My stray momma cat delivered 1 healthy kitten 3 days ago, so far no more

Hello,

I am new to this site and very grateful for all the information here. My husband and I are great cat lovers and we have 4 cats who were feral strays. They have been with us for about 2 years and I fed them for a year before they trusted me. We were quite content with our 4, but while we were taking a walk in our new neighborhood a few weeks ago, a very distressed kitty tried desperately to get our attention. We knew something was wrong and by looking at her I could tell that she was severely malnourished and pregnant. We tried to find the kitty's people, but someone who lives on that street said that the kitty was one of about 20 who were just let loose on this street by a cat hoarder who was ordered to surrender them to the animal control officer. Sad story, and we knew that we would help her. We kept her and took her to our vet who said that she would deliver in about 2 weeks. Well, this past Tuesday, the 23rd, she went into labor and delivered a very healthy kitten who she is nursing and caring for very well. the vet said there were at least 2 or more kittens, so we waited for the others to be delievered. Today is the 26th and they are still not here. My husband got Oxytocin from our vet yesterday, and after he injected it, no labor. Pepper, the momma kitty, is completely normal. She is eating and using her little box. She is feeding her kitten and is in no distress. She has no signs of infection and doesn't seem to be having any trouble. She has had some bloody mucus discharge, but that's all. The kittens are still kicking and are now quite low. Our vet wants us to give it the weekend and bring her in on Monday if she still hasn't delivered. My question is: Is this normal at all? I have read on this site that it's not unheard of for momma cats to deliver over the course of a few days, but I am still concerned. Any thoughts or advice would be very helpful. Thank you, Jennifer

The cat could have gone into inturupted labor, which last for about 24-48 hours, then has the rest of the kittens, or she could be big boned, either way, most of the time it's normal

Yes, it is normal. I would wait the weekend for sure. I would actually have the vet do an X-ray before further inducing any labor. The cat is acting normally, and will likely go into labor on her own and deliver healthy kittens. The rule of thumb is, if she's not in distress to leave her be. She obviously conceived at two different times. You wouldn't want the rest of the litter to be premature and not survive. The x-ray will show how developed the kittens are. So very kind of you to take this poor kitty into your care!

UPDATE: No more kittens yet. Pepper is acting normally, babies are kicking and she is eating normally. She is starting to pace more and follow us around all the time, which is a lot like she was doing before the first kitty was born last week. The kitten born last week is nursing and growing well. My husband is waiting for direction from our vet, but my inclination is to let things progress naturally. Does anyone else thing this is a good idea?

Absolutely! Please let nature take its course. Vet intervention is not necessary right now. She will have them when they are ready to be born. Tell hubby to relax!

Jcoxwell said:

 
UPDATE: No more kittens yet. Pepper is acting normally, babies are kicking and she is eating normally. She is starting to pace more and follow us around all the time, which is a lot like she was doing before the first kitty was born last week. The kitten born last week is nursing and growing well. My husband is waiting for direction from our vet, but my inclination is to let things progress naturally. Does anyone else thing this is a good idea?

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I think I will second SArthur.  Touchy of course, and depends on how experienced obstetrician the vet is.

But cats manage a too long pregnancy better than too early delivery,  and thus,  comparing the two risks against each other,  its less risky to wait -  IF the mom is well, no troubles, etc...

With humans we dont need to think twice, as an early delivery in practice isnt dangerous, so if you in any doubt, you just make the cesarean or equivalent.

Also, the fact the first dose of oxytocin didnt induced renewed labor, hints she wasnt at all ready to deliver the secong portion of kittens.  They werent ready as yet.

Thank you for your replies! I feel much better. Our vet agreed that we should let nature take it's course. Of course if anything changes and she is in distress, we will take her right in.

Very good decision! Let us know when she has her next kittens!

UPDATE: Well, no more kittens. Pepper is quite slim and shows no signs of having any more kittens. Her one kitten is huge and growing strong. We want to take her to our vet to make sure there are no others in there! I do have a question about her behavior though: Since yesterday, she is VERY vocal, rolling around and acting almost like a cat in heat! Is that even possible? She seems so unsettled, but not in any distress. We are keeping her inside until she is spayed and our other cats are all neutered, so there is no danger of any 'accidents', but we are perplexed. Any thoughts?

Thanks! Paul and Jennifer

I hate to give you the bad news, but she is likely heading into a heat cycle that will last a good week and make everyone miserable. Cats frequently go into heat shortly after giving birth and conceive yet again. Lactating does not put fertility on hold.

Glad you plan to spay her and keep her inside for now. Awesome that her kitten is doing so well. Both she and the kitten can be spayed/neutered when the kitten is 8 weeks old, or two pounds.

Thank you for the update!

sarthur2 said:

I hate to give you the bad news, but she is likely heading into a heat cycle that will last a good week and make everyone miserable. Cats frequently go into heat shortly after giving birth and conceive yet again. Lactating does not put fertility on hold.

Glad you plan to spay her and keep her inside for now. Awesome that her kitten is doing so well. Both she and the kitten can be spayed/neutered when the kitten is 8 weeks old, or two pounds.

Thank you for the update!

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Jcoxwell said:

 
UPDATE: Well, no more kittens. Pepper is quite slim and shows no signs of having any more kittens. Her one kitten is huge and growing strong. We want to take her to our vet to make sure there are no others in there! I do have a question about her behavior though: Since yesterday, she is VERY vocal, rolling around and acting almost like a cat in heat! Is that even possible? She seems so unsettled, but not in any distress. We are keeping her inside until she is spayed and our other cats are all neutered, so there is no danger of any 'accidents', but we are perplexed. Any thoughts?

Thanks! Paul and Jennifer

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Thank you for your replies! Actually, I am much relieved that it's heat rather than anything else. We've already decided to keep mama and her lovely baby and will spay/ neuter them both at 8 weeks. We will have to introduce them slowly to our 4, but I can read the forum here about how to do that. The only thing my husband and I thought about is that little kitten won't have a playmate to grow up with, and I might want to adopt an orphaned kitten to rear with him/ her. That would bring the total to 7 cats in our family, so please give me your opinion. Thank you!

Adopting an orphan kitten near the same age would be ideal! Mama kitty would accept it and nurse it and love it as her own! I say start calling shelters! Lovely of you to consider this!

I love that Idea!  You may wind up with more than one.