Not as we planned
By the beginning of April, Mia started to turn into a happy beach ball, just like last year. Pregnancy looked so good on her ❤
A few days before she was due, I noticed that she had some discharge. We went to the vet clinic, she got antibiotics and we checked the kittens with ultrasound: all good. We had a vet review in 2 days. She was doing well. Honestly, she didn’t even notice the discharge. At the clinic, the vet performed an ultrasound to check on the kittens and she calculated the heart rate very low. She suggested to have a C-section and remove the kittens. I was so confused. In the 2 days I consulted with several vets and breeders and except for one, they all said, some discharge is not a big deal. If she is getting antibiotics, she and the kittens will be fine. And then, the vet at the clinic wanted an immediate C-section because the heart rate was a bit lower. I asked her to check the heart rate again to make sure it was really low. Little did I know that in such a case the heart rate should be checked half an hour later again, to make sure they don’t perform an unnecessary surgery. This vet didn’t even count the heart rate for a whole minute: she just counted for 15 seconds and multiplied by 4. That means, making a mistake of 3 heart rates and it is already above the healthy limit and no surgery is needed. I know it now. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the only unprofessional action this vet did. It was Saturday, there are no other clinics nearby, my vet is closed on weekends, so I had to rely on her knowledge.
I agreed to the C-section.
I was going through hell during the 3 hours while Mia was away from me. I was not convinced she was in good hands.
Luckily the surgery went well, all kittens survived. Unfortunately the vet decided to remove Mia’s womb, even though it wasn’t infected. She said, it is for prevention because we cannot be sure that there was no bacteria in there. Next time please amputate your hand if you cut your finger. You never know… I still deeply regret I went to that clinic. My vet and other vets and breeders were all surprised that Mia’s womb was removed in such a case. It took me several weeks to get over this. Mia was such a happy pregnant cat. She loves being a mum and now she is not allowed anymore 😢 And I was the one who agreed to that surgery. 😟
At home with the kittens
I was focusing on the positive things: the vet team took good care of the kittens. They were clean, dry, healthy and alive. I received them in a cardboard box, covered in towels and to keep them warm, they got 2 latex gloves filled with warm water. Great idea to replace mum’s warm body 
Mia was not herself. She was stressed, she was crying loudly, she didn’t care about the kittens. She was clearly in pain.
At home, I tried to introduce her the kittens but she didn’t care. This is kind of the normal reaction after a c-section but it was still hard to witness it. She was a protective, perfect mum last year and now, she didn’t want to know about her babies.
I was feeding the kittens every 2 hours day and night. At this age, they can’t pee and poop alone, mummy has to massage them until they release their products. I was massaging them every 2 hours. Like a zombie at 1 am. Then at 3 am. Then at 5 am. 7. 9. 11. Please Mia, feel better and start recognizing your babies!!! 
But Mia was just howling of pain. So I took her back to the clinic the next day to get some painkillers. Finally she was feeling better. During the night, when I was feeding the little ones, Mia started to show interest. She was sitting next to me, but turning her back towards the kittens. At some point I held one baby in front of her nose. Maybe? She suddenly grabbed the kitten and run away with it into her nest where she was supposed to give birth. OMG finally! As she still had some medicine in her system and she was not supposed to nurse just yet, I was hesitant and took back the kitten but Mia cried so sadly that I gave it back to her. I did a research and calculated the halving time of that medicine, I calculated how much of that could go into the kitten’s system orally and what are the consequences of overdosing. OK, no harm. The meds were practically harmless at this point. The next morning I went to check on Mia. When I approached, she started to cry beggingly and laid on the kitten. She though I wanted to take it back. Oh dear. Poor girl. When I gave her all her kittens, she looked so happy. It was only 36 hours but seemed like eternity for both of us 🙈
Mia is an excellent mum - again
After a few days, Mia started to have abundant milk. The kittens were growing really fast. They doubled their birth weight after 8 days. One kitten was always pushed away from the better tits, so I supplemented her with formula for a few more days until she caught up with the siblings.
We have 2 females and 2 males. They were all born with standard weight.
Mia is different than last year was, she is less protective when I touch the kittens. Maybe because she understands that I kept them warm, fed and alive for 36 hours until she was ready to take care of them ❤