Help....afterbirth still attached

sweetnsassy36

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Apr 5, 2007
Messages
96
Purraise
1
Location
Kentucky
Hi. My cat just had 4 kittens and the last one still has the afterbirth attached. How long should I give her to take care of it or what do I need to do? Thanks for any help.
 

breellablue

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Apr 28, 2009
Messages
394
Purraise
1
Location
Syracuse, NY
Sometimes I find that showing the mother the afterbirth will entice her to cut the cord and eat it.

Keep us posted. As for how long to wait I have had kittens go a half hour to 45 minutes with it still attached and were fine.
 

GoldyCat

Moderator
Staff Member
Moderator
Joined
Jul 31, 2008
Messages
15,759
Purraise
4,676
Location
Arizona
How long has it been? When Goldy had her kittens I think I waited about an hour and a half before I cut the two cords that she didn't. She never did eat those placentas. Make sure you have really sharp scissors (you don't want something that's going to pull on the cord while you're trying to saw through it). Sterilize the scissors with boiling water or alcohol. The umbilical cord will already be clotted off so you don't need to worry about clamping it. Don't cut too close to the kitten's tummy. I would leave 3/4-1" of cord.

Good luck with your new babies.
Oh, and we want
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #4

sweetnsassy36

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Apr 5, 2007
Messages
96
Purraise
1
Location
Kentucky
Thank you both for getting back with me. She has had 2 more since my last post. We showed Gracie the placenta and she chewed briefly but quit. My husband will cut the cords as I am a nervous wreck!!!! Gracie is a tortie and she has 1 ginger baby that I think was born first because that one she cleaned up really good and nothing's still attached. After looking more, she is the only one whose cord was chewed. OH NOOOO another one....this makes 7. Oh my goodness oh my goodness.....breathe, breathe, breathe
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #5

sweetnsassy36

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Apr 5, 2007
Messages
96
Purraise
1
Location
Kentucky
Well, she seems to be finished thank goodness; I think 7 is plenty. Momma and babies are sleeping now; everyone is doing good. Thanks again for your help.
 

goldenkitty45

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 29, 2005
Messages
19,900
Purraise
44
Location
SW Minnesota
My one Rex queen would do everything regarding the birth except cut cords! I had to tie off every kitten and cut the cord and take the placenta and throw it away. She would do the rest - clean, nurse, etc.

This was every litter she had; she would wait till I was there to have the kittens because she didn't like that part - should have seen the look on her face like "please help - I won't want to chew that".
 

cutekittenkat

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 1, 2009
Messages
1,562
Purraise
3
Location
Canada
Aww, congrats!

7 is alot! If she hasn't cut the placenta now cut it yourself
What colours are they? If you have any pics, we'd love to see
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #8

sweetnsassy36

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Apr 5, 2007
Messages
96
Purraise
1
Location
Kentucky
Hello everyone. Well, Gracie and her 7 babies are doing great. She is such a good momma, I am so proud of her. As far as colors, we have one that is what I call a ginger color and 2 that are either calico or torties (mom is a tortie) and the other 4 are dark on top and with what looks like stripes on the bottom half (I don't know how to lable them correctly so I can just tell ya what they look like...LOL). I have taken some pics but the lighting isn't too hot so I am gonna wait for a few more days to make sure that the light doesn't hurt their eyes. My hubby ended up cutting off 5 of the 7 umbilical cords which he did a wonderful job. GoldenKitty45: That is funny; I can certainly understand not wanting to because it is some pretty nasty stuff
Again, I sincerely want to think everyone for helping me out on this one; you all rock!!!
 

GoldyCat

Moderator
Staff Member
Moderator
Joined
Jul 31, 2008
Messages
15,759
Purraise
4,676
Location
Arizona
They're eyes aren't open yet anyway, so I don't think you need to worry about the light bothering them. You could post the ones you got even if they aren't very good.
 

jenlag

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Feb 25, 2017
Messages
26
Purraise
1
Sometimes I find that showing the mother the afterbirth will entice her to cut the cord and eat it.

Keep us posted. As for how long to wait I have had kittens go a half hour to 45 minutes with it still attached and were fine.
Many years later, this response has helped!!  ** birthing right now***  I had to move the placenta with kitten up closer to her head, but she immediately started chewing on it.  Thanks!
 

TamsinM1511

TCS Member
Kitten
Joined
Aug 4, 2022
Messages
1
Purraise
3
Hello. I know this was posted a long time ago but just wanted to thank the OP. My cat has just had kittens and I was worried as hours later the placentas were still attached. This post really helped me. Thank you 😊
 
Top