not be all over her. This is my first litter in 5 years so I am almost crazily happy about it =)

Anyway. Today Zoe is 7 weeks pregnant. I will measure her girth in a little while, and take a belly photo.

7 weeks also means that it is time to start the second supplement of a cat pregnancy, Marshmallow Root. Check in soon again for an article on that, similar to the one of Red Raspberry Leaf.

Facts: Supplements - Red Raspberry Leaf

Red Raspberry Leaf, the staple supplement for the pregnant cat!

Known and used for many years by cat breeders, and thousands of years (no, not kidding!) by pregnant women. Red Rasberry Leaf can be found as tea (dried leaves, make your own tonic), capsules, pills and fluid extract, my personal favorite.

Red Raspberry Leaf is known to:

1. Help tone and strengthen the pelvic and uterine muscles, promoting strong contractions and thereby a swift delivery.
2. Decrease constipation (which can be a problem in the 3rd trimester)
   
3. Increase amount and quality of milk production.

The three items above are what is general knowledge, but I thought I'd go one step further and talk about what else RRL does, and WHY it works - which is something I have not found on any cat sites :).

Firstly, Red Raspberry Leaf contains a mix of vitamins and minerals in a mix which is perfect for the pregnant animal (and woman). It contains a high concentration of vitamins E and C, as well as Vitamin A and some of the B-Complex. The Red raspberry leaf also contains many essential minerals such as phosphorus, potassium, and an easily assimilated form of calcium, in just the right amounts NOT to upset your queens' delicate calcium/phosphorus balance. All of the vitamins and minerals in RRL is far more easily assimilated by your queen than a chemically created vitamin/mineral-mix would be.

Secondly, RRL contains Fragrine, an alkaloid. This is what helps tone the muscles of the pelvic region including the uterus and thereby allows the uterus to contract more powerfully and effectively during labor.

Thirdly, Red Raspberry Leaves contains a form of Oxytocin. This is interesting as Oxytocin is the very drug many cat breeders have on hand to induce labor. In high concentrations Oxytocin will cause contractions, but in low levels it will PREVENT premature delivery. Oxytocin is also one of the bodys' formost "FeelGood"-hormones and its positive effects are numerous. The list below shows some of the proven effects of Oxytocin on humans. It can be assumed that most if not all of these effects are directly translatable to your queen.

Oxytocin...

...eases pain
...lowers blood pressure
...lower the levels of stress hormones
...improves digestion and the ability to assimilate nutrients
...stimulates growth
...speeds up healing of wounds and strengthens the immune system
...induces calm and tranquility of the mind
...makes us more social and interested in our surroundings
...makes us less fearful
...improves relationships
...increases learning ability

Because of Oxytocins ability to induce contractions, in humans it is sometimes not recommended to take Red Raspberry Leaf in the first trimester. To stay on the safe side, I would recommend the same protocol in a cat. For the queen this does not pose a problem, as it will normally take 3 weeks (the first trimester) before you are sure that she is pregnant and start supplementing.

So, what about dosage? Well, this largely depends on which form you are using. At the Cyberhousehold we use the fluid extract made by Nature's Answer (if you buy an extraxt, PLEASE make sure it is alcohol-free!) which is both organic and holistically balanced.

The pregnant Cyberqueen get's 0,5 ml daily, starting at the beginning of the 4th week. At the beginning of week 7 (2 weeks before delivery) the dose is upped to 0,5 ml twice daily.

Although an age-old remedy (at least as far back as the old Greeks and Romans, Red Raspberry has been used by pregnant women), even modern medical science agrees. Medical studies have shown that red raspberry leaf can be consumed safely during pregnancy and can decrease the length of labor and decrease the number of interventions used such as artificial rupture of membranes (AROM), assisted delivery, and cesarean delivery.¹ Red raspberry leaf also seems to help prevent pregnancies from pre-or post-term gestation (delivering too early or too late).

To sum it up - This is the one supplement that will ALWAYS be a part of a pregnant Cyberqueens' diet. In fact, I'll gobble the tea myself should I ever get pregnant. No doubt about it :)
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¹ Raspberry leaf in pregnancy: its safety and efficacy in labor.
J Midwifery Womens Health. 2001 Mar-Apr;46(2):51-9.
PMID: 11370690 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Facts: Supplements - General

Supplementing a pregnant queens diet is something that should be done with care. Although in the past it might have been advisable to supplement with various vitamins and calcium, among other nutrients, these days the premium commercial cat foods contain a perfect balance of nutrients for your cat. A balance that can easily be upset, no matter how well-meaning you are in your supplementing. Take very good care not to do more harm than good!

Calcium in particular - which seems to be a popular supplement, can easily upset the very delicate phosphorus/calcium balance in your queen. Having supplemented with calcium you could easily end up being the cause of the very eclampsia you tried to prevent.

As long as the queen is gaining weight and looking healthy, and is eating a PREMIUM brand food, no nutritional supplements are necessary - in fact they can be harmful. If you feel strongly that you wish to make a change to your queens diet, if nothing else to feel that you are doing something to help her, the one thing that I can recommend is to switch her over to either a kitten food (still talking premium brands) or to a dedicated Queen - food. To my knowledge only Royal Canin produces a food specifically aimed at the pregnant and lactating queen to date.

So, no supplementing at all? Well yes, there are a few things you can give your queen that will have a very positive effect on such important areas as tonus of the womb (helps the birth process), milk production, general well being and immune system. I'll talk about these supplements in upcoming articles - keep checking back under the label "Supplements".