My cat gave premature birth 4 days ago

About 2 weeks ago my husband brought home a young stray cat. I took her to the vet the very next day to be examined because she was very thin and we wanted to keep her. He said she was 4 months old and recommended we wait on shots until her fecal test and blood work came back, and I agreed. I noticed her nipples were swollen as well as her belly but never said anything and neither did the vet. He gave her dewormer and said to come back in a week. She was also treated for fleas and was given a medication wash for spot on treatment for a possible ringworm site on her hind leg.

She's been wonderful. Eating and drinking great. Purring and playing. Then I noticed she's been lazy and looking for places to hide. I started seeing spots of blood from her vaginal area so I called the vet and waited for a call back.

In the mean time Cleo, my cat, laid her self in a box I had in the kitchen that was going to go out with the trash. Just as the vet called back Cleo began grunting and pushing and out came a placenta first then a kitten. The vet was shocked. It wasn't the same vet who examined her previously. Cleo was a little confused and was licking both the placenta and the sac so I had to rip the sac open to help her but she took over. Something was wrong though, the kitten wasn't fully developed. The vet told me it might be her only kitten and just to keep an eye on her. That was at 12:15pm.

Hours passed and it seemed like she would contract and push then stop labor then repeat, so I called the vet and they said to bring her in. At 7:00pm I brought her in and they took an X-ray, they only did a side view(which they should've done a front view to view both horns of the uterus) and you could see a skull clearly and a spine in the distance. To me it looked like 2 kittens, but they said 1 was left. She also had a little temperature. They wanted to send me to an emergency clinic. That would've cost well over $2000. They decided to give her fluids and antibiotics after I flipped out on them because their vet didn't do a thorough exam to "notice" she was pregnant in the first place when I had her there a week and a half ago. He gave her dewormer which is toxic to pregnant cats which could've caused her to go into premature labor. She said Cleo was also over 6 months because she had her canine teeth already, not 4 months like the previous vet assumed. Mind you this is all at the same practice!

I took her home and just give her love and monitored her. She woke me close to 2am and decided it was go time again. At 2:40 she gave birth to another premature kitten. It's since been 4 days and she's been fine. She still leaking a little bit of blood but licking it and she still seems to try to find places to hide like she was before she was about to give birth before. I still have her nesting box just in case! My question though, can she still have kittens in there? It feels like there is movement and a bulge on one side of her uterus and she' still looks "full" just on that side. Her nipple are still lactating too. According to the premature kittens she delivered, they were 6.5 weeks along. If she is still pregnant could she carry this one full term?

Yes It's possible she could have another kitten in there.  I have heard of kittens giving birth days apart but am not sure about 3 weeks.  But it could be possible.

thank you for taking her in and watching over her.  She needs lots of food, wet kitten food is best if she is still pregnant.  Not only does she need it but also for the kitten to grow.

It does sound like she is still growing a kitten. And it also sounds like time to find another vet.

This is a sad story. I hope she delivers a full-term healthy kitten if there is one left. I wouldn't have anything done for a few weeks to make sure.

Thank you for caring for her.

Thanks for the advice! I'm able to be home with her almost all the time along with my kids for the rest of the summer so we've been keeping a watchful eye on her just in case anything should happen. If she is no longer pregnant when should the uterine bleeding and swelling subside? The vet didn't explain any of this to me or give me any information to take home about it. I feel so sad for my Cleo girl.

Oh, goodness! Is she still bleeding? How much?

It should slow to spotting whether she is still pregnant or not.

It sure sounds like something brought on premature labor. Shame on those vets!

If she's not still pregnant in a few weeks or goes into heat, it's time to have her spayed to avoid this ever happening again.

Please keep us updated. I hope everything will be okay for her!

She's not bleeding a lot. More like spotting. She licks most of it but there will be specks of blood on the chairs or carpet where she was laying.

I will definitely get her spayed if she is no longer pregnant, even though she will strictly be kept as an indoor cat. I don't want any accidents of her escaping looking for a Tom cat and I've heard horror stories of cats in heat destroying houses while they are in heat!

I'm not sure how to address the vet with my concerns, even though I've already flipped out in anger, for how they've treated my Cleo, especially since she was a new patient there. I feel like they are at fault for what happened here and I'm really sad for her. It's honestly not about the money because the night I brought her in after she gave birth they only charged me $110. The first day I brought her in it was only $160. She still has to get her shots but they are only $15 each. So it's not money I care about, it's the happiness of my Cleo. We've only had her for 2 weeks but fell so much in love with her. My children just adore her. She is such a loving kitty and can't imagine why anyone would just dump her? Here's a picture of her after she had the first kitten.

She's very pretty!

If you really want to know, you could see a different vet's office and have an ultrasound done to see what's left in her uterus. It would put an end to the speculation, and make sure if there is a kitten or perhaps tissue left.

If there is a kitten still growing, then you know. Otherwise, if there is tissue left that may be causing the spotting, you might want to schedule her spay.

Has her milk come in at all?

So I took Cleo back to the vet yesterday. I posted her whole story on Facebook because this vet should be ashamed of themselves. I feel in my heart as though they as lying to me. This will be a long post but here is her story:

This will be long!....Cleo is no longer pregnant, according to the vet. So the two premature kittens she lost last week was all she had. They know this because they palpated her uterus, just like they did the first time when they didn't even know she was pregnant to begin with. Yes she was far enough along that it should've been felt but Dr. G. said he "thought it was just poop" and failed to notice her nipples pinked up as well. I also brought a stool sample with me that day which takes 15 minutes to run and look under a microscope to check for worms (I know because I used to work at a vet). He decided to just give her dewormer anyway, and told me they'd call me the next day with those results. They also believed she had ringworm and took a sample and gave me a wash to clean it with until the results came back in about 7-10 days.

I never got a phone call back. I was told to bring her back the next week for her vaccinations and I had every intention on doing so, then she started acting strange and trying to hide in closets and tight places. Meowing and following me everywhere. Then came the spotting blood all over the house. I called the vet to let them know and the receptionist said a vet would call back. When the vet called back Cleo delivered the placenta (which did not look normal) then the kitten (which was 6 weeks along) at 12:15pm. They told me it could be her only kitten and to just keep an eye on her. I brought her back to the vet at 7pm after she was struggling to birth the second kitten then stopped labor all together. The first thing they said was "you should've brought her in sooner for a c-section/spay now we have to refer you to a 24 emergency vet for that." I had no idea I could've done that because they never told me on the phone when I spoke to them earlier.

I know cats can stop their labor If they feel stressed or if they aren't ready to deliver. They gave her antibiotics and fluids and sent us home. At 2:40am Cleo delivered a second kitten (another premature but 6.5 weeks along and further developed). Today, exactly 14 days after her initial vet visit I took her back. I wanted to see if she was okay after giving birth, since she is still spotting a bit, if she was still possibly pregnant, and to confront them.

I did give Cleo flea drops the day Joe brought her home and as a precaution I called the manufacturer before going to the vet to double check with them and have them point out in the leaflet to me that it is safe to use on pregnant and lactating cats just in case the vets were to say anything to me. When I confronted a female vet who works there (I don't know her name because she doesn't wear a badge) she said "the kittens were really young and not all dewormers cause preterm labor" I them asked her "what dewormer did he use then?" As Cleo's chart was sitting right in the counter, her and two techs leave the room to go debrief with Dr. G. About 5-7 minutes later he comes into the room and tells me he gave her Drontal which he said "is safe for pregnant cats and i even double checked."

I feel like I was lied to tremendously and they are certainly covering something up. He apologized for not realizing she was pregnant in the first place and that sometimes it can feel like poop if they aren't that far along. But here is what really concerns me...#1 I bring a stray cat in and you tell me she's about 4 months old, the woman vet told me she's over 6 months because she already has her canine teeth. #2 you give her dewormer without waiting for fecal results (or other test results to come back) #3 if you couldn't "feel" her kittens how could you not notice her nipples or belly? even I could tell something was off and posted on fb 2 days later asking people how to tell the difference between a pregnant cat or a cat in heat. She had no heat signs at all. #4 why was there a need for 3 people to exit the room and debrief with the other vet? Wouldn't her medications be listed in her chart that was sitting 2ft in front of you? #5 I bring back her in for giving birth and you take one X-ray, and you take a side view, it should have been a front view, because God forbid she did have more kittens or something wrong with her uterus a front view would've shown a clearer picture.

It just seems shady, for lack of a better word, and like they are trying to cover their own asses. She was obviously stray for who know how long but has survived on whatever she was eating. She carried the kittens up until 6.5 weeks along and all of her parasite(except the ringworm) and FIV/FELV tests came back negative. She was doing wonderfully until she got the dose of dewormer. Whether it was Drontal or not, I truly believe whatever that veterinarian gave her caused her to lose her babies, and it's a damn shame because she still continues to look for them. I'm the one who has to comfort her and my kids because they are heartbroken as well.
#Cleosroadtorecovery

And to add to the above, I also contacted a few other vets, including the local spca, and they all said it is not safe to give a pregnant cat dewormer. I also have the phone number for Drontal which I'm going to call today. All it says on the packing is to ask your veterinarian if it's safe to give while pregnant. Either way, he gave something to her without checking her well enough to know she was pregnant and without the results of her fecal coming back. She didn't even have worms. Not to mention she vomited the very next day and I wasn't sure why, now I know!

Sarthur2 yes she has been lactating since she gave birth to the first kitten.

I'm so sorry about all of this. I'm surprised you returned to that vet. It does sound like the vet tried to apologize for not detecting the pregnancy.

Do you plan to have Cleo spayed soon?

If Cleo has milk you can call rescues and offer for her to nurse orphans if they have any. She would probably accept them as her own. But you need to move on it. If not nursed on her milk will begin to slow and dry up.

I agree with Sarthur2.  Fostering would be good for Cleo.

Look for another vet as well.

Let us know if you get fosters. It would help everyone to feel better. There are usually lots of orphan kittens this time of year.

I do plan to have her spayed but they said it was best to wait 4 weeks after Cleo gave birth. They said they wanted to wait for her swelling to go down.

I think it's too late for her to nurse now. Her mammary glands are already shrinking and it's been a week since she had the first kitten. I thought about it, believe me, but she also hasn't been vaccinated yet due to everything that has happened!

But there is also another issue. When I first brought her to the vet they scanned her for a microchip and she actually has one. They gave me the phone number and the microchip number and said it was up to me to call. Because of the conditions Cleo is/was in and where my husband found her the vet and we believe she was intentionally dumped or let go. The vets all said she's in better hands now and believe me she sure is! Well now I feel obligated to take her to that vet. I'm afraid if I take her somewhere else they might take her away from our family. I never checked to see if the microchip was actually registered because it would break our hearts if indeed she is. I don't know what to do.

I want to thank all of you for helping Cleo and I get through this. All of your guidance and support had helped us in ways you wouldn't understand [emoji]10084[/emoji]️

I would ask to have the registration changed to your information. You own the cat now, regardless, and the contact name and number need to be up to date. Call the front desk at the vet and ask to get it updated. You are under no obligation to contact the previous owner. You can also take the cat to any vet you choose.

I'm surprised she was chipped and not spayed at the same time.

Let us know how all this works out!

I'd call the number. It is a definite possibility that she got lost and her owner misses her. It is also possible that the information is no longer valid. Wouldn't you feel better if you knew? If the number has been disconnected then she's yours. Imagine if she went missing and someone picked her up and ignored the chip with your information.

If you are worried someone will answer you can always make a call they can't trace. It just makes me sad thinking that if my cat got spooked and ran off and couldn't find his way back and someone picked him up, found out he had a chip, and refused to call me because they loved him, it would break my heart especially since I'd never know what happened. Just the other day a foster parent I know found a cat outside their work. He was clearly homeless. They took him to be scanned and they called the registered number. His owners had been missing him for a year.

Lost of cats get lost and the owners are looking for them.  I think you should call.