Interrupted labor?

Hi, all. My newest rescued kitty just gave birth to one kitten 12 hours ago. She nearly had it in the middle of the room, but just made it to the nesting box with the kitten dangling out. I'm positive she has more kittens inside (she's still huge around the middle), but she shows no sign of it at all, no straining, panting, crying, or anything. She seems perfectly happy (although she's a bit forgetful, and liable to randomly leave her kitten to get on my lap, but she's young and needy, and this is probably her first litter). She's eaten two cans of cat food since giving birth, had some water, and I'm going to make some kitten glop later for added nutrition. The kitten is healthy and active, nurses and sleeps regularly, and is cute as anything.

Anyway, my question is, is this long period between kittens normal? I've read on various places online that cats sometimes have "interrupted labor", and can go as long as 36 hours between kittens. I've also read that mating with different toms over the course of a few days can cause this. As I don't know her history, I can't say for sure. I live on a fixed income, and don't have much money for a vet visit, but I will take her if the need arises.

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer. I'm trying not to worry too much, but it's hard.

Can you feel kittens moving? If you palpate her abdomen on the side, you should be able to feel them and their movement.

A singleton isn't unheard of..especially in first pregnancies. She may just be overweight.. I had a momma once that I was convinced was going to have 8 kittens and ended up having 2! She was just a "good little eater" . I've had several momma's have interrupted labour. One had three kittens and then 3 days later had the fourth! She was a first time mom that was so exhausted after the three, I think she decided to wait.

My current mom took 13 hours to deliver 5 babies, having a break of 5 hours at one point.

As long as she's eating and seems happy and healthy...I wouldn't worry too much.
 

Absolutely normal, I've had fosters give birth more than 24 hours after the first kitten. If she isn't distressed, crying or pushing/contracting with no results, I wouldn't worry. Good luck!
 

Yes, it is exactly as you say. They can deliver many hours apart, even days. By different reasons. In rare cases even several weeks apart (two different litters borne simultaneously).

The key when to worry and phone vet, when to take it more easy although watchful, is,

if she is pleased, contend, not stressed, takes care of her already born, you can wait and see.

If she is distressed, phone the vet, and be prepared to rush in.

If you want, you CAN phone your vet even if she seems OK and relaxed. Many including our mods would surely say it it the safest. But the forumites who did phoned do usually get the vet advice to wait as long as she seems to be just fine.

Although, to be honest, at least one emergency vet I heard about advised and did immediate cesarean.

Good luck!

Ahhh, thank you all. I knew I could count on this forum. You all are so great!

Levi68, I tried gently feeling her stomach area, and I'm pretty sure I felt movement, but she's a bit squirmy, so I'm not sure. But she's so bulbous, it's hard to imagine it could be just fat.

Kailie, thank you so much for the warm wishes! ^_^

StefanZ, she doesn't seem distressed at all, she is very calm and happy. The only issue I have is her wandering off toward me (or the food), and leaving the kitten alone. But if I remind her to go back, she does so without fuss, and curls up around it to nurse.

Anyway, I'll keep watching, and if there's any change, I'll let you all know. Thanks so VERY much.

She just had two more kittens, not 15 minutes ago. Judging from how her demeanor changed so rapidly after the third one, I'm going to guess this is all of them. It seems she finally figured out this whole "mother" business, because she's nursing them and cleaning them, and generally being very attentive. They're all so beautiful, two black (like their mother), one black-and-white. Of course she had them in the middle of the bathroom floor, but I'm not going to move them until everything's calmed down, and they're finished nursing. 

I'm so happy I could cry. ^_^

Aww congrats!!

BellesMama, thank you! It turns out I didn't look too carefully at the last little baby, but it seems he has no tail! And I thought they couldn't get any cuter.

She must have some manx in her somewhere! My manx (shes tailless to begin with so we knew she'd have possibly tailless cats) had a litter of 6. 1 with a full tail, 2 with a half tail (i thought only 1 tail but i relooked earlier), 2 with nubs, & 1 without a tail at all. They are awesome cats!!!

Good luck & btw they are BEAUTIFUL!!! Love the black & white!!!

clytie said:

BellesMama, thank you! It turns out I didn't look too carefully at the last little baby, but it seems he has no tail! And I thought they couldn't get any cuter.

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ajbkm, thank you! The other two have normal-looking tails, although one seems to have a tiny kink in the base.

I hear there's a thing called Manx Syndrome, which is kind of a fuzzy term. Three places online have three different definitions: it affects the cat's mobility, it affects the colon, or it doesn't actually exist at all. So confusing. But is this something I need to worry about? He has absolutely no tail at all, which is supposedly the type most likely to suffer from it, but his back legs are acting normal, and he doesn't seem to have any problems finding his way around.

I'm such a worrier. 

Being tail-less and having some genuine pedigree Manx in a cat's background are two completely different things. 

Like several other breeds, the Manx was developed from cats which had a genetic mutation, and that mutation arose naturally, and probably more than once.  When you have a limited natural popultion (the Isle of Man isn't big) then non-leathal mutations can become more common due to inbreeding.  There are also several other breeds which have a non-normal tail - Pixie-bob is one.

Hope your kittens grow well.  If mother cat will let you, weigh them every day at about the same time on scales reading to 1g.  If you are in the US, Google says that 1 gram = 0.0352739619 ounces.  They should gain 10g or more each day, though there will be the odd day of less gain.

OrientalSlave, that's a good idea. I don't have a small scale, but I'll see if I can buy one somewhere. The mother's very accommodating and sweet, and doesn't mind me handling the kittens at all. It's pretty amazing, considering that when I first brought her home she scaled the walls trying to get away from me.

My cats doing same thing its hard to believe this is it there has to be one more she started at 11am its 8:03pm
[quote name="clytie" shes calm happy loving all over her babe doesnt wanna leave it idk seems odd any advice

url="/t/244063/interrupted-labor#post_3202004"]Hi, all. My newest rescued kitty just gave birth to one kitten 12 hours ago. She nearly had it in the middle of the room, but just made it to the nesting box with the kitten dangling out. I'm positive she has more kittens inside (she's still huge around the middle), but she shows no sign of it at all, no straining, panting, crying, or anything. She seems perfectly happy (although she's a bit forgetful, and liable to randomly leave her kitten to get on my lap, but she's young and needy, and this is probably her first litter). She's eaten two cans of cat food since giving birth, had some water, and I'm going to make some kitten glop later for added nutrition. The kitten is healthy and active, nurses and sleeps regularly, and is cute as anything.

Anyway, my question is, is this long period between kittens normal? I've read on various places online that cats sometimes have "interrupted labor", and can go as long as 36 hours between kittens. I've also read that mating with different toms over the course of a few days can cause this. As I don't know her history, I can't say for sure. I live on a fixed income, and don't have much money for a vet visit, but I will take her if the need arises.

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer. I'm trying not to worry too much, but it's hard.
[/quote]

clytie said:

Hi, all. My newest rescued kitty just gave birth to one kitten 12 hours ago. She nearly had it in the middle of the room, but just made it to the nesting box with the kitten dangling out. I'm positive she has more kittens inside (she's still huge around the middle), but she shows no sign of it at all, no straining, panting, crying, or anything. She seems perfectly happy (although she's a bit forgetful, and liable to randomly leave her kitten to get on my lap, but she's young and needy, and this is probably her first litter). She's eaten two cans of cat food since giving birth, had some water, and I'm going to make some kitten glop later for added nutrition. The kitten is healthy and active, nurses and sleeps regularly, and is cute as anything.

Anyway, my question is, is this long period between kittens normal? I've read on various places online that cats sometimes have "interrupted labor", and can go as long as 36 hours between kittens. I've also read that mating with different toms over the course of a few days can cause this. As I don't know her history, I can't say for sure. I live on a fixed income, and don't have much money for a vet visit, but I will take her if the need arises.

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer. I'm trying not to worry too much, but it's hard.

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