Can someone help me?

Morninglory71

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My daughter and I adopted a cat that was 8 months old, and turned out to be pregnant. No one knew how far along she was, but when we adopted her April 4th they had said they thought she was only 2 or 3 weeks a long, but she was already pinking up.

Well we anticipated kittens mid May, and then May 20th, Wed. She went into labor and was in labor for over 3 hours and gave birth to a very big kitten who was gorgeous, but didn't wiggle or move, and never breathed.. so I guess he was born dead, or died due to her being in labor so long? I don't know.

Well she has about 3 other kittens inside of her. You can see them move inside of her, but she has had no other contractions. We were advised about interrupted labor lasting 24 hours to 36 hours.. but last night at midnight was 36 hours.... currently we are at 43 hours, and still no signs of labor. She's eating and playing.. a bit more sleepy and wanting to be held, but no distress, just more clingy and affectionate. When she sleeps, we can see the babies kicking inside of her.. but since we are over 36 hours.. I am so scared why she isn't giving birth?

The vet told me - if she's not in distress, then I shouldn't be either.. but I worry..

So then I was researching on line and saw that cats can have kittens days apart? Really? What the heck????

Is this right? How many days is typical? The tension and worry in our house is crazy, but Juniper (our mama cat) is just totally fine.. any reassuring stories to validated this is normal? Any suggestions you can do to help us or direction we should take?

We value your experience. Thank you in advance.
 

jessikab90

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Hey there! I made an account just to reply to this thread and hopefully help. Has Juniper had any xrays prior to or after her adoption to confirm the number of kittens she was pregnant with?
 

jefferd18

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She may need help getting those kittens out- can you get her to your vet? I rescued a very young pregnant female cat on a parking lot four years ago and she too went past her due date and then struggled over a weekend to give birth to her kittens. Three kittens died and my vet ended up performing a C-section on the following Monday morning in effort to save the last kitten. By that time my female was beyond exhausted and I almost lost her.
 

Sarthur2

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I agree with your vet - if she’s not in distress then just wait. Yes, cats can conceive days apart during the week-long heat cycle, so the next kittens may be born up to a week later. They are not overdue yet, and cats can safely go to 70 days.

She will likely go into labor again soon, and hopefully deliver live kittens. However, if she pushes unsuccessfully for an hour without delivering she will need a vet. Kittens that stay too long in the birth canal are often stillborn. Three hours of pushing was too long.

Cats generally do fine, and Mother Nature is usually pretty reliable in starting labor when it’s time. Hang in there and keep us posted! :)

Morninglory71 Morninglory71
 
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Morninglory71

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Hey there! I made an account just to reply to this thread and hopefully help. Has Juniper had any xrays prior to or after her adoption to confirm the number of kittens she was pregnant with?
No X Rays but they felt her belly and they felt 4. Now there are only 3, but our vet said we don't need to worry that this isn't as uncommon as people think.. but this is the first I've heard of it.. As for Juniper, she is totally normal. She wants to be held, and is playing, and eating like a pig-cat.. and we can see the babies kicking in her.. so it's like nothing unusual but that she gave birth to a dead kitten 3 days ago.. it's really odd.
 
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Morninglory71

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I agree with your vet - if she’s not in distress then just wait. Yes, cats can conceive days apart during the week-long heat cycle, so the next kittens may be born up to a week later. They are not overdue yet, and cats can safely go to 70 days.

She will likely go into labor again soon, and hopefully deliver live kittens. However, if she pushes unsuccessfully for an hour without delivering she will need a vet. Kittens that stay too long in the birth canal are often stillborn. Three hours of pushing was too long.

Cats generally do fine, and Mother Nature is usually pretty reliable in starting labor when it’s time. Hang in there and keep us posted! :)

Morninglory71 Morninglory71
Wow ! that is so reassuring ! I thank you for your response. What you said is what I was thinking.. but didn't know.. so it feels good to hear it from another person..
May I ask another stupid question ? You seem so knowledgable.. but she lost her mucus plug and her water broke with the first baby. If cats have a forked uterus.. is there a second mucus plug and water to break then when the other kittens are ready to be born? I'm just trying to figure out what to expect.
 
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Morninglory71

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She may need help getting those kittens out- can you get her to your vet? I rescued a very young pregnant female cat on a parking lot four years ago and she too went past her due date and then struggled over a weekend to give birth to her kittens. Three kittens died and my vet ended up performing a C-section on the following Monday morning in effort to save the last kitten. By that time my female was beyond exhausted and I almost lost her.
I don't think this is the same case.. our vet said specifically to not worry as long as she's not in distress... and she's not in distress.. we don't even know if she's past date.. it's all best guess, because no one knows specifically when she got pregnant.. when we adopted her April 4th they said they thought she was 2 or 3 weeks along..
 

Sarthur2

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The mucus plug can be lost early and the pregnancy continue. In cats there are two horns in the uterus with kittens in each horn. Each kitten is in its own sac of waters which usually breaks in the birth canal. This is why a kitten should not stay too long in the canal without being delivered. They need to come out and begin breathing. If not they suffocate. So, the water that broke with the first kitten does not affect the other kittens.
 

jefferd18

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I don't think this is the same case.. our vet said specifically to not worry as long as she's not in distress... and she's not in distress.. we don't even know if she's past date.. it's all best guess, because no one knows specifically when she got pregnant.. when we adopted her April 4th they said they thought she was 2 or 3 weeks along..

Good Luck and please post pics of the little ones.
 
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