Possible Pregnant Cat Issue

[CatLady720]

I don't know if this is the right place to post this, so sorry if it isn't. I only made an account to make this post because I'm concerned about our pregnant cat. She may be having some issues, not entirely sure. Not to say I'm super experienced or anything, but I've dealt with about three litters before this and I've never seen this before.
I believe her water broke, that was night before yesterday. At around ten tonight, it will have been two days since her water broke. She seems to be bleeding back there, and she does groom occasionally, but isn't doing the best job of keeping herself completely clean. She doesn't appear to be in labor, she isn't having any contractions and doesn't appear to think anything is wrong. We have some relaxing music on for her, and she has just been lying in her nest, knitting and purring. She comes out occasionally for attention or to get some water before going back in. She doesn't seem to be uncomfortable at all, and if it weren't for the bloody discharge, I wouldn't think anything was wrong.
The kittens are visibly squirming like crazy and have been since her water broke, so I know they're still alive (or some of them, anyway) and that she must be close to having them. I have no idea when she got knocked-up because it was completely by accident, I am not a breeder. We've made multiple attempts to get her fixed, but the vets around here are constantly booked. I just noticed her belly getting particularly swollen and figured she must be pregnant, so we started caring for her as such.
I don't know if this is normal, or if she's going to be ok, or what. We can't get her to a vet because we have no money and the next paycheck is taking its sweet, sweet, SWEET time to show up. As I said, she's having no contractions and isn't straining at all, so I don't think there's a kitten stuck in the birth canal or anything like that. She doesn't appear to be in any pain at all and seems completely comfortable. I'm used to just caring for the cat and helping her out until she wanders off to her nest and has kittens, so I don't know what's going on. I don't know if I should be concerned, because she doesn't seem to be at all.

 

[Sarthur2]

Oh dear! How much blood is there? Is it bright red or pinkish? Is she full term?

C CatLady720

 

[CatLady720]

Oh dear! How much blood is there? Is it bright red or pinkish? Is she full term?

C CatLady720

Not tons of blood or anything, but she seems to be consistently bleeding. It started out kinda brownish-pink when her water first broke, now it's pretty deep red as if it's straight blood and not watered-down blood. It is more pink in areas but that's probably just because she's a pure white cat. I'm guessing she's full term or extremely close, since the kittens are visibly very squirmy and they seem to have dropped to her lower belly. She's still fine (aside from the blood obviously), she came out to eat and is still out now, grooming herself. She has no trouble walking (aside from a slight waddle lol) and isn't at all lethargic, she purrs and makes the little trill noise when I talk to her. I don't know if she's miscarried one of the kittens or something, I have no experience with any kind of miscarriage on any animal so I don't know what that would look like.

 

[CatLady720]

Not tons of blood or anything, but she seems to be consistently bleeding. It started out kinda brownish-pink when her water first broke, now it's pretty deep red as if it's straight blood and not watered-down blood. It is more pink in areas but that's probably just because she's a pure white cat. I'm guessing she's full term or extremely close, since the kittens are visibly very squirmy and they seem to have dropped to her lower belly. She's still fine (aside from the blood obviously), she came out to eat and is still out now, grooming herself. She has no trouble walking (aside from a slight waddle lol) and isn't at all lethargic, she purrs and makes the little trill noise when I talk to her. I don't know if she's miscarried one of the kittens or something, I have no experience with any kind of miscarriage on any animal so I don't know what that would look like.

Sorry, it *WAS deep red last night. It's more brown-pink again now, she seems to be doing better with keeping herself clean.

 

[Sarthur2]

It could be the miscarriage of a kitten, or one whose placenta detached in utero and is causing the bleeding. That kitten would not be born alive most likely.

Has the blood flow lessened? Is it just drops, or large amounts non-stop? A hemorrhage would be an emergency.

If she’s not in labor soon she may need a C-section. Honestly, she should really see a vet now to get checked. Please call around and try to find a vet who might take payments, or apply for a Care Credit card. The situation worries me, and you need to be prepared. Waiting too long if she doesn’t go into labor can cause the kittens to die.

 

[CatLady720]

The blood flow seems to have lessened greatly. It's not enough to physically drip, she's not leaving droplets or a trail around or anything. Just some light brown-pink color in the fur under her tail.
I will speak with my mother about this, hopefully we can figure something out and get her to a vet before something bad happens. We certainly don't want to lose her or the kittens.

 

[Sarthur2]

Please keep us posted!

 

[CatLady720]

I will, hopefully everything turns out all right. Even if we lose the kittens, I just don't want to lose the mother more than anything. I've had her for about three years and I love her to bits, she's just such a little sweetheart.
Thank you for the help

 

[Sarthur2]

An x-ray would show if the kittens are ready to be born, and if she’s not in labor a vet can give her a shot of oxytocin to stimulate contractions. If that doesn’t work and she’s struggling, it’s c-section time.

It is possible that just the water sac from one kitten broke, and she’ll go into labor and deliver the others just fine, but I wouldn’t wait to see a vet. If a kitten is stuck in a breech position that can be a problem also. The bleeding is just very concerning. You said she was purring so she may be in stage one labor and purring through the pain, but if she has dystocia she’ll have trouble delivering.

 

[CatLady720]

She's crawled back into her nest and looks like she's having contractions. I'm going to leave her alone for the most part, but will check on her routinely to make sure all is well. Hopefully this is it and she'll have those kittens.

 

[Sarthur2]

I hope so!

 

[Sarthur2]

How are things this morning?

 

[CatLady720]

Ok, final update (I think).
She had gone into labor and was having contractions, but there was an issue with a kitten stuck in the birth canal. We were able to borrow money from a friend and get her to a vet, they removed the deceased kitten and gave her a shot of oxytocin. She was doing much better after that, but had only one kitten after we got home and it was stillborn.
Nevertheless, she is doing very well. Much perkier and happier than she was last night, and she isn't too plump to groom herself anymore lol. I'm just so glad she's doing all right, I was very worried about her last night. I was starting to think she wouldn't make it, especially since we live about an hour from town and it was a vet we were unfamiliar with, so we struggled to find it for a bit.
Thanks so much for the help

 

[Sarthur2]

I’m so sorry she lost both of her kittens, but relieved that mom is okay. I had a feeling there would be at least one deceased, and that she would need vet help.

You can call area shelters to see if there are any orphan kittens who need a mom since your cat’s milk will come in. You’d be just fostering. Otherwise, once her milk dries up in about 2 weeks, please get her spayed and don’t let her out in the meantime.

Thank you for the update and we’re here if you need us!

 

[CatLady720]

We will be getting her spayed ASAP and will keep a close eye on her in the meantime, don't worry