# cat in labour, 1 kitten out!



## lindseyd (May 25, 2013)

So my cat Belle has just gone into labour. Kitten 1 was at 12.52am. No signs yet of another but should be soon. Has it been too long do you think? And should kittens be nursing straightaway? If they don't shall I put them on her nipple?


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## moggiemum (Mar 28, 2013)

congratsdid mum expel afterbirth as this is important so as not to get infection inside womb...i think its ok that lenght of time but only if she is pantingresting ......if she has been pushing/straining a long time that would be cause for concern. hopefully someone more exp will come on soon

i would put kitts straight to nipple after she has finished cleaning/drying/cut nipped cord
they might be tired but gently but firmly rub kitten and they will smell mums milk

hows she now?

do you have any more /you are proabably very busy , hope all is well, 
a nice relaxed atmosphere helps ,act like its the most natural thing in the world,- cos it is
dim the lights , keep a spotlight to check babies and make sure placentas come out, 
always a good idea to have a vet emergency number handy as well

maybe good to give mum some wet food if she wants , its a tiring buisness , she needs lots of energy


best wishes... let us know how it goes x


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## Ann Elizabeth (May 12, 2013)

lindseyd said:


> So my cat Belle has just gone into labour. Kitten 1 was at 12.52am. No signs yet of another but should be soon. Has it been too long do you think? And should kittens be nursing straightaway? If they don't shall I put them on her nipple?


Apologies I have no experience with cats & kittens and only one experience of a dog whelping, puppies nursed within minutes of being born, only had to put one onto nipple others found their own way, Lily delivered her first pup at 9.45 and her 2nd at 1320, she had bouts of panting, but at other times she was just fascinated with her first pup, she even took a little nap. I telephoned the vet who said not to worry unless she was straining and that there can be long periods of time between pups - I don't know if the information is the same for cats. Good luck


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## lindseyd (May 25, 2013)

Kitten number 2 has just come out! Seems to be the same colour as the other. She's cleaned them both up well and they look fine! She made a lot more noise with the 2nd one and she was staring up at me so I was smoothing her head a lot. Never heard a noise like it! She went to sleep after the first and was purring lots.


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## Ann Elizabeth (May 12, 2013)

lindseyd said:


> Kitten number 2 has just come out! Seems to be the same colour as the other. She's cleaned them both up well and they look fine! She made a lot more noise with the 2nd one and she was staring up at me so I was smoothing her head a lot. Never heard a noise like it! She went to sleep after the first and was purring lots.


Congratulations, hope you, kittens and mum are all ok!


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## lindseyd (May 25, 2013)

I am so tired!
Kitten 1 was born at 12:52am
Kitten 2 was born at 05:24am
Kitten 3 was born at 05:59am.

Is it possible she could still have more?
It certainly does seem that she may have more in there.
At the moment she isn't in active labour so I'm not worried, she's just having a sleep and feeding them.

Here are some pictures:

View attachment 114837


View attachment 114838


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## lindseyd (May 25, 2013)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v218/123456abc/image-2.jpg


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## lindseyd (May 25, 2013)

Here's a picture of her before giving birth:









It's so difficult posting pictures on here! Unless I just don't have a clue what I am doing!


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## lindseyd (May 25, 2013)

And another..

Looking like a balloon with legs!


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## GingerJasper (Oct 29, 2012)

Oh bless, def more pics pls when you all had some sleep. I'm guessing shes gonna have 2 more.


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## lindseyd (May 25, 2013)

It it normal to have a few hours between kittens?


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## crispycat (Apr 2, 2013)

ah bless she is gorgeous too! Is she a pedigree? sorry i am clueless about pedigrees apart from the moggie variety!


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## lindseyd (May 25, 2013)

No I don't believe she is.
She's such a beautiful cat!


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## Ann Elizabeth (May 12, 2013)

lindseyd said:


> It it normal to have a few hours between kittens?


Hi Lindseyd, congratulations again and well done! As said before I don't have any experience with cats & kittens and can only share my experience with my dog. Lily's pups were born 9.40am; 1.20pm, 2.45pm and 4.55pm she had naps between pups 1 & 2 and 3 & 4.
Pics are great all are beautiful!!! I'm going to bow out now as there are more people on here and I'm sure plenty with experience of cats, though I may have a nosy later

Good luck and well done, 

PS if you think you're tired now there's worse to come haven't had a full nights sleep for over a week! Lily and pups doing fine, looking well - I look like a zombie


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## lindseyd (May 25, 2013)

Ann Elizabeth said:


> Hi Lindseyd, congratulations again and well done! As said before I don't have any experience with cats & kittens and can only share my experience with my dog. Lily's pups were born 9.40am; 1.20pm, 2.45pm and 4.55pm she had naps between pups 1 & 2 and 3 & 4.
> Pics are great all are beautiful!!! I'm going to bow out now as there are more people on here and I'm sure plenty with experience of cats, though I may have a nosy later
> 
> Good luck and well done,
> ...


Thank you! 
May give the vets a ring later on tonight just in case.
Maybe she is only having 3, would be lovely if she did!


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

lindseyd said:


> It it normal to have a few hours between kittens?


It happens often enough to be considered normal for cats. One of my fosters went about 8 hours between kittens 5 & 6, and had a very obvious lump until kitten 6 arrived. I was a bit concerned about him at first as it looked like he had some meconium staining (sign of distress in labour) but he or she was fine.

Has she had a placenta for each kitten? And do you have a set of digital scales that weigh to the nearest gram? The best way of knowing that all is well is to weigh them at about the same time each day. Except (maybe) for the first day or two, and the odd day for the odd kitten, they should put on 10g or more each day.

Mum needs as much good-quality food to eat as she wants (could be 3x the normal amount), and you also need to worm the kittens at 3 weeks and 6 weeks with Panacur. At 9 weeks they are probably big enough for a kitten Milbemax along with their first injections. You can get Panacur on the Internet, and you do need to know how much the kittens weigh to give them the right dose. There are several different versions of Panacur - different strengths, liquid or paste) and I found the liquid horribly messy to use. Not sure if other folks have been able to compare liquid and paste.


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## lindseyd (May 25, 2013)

OrientalSlave said:


> It happens often enough to be considered normal for cats. One of my fosters went about 8 hours between kittens 5 & 6, and had a very obvious lump until kitten 6 arrived. I was a bit concerned about him at first as it looked like he had some meconium staining (sign of distress in labour) but he or she was fine.
> 
> Has she had a placenta for each kitten? And do you have a set of digital scales that weigh to the nearest gram? The best way of knowing that all is well is to weigh them at about the same time each day. Except (maybe) for the first day or two, and the odd day for the odd kitten, they should put on 10g or more each day.
> 
> Mum needs as much good-quality food to eat as she wants (could be 3x the normal amount), and you also need to worm the kittens at 3 weeks and 6 weeks with Panacur. At 9 weeks they are probably big enough for a kitten Milbemax along with their first injections. You can get Panacur on the Internet, and you do need to know how much the kittens weigh to give them the right dose. There are several different versions of Panacur - different strengths, liquid or paste) and I found the liquid horribly messy to use. Not sure if other folks have been able to compare liquid and paste.


Yep I will be getting a scales. 
She has already been wormed on panacur so will be getting it for the little kittens too.
She has had some kitten food, not much. Is her appetite not going to be that much as she has only just given birth?
Her stomach is noticeably thinner but still sagging a bit, could that be a kitten or milk?


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## crispycat (Apr 2, 2013)

are u going to keep all the kitten?  is this her first litter? will u spay her after this? she is lovely looking!


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## lindseyd (May 25, 2013)

crispycat said:


> are u going to keep all the kitten?  is this her first litter? will u spay her after this? she is lovely looking!


I will be keeping one I think. It depends on the colours.

This is her 2nd litter. I've only had her for about 2 months. My friend had her before me but did not bother to spay her hence the two pregnancies.
She will be going to the vets to be spayed in about 8 weeks.
I didn't plan on her being pregnant but it was out of my control at the time.

Just a little impatient now to see if she has any more!


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

lindseyd said:


> Yep I will be getting a scales.
> She has already been wormed on panacur so will be getting it for the little kittens too.
> She has had some kitten food, not much. Is her appetite not going to be that much as she has only just given birth?
> Her stomach is noticeably thinner but still sagging a bit, could that be a kitten or milk?


If she ate the placentas they keep her going for a day or two, she should start eating normally and then more and more very soon.

Really cannot say about her stomach. Does it feel like she might have a kitten left? It was really obvious with the foster cat I had.


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

lindseyd said:


> I will be keeping one I think. It depends on the colours.
> 
> This is her 2nd litter. I've only had her for about 2 months. My friend had her before me but did not bother to spay her hence the two pregnancies.
> She will be going to the vets to be spayed in about 8 weeks.
> ...


A great shame you didn't take her for spaying as soon as your friend gave her to you. The assumption with all unspayed female cats being rehomed has to be that they might be pregnant, even if there are not yet any signs.


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## crispycat (Apr 2, 2013)

yes def get her spayed not just becuae of pregnancies but sadly cats can have all kinds of medical complications too - i'm not an expert hopefully someone will come along and explain more


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## lindseyd (May 25, 2013)

I am fully aware of the reasons she should have been spayed and it is my intention to have it done in 8 weeks.
Right now I would rather not focus on what I should have done and instead get some advice on how to look after the queen and her kittens as best as possible as breeding is not something I ever intend to continue with.
I've read through all the forums and posts regarding cat pregnancies and I know there is a lot of negativity when it comes to unplanned pregnancies but the hope is that I can get some general hints and tips.


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## crispycat (Apr 2, 2013)

I sense you are being defensive - i was not having a go at you at all just pointing it out thats all - having helped out at rescues which particularly this time of year is overflowing with kittens - it always strikes me as a bit sad when unwanted pregnancies occur and take away places that could otherwise go to rescue cats - just my personal opinion and as this is a public thread i can air it.

plus there is the cost of neutering,vaccs etc which most owners of unwanted pregs don't do so the whole process just starts again - hopefully u will be responsible as u say u are and neuter these before giving away.


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## spotty cats (Jul 24, 2012)

What OS was saying is that early pregnant cats can be spayed and since you've had her 8 weeks, with pregnancy being 9 weeks she could have been spayed in the first few weeks you had her and needn't have gone through with the litter. Info for next time or if you have friends with unspayed cats. 

Glad you intend to spay her, I hope you're planning on keeping the kittens for longer than 8 weeks though? 12 is ideal, with 10 being the absolute minimum. 

I would assume she finished with 3 kittens given the amount of time passed. If you can stand her up and have a good feel of her stomach, kittens will feel like lumps (not to be confused with her organs )


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

spotty cats said:


> What OS was saying is that early pregnant cats can be spayed and since you've had her 8 weeks, with pregnancy being 9 weeks she could have been spayed in the first few weeks you had her and needn't have gone through with the litter. Info for next time or if you have friends with unspayed cats.
> <snip>


If she had been almost immediately spayed you wouldn't have even known she was pregnant.


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## koekemakranka (Aug 2, 2010)

I see it is kitten season in the UK, with dozens of unplanned litters. I will avoid this section until your winter comes around. :cursing:


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## wicket (Aug 22, 2012)

koekemakranka said:


> I see it is kitten season in the UK, with dozens of unplanned litters. I will avoid this section until your winter comes around. :cursing:


Ah but you will miss all the gorgeous very carefully planned kitten pictures


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## koekemakranka (Aug 2, 2010)

wicket said:


> Ah but you will miss all the gorgeous very carefully planned kitten pictures


That's the price I will have to pay, alas


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