Need Advice On Labor!

I'm new to this site. My cat went into labor at 11:30am last night (Wednesday 7/26/2016). She had her first kitten 2 hours later at 1:30am. It is now 8:00 am and it's been 6 1/2 hours and she hasn't delivered any more kittens. She has gotten up and walked to her water bowl and drank several times. She has even eaten twice since the first kitten was born. She is still showing signs of being in labor but she doesn't seem to be in any distress. She breaths hard and whines a little, and her stomach gets really hard when she has a contraction, or at least it looks like contractions. Like I said, she doesn't seem to be in any more distress than she was before the first kitten was born. She has even took a couple of short naps. This is my first time delivering kittens and I am just wondering if these circumstances are unusual or normal. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thank You!

davidoflogan

Welcome to TCS! [emoji]128522[/emoji]

Is the first kitten nursing well?

It is normal for there to be breaks in labor of hours, and sometimes days, depending on how many times and when mom mated during the heat cycle.

As long as mom is not in distress, or pushing for an hour with no success, she should be fine. If she begins to have problems you'll need a vet.

Keep us posted!

Yes. The first kitten seems to be doing great. It has already nursed several times. The mommy doesn't seem to be in distress. She is eating and drinking and walking around the house. She is panting almost constantly but doesn't seem to be hurting a lot. She will whine a few minutes, and then stop for a few minutes, repeat.

It does sound as though she is in active labor. Hopefully she will have another kitten before long. Let us know how mom is doing with this.

I'm glad the first kitten is doing well!

Thank you so much. Still no change so far. I will keep you posted.

We just got home from the vet. They did x-rays and she didn't have anymore kittens inside her! So we have just 1 little kitty! The vet said that the reason she was panting and whining a little was probably just her reacting to the pain she still had from the delivery. They kept an eye on her for almost 4 hours. They said after about 2 hours she stopped panting and started to act like a normal mommy! Mommy and her little one are laying in their bed beside me and they are both fast asleep! [emoji]9786[/emoji][emoji]9786[/emoji][emoji]128512[/emoji][emoji]128512[/emoji][emoji]128512[/emoji][emoji]9786[/emoji][emoji]9786[/emoji]

Good to hear that all is well! Congrats on healthy mama and baby [emoji]128149[/emoji]

Thank You! Sorry, this is the best pic I have of them yet. I will take and post more pics after they spend some alone time together. Thanks again for the advice and well wishes!

Mom and baby will probably be very bonded! Will you be keeping the kitten?

Wonderful! [emoji]128077[/emoji]

Glad you went to the vet. It answers that question, and we know that mom was just having after-birthing pains.

We'll look forward to more pictures in the coming days! [emoji]128522[/emoji]

This was my first time actually delivering a baby. I have 3 daughters and I watched, but the doc and my ex wife did most of the work when they were born! lol My first delivery, definitely keeping it!

That's great! Mom and baby will be very bonded too!

Good work!

Are you able to keep mom inside and away from intact males until the baby is weaned? She can get pregnant again much sooner than you'd think.

Yes. She is staying inside until we can get her fixed.

DavidOfLogan said:

Yes. She is staying inside until we can get her fixed.

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She can be spayed when her kitten is 8 weeks old.

How are they doing today?

So glad to hear you are keeping the kitten as well.  I am assuming Mom is yours too.  Glad no more outside for mom, too!!

Both mommy and baby are doing good today. Mommy is still in a little pain but nothing serious. A nice belly rub usually does the trick.

We found the mommy outside a local High School. They were going to call the pound, to come and pick her up. We don't have any shelters in our area and the pound only keeps the animals a couple of days before they euthanize them. When my daughter told me the school called the pound, I told her to get the cat and we brought her home, added her to our little family, and named her Chloe. She was only about 3 months old when we found her and we have had her for about 5 month, so she is a young mommy. We already had a dog, Sammy, and I was worried they might not get along but they are the best of friends. We introduced the baby to our dog today. Was worried that mommy might not like the dog getting close to her baby but mommy didn't react in any way. Mommy has even let our dog lie down beside them and check out the baby. We are going to keep cats and dog separated for now, except for a short visit now and then.