Chapter 674: Consecutive Dangers
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
When he heard licking, Zhang Zian’s eyes opened immediately.
He tilted his head and saw Fina asleep. He hesitated, unsure if he should wake it up. However, after he saw the third kitten’s tail come out, he shouted to wake Fina up. It was another breech birth, and he might need help.
The mother kept meowing, and it sounded like it was in pain. The kitten seemed bigger than its two siblings, which wasn’t a bad thing. Bigger kittens usually grew up to be strong. However, at that moment, it was difficult on the mother.
The mother stared at him, then it stuck its head between its back legs and continued to lick.
Zhang Zian leaned on the wall to stand. He quickly grabbed the vial of glycerin enema and rubbed it on the kitten’s tail.
One of its back legs came out, but the other one was stuck inside its mother.
Bloody fluid gushed out of the mother’s body. It was in great pain. Its meows got louder and it was twitching.
“Crap! I think the amniotic sac ruptured in its body,” Zhang Zian said nervously. “If it stays like this for too long, both the mother and the kitten may die.”
“What? What should we do? Should we pull the kitten out?” Fina replied.
“Not right now, we can’t pull it like this. I have to adjust the kitten’s position so that the mother can push it out.” This was the only way he could think of that didn’t endanger the mother or the kitten.
He stared at the mother’s stomach and silently counted its breaths. When it inhaled, the kitten retracted a little, and when it exhaled, the kitten slipped out a little. However, the leg that was stuck couldn’t slip out completely.
Zhang Zian put his hand behind the kitten’s butt, and while the mother inhaled, he pushed the kitten back into its body.
The mother screamed and curled its body. It even changed its position because it wanted to jump out of the cardboard box.
“Meow!”
At that moment, Fina made a noise that made it stop fighting. It lay back down in the box.
Zhang Zian took advantage of the moment and pushed the kitten’s other leg back into the mother.
The mother was exhausted. As it lay in the cardboard box, it tilted its head to one side to stare at Zhang Zian with gratitude in its eyes. It understood that he was trying to help it just now.
Zhang Zian was sweating from nervousness and because it was hot in the room. He wiped it off and said, “Thank you. If it wasn’t for you just now, we’d be in trouble.”
“I know.” Fina pouted.
“Tell it to change positions. The kitten might come out at a different angle.”
Fina meowed a few times, and the mother cat moved accordingly.
Zhang Zian applied more glycerin enema near the kitten’s tail and massaged the mother’s belly. As the contraction started, both of the kitten’s back legs popped out.
The kitten was huge. After its legs came out, the butt got stuck, and the mother screamed in pain once again.
“I’ll help pull it out.”
Zhang Zian gently grabbed the kitten’s legs and tail, but there was a problem. His gloves were slippery with blood, and he couldn’t get a good grip. He had to tear off a piece of clean gauze and put it in his palms to be able to grab anything.
While the mother pushed, he pulled. After an enormous amount of effort, the kitten was finally out.
The mother was too exhausted to lick off the amniotic sac for the kitten. It lay on one side of the cardboard box and gazed at the kitten.
Zhang Zian removed the part of the amniotic sac that covered the kitten’s face, but the kitten wasn’t moving. It didn’t even open its mouth to breathe.
He wrapped the kitten in paper towels and grabbed the thermos of hot water.
The temperature of the water dropped to 40 degrees Celsius. Zhang Zian poured the water into a small basin and dipped the kitten’s body into the water. He held the kitten with one hand and used his other hand to open its mouth. He needed to put the cotton swab in its mouth so that it could absorb the amniotic fluid.
He didn’t have a hand to spare, so he needed Fina’s help. “Help me massage its back.”
The always fearless Fina seemed a bit scared. “Didn’t you say that my scent would get on it?”
“We can’t worry about that now, we have to revive it!” Zhang Zian said. “Quick, massage its back.”
Fina stretched out one paw and pressed on the kitten’s back carefully. “Like this? Am I pressing too hard?”
“No, that’s perfect.”
As Fina massaged, the amniotic fluid in the kitten’s lung leaked out. It suddenly moved, and a squeak came out.
“Should I stop?” Fina wanted to pull its paw back.
“No, keep going.” Zhang Zian got another cotton swab to soak up the amniotic fluid in the kitten’s mouth. He had already gone through four cotton swabs.
The mother just stared at them.
Three minutes passed, and the kitten was still moving and making noises.
Zhang Zian had to resort to his last trick. He told Fina to stop, and he slowly closed his hands around the kitten so that the kitten’s entire body was caged between his palms. Then he swung his arms up and down to force the amniotic fluid out the kitten’s lungs.
It was a dangerous move. The swinging could break the kitten’s neck or spine.
After the third swing, the kitten coughed out the amniotic fluid and started screaming.
Zhang Zian was so relieved. When he opened his palms, the kitten was breathing on its own, its life no longer in danger.
He wiped down the kitten’s body so that it was free of Fina’s scent. After he made sure that it was clean and dry, Zhang Zian placed it next to its mother.
The exhausted mother smelled it and brought it near its breasts to drink milk. If it hadn’t accepted the kitten as its child, Zhang Zian would’ve had to feed the kitten himself.
Zhang Zian was covered with sweat, and Fina was panting from the heat. They were no longer sleepy, but the night was still young.
“We’ll wait to see if there are more. Get some rest.” He leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes.
Fina didn’t want to take a nap. It gazed at its front paws and took a whiff. The kitten’s scent was still there. It looked at that kitten differently now. They had a bond.
Saving a cat’s life felt really good.
It tiled its head to look at Zhang Zian. I guess, sometimes, he isn’t so useless.
