One kitten born so far but no placenta

sugarsandz

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Is it possible for her to pass the first placenta with the next kitten? I was gone for a minute but witnessed the kittens birth and didn't see one.
 
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sugarsandz

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Three kittens so far and only the third came out with the placenta
 
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sugarsandz

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four kittens, one placenta. I called the vet and she's going to call me back. Would they have to do surgery or do they give a shot or something?
 

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I suppose they can give her something giving extra contractions.  Possible surely some surgery through the vagina opening, esp now when it is still wider than usual.

It is very easy to miss a placenta, mom usually eats it immediately or very soon.

Good you had your eyes with you, and did phoned your vet. That would be my advice.

Good luck!
 
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sugarsandz

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I did get a hold of my vet and we think I missed the first one as she has been eating them when they are just coming out and I though she was just cleaning up. There are 6 kittens so far and I'm not sure but there might be one more, though the mama kitty is very relaxed now. I did witness 5 of the 6 placentas so I feel a lot better. I guess I thought that the kitten and placenta would come out at the same time but she cut the cord and delivered the placentas after a little rest.

Everyone is eating so far and she is sleeping. The first kitten born got cold but I got it warmed up and it's doing as well as the others now so that gives me peace of mind for now. I haven't weighed any of them yet, I'm waiting to see if she's finished first.

I do have a question to ask you since you are very knowledgeable! Do the kittens feed constantly or do they get their fill and nap in between? I just notice some of them look like they are sleeping and have detached from the nipples. They are warm and breathing, the ones meowing furiously look for nipples which is good!

My husband is on kitten watch, I need some rest, thanks for responding! :)
 

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They do nap in between, precisely like you observed. If they meow, they are usually hungry - as you see.  If they seem to have difficulties to find the nipples you must perhaps help them. Try to do it while the siblings are sleeping.

Good you were observant and did warmed the first one. Not seldom a seemingly weak one, even a still borne kitten, is basically just chilled.  After warming up and some massage, it may regain life and forces.

Try to weigh them as soon you can manage. Ideally it is done the first time immediately after the delivery of each one.   Unless mom is extremely disturbed, but they are seldom if you do it respectfully.

Do it near the nest, so mom sees what you do, she sees the kitten is near and is not complaing.

Do it quickly, at most half a minute apiece if you are slow. Easy done with an electronical scale measuring in grammes. You weigh and simultaneously have a quick look see.

Dont let her eat the last seventh placenta, if there comes one more kitten, it may be too much.

Unless she insists of course.   :)

Good luck!
 
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sugarsandz

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They do nap in between, precisely like you observed. If they meow, they are usually hungry - as you see.  If they seem to have difficulties to find the nipples you must perhaps help them. Try to do it while the siblings are sleeping.

Good you were observant and did warmed the first one. Not seldom a seemingly weak one, even a still borne kitten, is basically just chilled.  After warming up and some massage, it may regain life and forces.

Try to weigh them as soon you can manage. Ideally it is done the first time immediately after the delivery of each one.   Unless mom is extremely disturbed, but they are seldom if you do it respectfully.

Do it near the nest, so mom sees what you do, she sees the kitten is near and is not complaing.

Do it quickly, at most half a minute apiece if you are slow. Easy done with an electronical scale measuring in grammes. You weigh and simultaneously have a quick look see.

Dont let her eat the last seventh placenta, if there comes one more kitten, it may be too much.

Unless she insists of course.   :)

Good luck!
She seems to be done, she looks so much smaller now! I did get there weights just now as I was moving them into a back up nesting box with the mom so I could clean the one she birthed in.

the weights are as follows

Kitten 1.    124grams

kitten 2.     118grams

Kitten 3.     117grams

Kitten 4.     111grams

Kitten 5.     116grams

Kitten 6.     123grams
 
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sugarsandz

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Those are some great weights for a pretty big litter!
I know! I was surprised at them, it makes me feel a bit better though knowing they started off a little bigger.
 
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sugarsandz

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I noticed today when I brought mama kitty soft food and checked on the babies that when she stood up there was a dime sized spot of blood on the floor, is that normal? She isn't bleeding a lot, it's just in her fur and there isn't hardly any in the nesting box. It just startled me. I assume that like humans they bleed a little while after delivery, and her kittens were big so I'm sure that contributed.

Am I getting worked up over something natural? I did see that people said it is normal but I need to hear it from someone in the present not on yahoo answers lol. The kittens are looking good today, I'll weigh them tonight when I change the bedding as it will be around the same time as yesterday.
 

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If it is not worse than you saw, it is not much - even if it were real blood.  Some redcoloured discharges are common and OK, but we dont want to see living blood.

If only a dime it must have stopped by itself, so...

Good you are observant, proceed so!

Good luck!
 
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sugarsandz

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If it is not worse than you saw, it is not much - even if it were real blood.  Some redcoloured discharges are common and OK, but we dont want to see living blood.

If only a dime it must have stopped by itself, so...

Good you are observant, proceed so!

Good luck!
I'm sorry I have two more questions though.

1) all of the kittens are gaining weight the smallest amount gained was 6 grams the most was 27 grams is 6 grams to little?

2) I'm not seeing a lot of poop on the bedding but I see the mom cleaning them, should this cause alarm? Do I need to stimulate them?
 

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As long as they gained, that was fine. In the first day they sometimes don't gain as much . They have to learn how to nurse, plus the colostrum has fewer calories than the milk will have later.

Generally you do want to see them gain at least 10 grams a day especially after the first day or two. It's even better to average 15 grams a day.
But there can sometimes be a day that a kitten gains less some day. It's not really a big deal IMO for one day, because it will tend to average out fine.

But if that kitten keeps gaining only a low amount, I would watch and make sure to put that kitten on to nurse often, and try to put them on the back nipples ( nearest the back legs) which are usually the "best" with the most milk.
& make sure they are warm since they can't digest their food without it. Temperature where the kittens are needs to be in the 80s F. right now.

If you start seeing weight LOSS , then that is a concern.

PS. I don't know the birthweights but a kitten with a lower birth weight to start with , will usually gain more slowly at first.
 
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StefanZ

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I'm sorry I have two more questions though.

1) all of the kittens are gaining weight the smallest amount gained was 6 grams the most was 27 grams is 6 grams to little?

2) I'm not seeing a lot of poop on the bedding but I see the mom cleaning them, should this cause alarm? Do I need to stimulate them?
Mom is cleaning and eating it up!  So owners of moms with kittens seldom see the poop...

It is something only for caretakers of orphans to see daily.   :)

BUT  as you do seem to see some poop in the bedding, it means also you must change the bedding, not just now and then, but every day.  Cat moms dont like their nest becoming smelly, it is one of the reasons they begin to move babies and nest place.

For your question 1),  Maew gave an excellent answer. So 6 g is OK for first day.   Continue to supervise, of course.

Good luck!
 
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sugarsandz

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I just wanted to say thank you to all of you that are giving me advice and answering my questions! This was never a situation I'd thought I'd be in so it is nice to have people that are willing to help.

I will keep a close eye on their weights, the one that weighed the least yesterday is in the middle now so that's comforting. As far as temperature goes, they are in our basement and the floor is concrete. I have the family in two big dog crates attached, they are in a container I bought for the birth and it has fleece blankets in it. I also have the nesting box on a thick folded blanket so it's a few inches from the floor and between the nesting box and blanket there is a heating pad wrapped in a towel so it doesn't get to hot. The pad is only under part of the nest.

StefanZ, I am changing the bedding once a day, I do it when I go to weigh them so I don't have to disturb them much because when I'm down there the mom wants to be around me and leaves the nest. I let her out a few times to eat and get loved on. She has hard food 24/7 right now and gets soft a few times a day.

She's peed a few times but I haven't seen her poop yet, though she pooped a lot before the birth and maybe just isn't back to normal yet as it hasn't even been 24 hours. I'll keep an eye on her, also she had barely any blood when I checked on her earlier so that is good.

Again thanks to you guys for making this easier on the kitties and I!
 

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Congrats on the new babies!  I wish my kitty would get on with it!!  LOL  I will be watching this thread to see how they are progressing!  Can't wait for pictures!
 
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sugarsandz

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Congrats on the new babies!  I wish my kitty would get on with it!!  LOL  I will be watching this thread to see how they are progressing!  Can't wait for pictures!
Thanks so much! It was a stressful experience as she jumped every time one popped out and I didn't want them to go flying. She did pretty well except she didn't chew off the cords and didn't lick them membrane off of one, I'm glad I was there to assist as best I could. I'm still stressed because I've never done this but so far things are okay. I'm so tired but I can't sleep because I'm worried about her and the kittens, I get anxious really easily as is lol.

I wish you and yours well, I bet she'll be a good mommy! Keep us updated, I go back to see if she's had them on your thread :)  Best of luck!
 
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sugarsandz

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As long as they gained, that was fine. In the first day they sometimes don't gain as much . They have to learn how to nurse, plus the colostrum has fewer calories than the milk will have later.

Generally you do want to see them gain at least 10 grams a day especially after the first day or two. It's even better to average 15 grams a day.
But there can sometimes be a day that a kitten gains less some day. It's not really a big deal IMO for one day, because it will tend to average out fine.

But if that kitten keeps gaining only a low amount, I would watch and make sure to put that kitten on to nurse often, and try to put them on the back nipples ( nearest the back legs) which are usually the "best" with the most milk.
& make sure they are warm since they can't digest their food without it. Temperature where the kittens are needs to be in the 80s F. right now.

If you start seeing weight LOSS , then that is a concern.

PS. I don't know the birthweights but a kitten with a lower birth weight to start with , will usually gain more slowly at first.
Yesterday one of the kittens who gained 6g gained 7g the next day and today it gained 17g so I feel much better. I think the smallest gain today was 14g and the biggest was 20g. I have kmr just in case but they all seem to be doing well now, there really isn't one that is noticeably smaller than the others. The one that was gaining so little that gained 17g today is the smallest weighing in at 146g, hopefully it will catch up to the others. The biggest which has always been the biggest is now 183g lol.
 
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