How to Tell When a Cat Is Done Giving Birth? Cat Pregnancy Aftercare

When a pregnant cat begins to show signs of labor, it’s time to prepare for the arrival of your new kitten!

Are you wondering how to tell when a cat is done giving birth? Or maybe you’re curious how to know if your cat needs a checkup. Here’s everything you need to know about cat health.

With so many cat births around, it’s hard to know when a cat is done giving birth. In this article, we’ll show you how to tell when your cat is done giving birth.

How to Tell When a Cat Is Done Giving Birth: 4 Signs to Check For

Is She Nursing Her Newborns?

After giving birth, a mother cat will often clean and milk her kittens for a short period of time. You would have known how much time she spends caring for her kittens if you had been watching her during her pregnancy.

When she’s finished having kittens, the mother cat’s attention will shift from giving birth to caring for her litter. Especially if the infant begins nursing from her when she is resting (having a litter is hard).

Check for Contractions

Although it may be difficult to detect contractions in a cat, it is important to do so since it indicates that she is still giving birth.

Put two fingers on her belly button and feel around lightly to locate them. What you’re experiencing is difficult to put into words. You’ll know if you can feel them, but if not, you can still rely on the other symptoms I’m going to provide.

Is She Still Straining?

Similar to the contractions I described above, if you observe your cat when she is in labor, you should be able to tell that she is exerting herself to deliver each of her kittens.

Your cat may have successfully delivered all of her babies if she has ceased struggling and is beginning to relax. However, it’s also feasible that she’s just enjoying a long vacation.

As long as he is content and experiencing no negative side effects, there is no reason to hurry things up.

Has Her Breathing Normalized?

You probably saw your cat breathing quickly in the late stages of pregnancy and during birth. While it might have varying effects on individual cats, rapid breathing or panting is a common symptom during delivery.

Her respiration has returned to normal following the delivery of her last kitten, which likely means it was her last litter.

You can tell if she’s completed having kittens by counting the number of babies in her stomach or by softly touching her belly.

The absence of food and water from four or five kittens is significant proof. However, the ‘feel test’ is not foolproof because of the kittens’ tiny size and the extra fluid in their bodies.

Number of Kittens

An easy but not entirely reliable approach to determine if your cat has finished giving birth.

Depending on the average size of her litters, you can estimate when she will have her last litter of kittens. Once the litter’s kittens have been counted, she can stop giving birth.

In certain cases, though, pet parents discover a litter of kittens that the doctor overlooked. The veterinarian could also give an inflated estimate of the kitten population.

Even if she is done giving birth, you might still anticipate additional kittens in this situation.

Counting kittens is more of a rough indicator that labor is over than anything else.

Contractions

She might consider the childbirth process over for the time being once the contractions have ceased. Your cat, like a human woman, will have contractions of the uterus to aid in the delivery of her kittens.

Putting your touch on her tummy or observing her belly might reveal whether or not she is experiencing contractions.

Like a laboring mother, you should be able to physically sense or observe the contractions. As contractions progress, the abdomen will tighten and then release.

Contraction in a cat is not usually obvious or palpable. Learning about them while she is in active labor is ideal. Later on, you may tell if the contractions are still happening by looking for them.

Feel the Abdomen for Kittens

If you push on your cat’s belly, you might be able to feel any unborn kittens. In the hands of a kitten, you will feel like a pliable mass. However, organs stay put in the body. Kittens are little, though, so it’s conceivable that you’ll miss one.

Behavioral Signs

There are indicators in a woman’s conduct that might tell you when she has ceased giving birth.

In the moments following the birth of her kitten, the mother will begin grooming and feeding the baby. The placenta, which follows the kitten shortly after birth, may also be consumed.

She’ll care for each newborn kitten individually before turning her attention back to reproducing. After she has finished having kittens, she goes back to caring for them.

She’ll be very careful with each kitten, giving it its own bath and letting it feed for as long as it needs.

After the procedure is over, she should feel relieved. She might take a sleep while cuddling one of her newborn kittens. She’ll be in a more relaxed state of rest than she would be throughout labor.

Stalled Labor

The most common cause of anxiety for cat owners is a delayed delivery. Your cat may start producing kittens, but she may decide to stop before she gives birth to all of her eggs.

All of these things signal that your cat has finished giving birth and that you may safely remove the birthing aids. This is a sign that she is done bearing kittens for the time being. It might also indicate that her labor has paused.

In most cases, this is quite normal. It’s her body’s natural method of pausing the action.

This gives her the chance to relax and tend to the kittens she has already given birth to. However, complications may emerge if a kitten becomes caught in the delivery canal and labor stalls.

Another form of delayed labor that is more serious also exists. It’s a veterinary emergency if your cat shows signs of being in labor but doesn’t give birth to kittens after 10 to 20 minutes of heavy labor.

The kitten’s life might be at danger if it becomes caught in the birth canal.

Post Partum Care

A vet checkup is the best way to confirm that your female cat has had her last litter of kittens. One week after giving birth, the mother cat and her kittens should go in for a checkup.

However, if you find any symptoms that she may have a retained kitten, you’ll want to bring her in sooner.

Stalled labor should resolve itself within 24 36 hours, and she should be able to birth the remaining kittens. It’s time to take her to the doctor if you suspect she still has kittens after 48 hours.

Retained Kitten or Placenta

After giving birth, the best indicator of your cat’s health is its demeanor. After giving birth, your cat may choose to keep the newborn kitten or the placenta.

If your kitten seems healthy and active after birth, you should not worry. Instead, she ought to be taking care of her kittens. She should eat within 24 to 48 hours following the delivery, and get up for restroom breaks.

All of them indicate that she is healthy and has successfully given birth to her litter of kittens. However, there are several symptoms that signal a possible danger.

It’s normal to experience a minimal amount of blood loss. However, if she continues to bleed heavily for more than 10 minutes, you should call 911. She will become sick if she has swallowed a kitten or her placenta and it stays there.

An illness usually manifests itself with symptoms like a high temperature and extreme fatigue. Because she is ill, she may not take care of her kittens. In the days following delivery, you may also have a brown or green discharge.

Additionally, many people experience a loss of appetite. Vet care is necessary if a kitten or placenta becomes stuck. She risks contracting a potentially deadly illness if she isn’t given prompt medical attention.

How long should a cat birth take?

Cats, and even individual kittens, can have widely varying labor times. There is, however, a general schedule for labor and delivery.

Many factors come into play, such as the size of the litter, whether or not she has given birth before, her health, her degree of stress, and her heredity.

Most cats give birth within 6 hours of entering the second stage of labor. However, your cat may need a few days to give birth to all of her babies.

First Stage of Labor

In this phase, labor has just started. The vagina and cervix loosen and soften when contractions begin. It’s unlikely that you’ll be able to notice the contractions, and your cat probably won’t be struggling too.

She may spend a great deal of time in the region where she intends to have her kittens. She could start clinging to you or being overly talkative.

About 24 hours before they give birth, most cats will stop eating. This period can last up to 36 hours, particularly in first time moms.

Second Stage of Labor

This is when your cat enters what we generally consider of as labor. The contractions get stronger and constant. It’s possible you can sense or see them right now.

The kittens’ amniotic sacs will burst as they make their way down the birth canal.

The mother will start to exert herself once the kitten is in the delivery canal. She gives birth to her kitten by pushing, just like a real mother would.

From 5-30 minutes may pass during this phase. The remainder of the kitten should come after one or two more contractions have occurred after the head has made its appearance.

3rd Stage of Labor

The third stage of labor is when the woman passes the placenta, or afterbirth, and fetal sacs. A dark green or black blob will appear. After giving birth, it is usual practice for mothers to consume the placenta as a nutritious meal.

The placentas she passes must be recorded. There should be one for each kitten she produces. A retained placenta might be the cause if there is none.

Cats normally have their third stage right after their second, although occasionally an additional kitten is born first. She will give birth to the kitten and then pass both placentas if she is expecting another kitten in a short amount of time.

When the third phase is finished, the procedure starts over from the second phase. Sometimes there will be a brief gap in the occurrence of births.

This gives her time to care for the kitten before giving birth to another. Usually, a birth occurs every 60 minutes.

Litter Size

The time it takes to give birth varies widely depending on the size of the litter. Once mom starts giving birth, each kitten typically arrives between 10 minutes and 1 hour later.

The typical cat litter has four babies. A female cat can have anything from one to a dozen young.

When to Worry

Despite the broad window in which births might occur, there are certain recommendations that can help you determine if you should be worried.

Your cat should have her kitten within 4 hours of entering the second stage of labor, when contractions become more visible. After 30 minutes of pushing and still no kitten, it’s time to contact the vet.

If you can see the kitten’s head, but it hasn’t been delivered after 10 minutes, this is also cause for concern.

You must also factor in the possibility of a pause or interruption in production. It’s called “interrupted labor” if your cat goes into labor but her contractions stop before she’s finished giving birth to all of her kittens.

Depending on the cause, this might last anywhere from one to three days. After 48 hours, you should visit your veterinarian.

Cat Pregnancy Aftercare

Given the aforementioned shifts in conduct, it is important to keep in mind the following. If you’re confident that your cat has finished giving birth, you may begin postnatal care.

First, make sure the queen and all the kittens are healthy and happy. Do not delay in calling the vet if the mother cat is still straining an hour or so after the final kitten has been born.

Unless absolutely necessary, please refrain from touching the newborn kittens. The bonding period begins as soon as a mother kitty comes into contact with her litter.

However, if the kittens haven’t begun nursing within an hour, you may need to assist them in locating their mother’s teats.

Remember that it takes 7-10 days for kittens to open their eyes, that they are deaf for at least the first 14 days, and that they must feel a little lost having just joined the world.

Therefore, any assistance is greatly appreciated. This is especially true if, as is likely, mother cat is weary and resting.

Mom cat has to start taking care of her babies now. Despite the fact that she’s a very weary mother and could spend a lot of time sleeping. But unless problems develop, you should mainly just observe.

Why does my cat still look pregnant after having kittens?

Despite the fact that they have already given birth, your cat still retains a pregnant appearance. Is it common for a cat’s tummy to stay distended after giving birth, or does this indicate that they are still pregnant?

Retained Kitten or Placenta

Stomach enlargement after delivery is typical in the vast majority of situations. But it’s conceivable that your cat is still expecting.

Until they deliver the kitten or placenta that was retained, the animal may appear to be pregnant. If infants develop drowsiness, loss of appetite, or a fever during the first two days of life, this might be the cause.

Uterus

In order to make room for the developing babies, your cat’s uterus had to enlarge.

After the kittens are delivered, it takes time for the uterus to return to its original size and location. After giving birth, this is the most typical cause of your cat still seeming pregnant.

In addition, the muscles of the abdomen get more lax during pregnancy. This may also contribute to the appearance of pregnancy just after delivery.

Weight

As with humans, pregnant cats put on weight. Two to four pounds is a typical increase for them. In part, this mass is made up of the kittens and amniotic fluid that will be expelled upon delivery.

Unfortunately, not all of the extra weight can be lost. This provides the extra calories she needs to feed her offspring.

Metritis

Uterine infection known as metritis. When the fetal membrane is maintained, this condition frequently arises. In rare cases, a kitten may become stuck inside of an individual’s throat.

Fever and abdominal swelling are the results. Clearly, your cat isn’t feeling well, and it may even throw up. In addition, many people experience pain.

You could hear her meowing if she’s in discomfort or is pacing because she can’t get comfortable. Touching her tummy can make the agony worse.

Veterinary attention must be sought very quickly in cases of metritis. The first line of defense against an infection is usually antibiotics. Spaying is sometimes done to get rid of an infected uterus.

Conclusion

How to tell when a cat is done giving birth? Cats give birth to litters every two to four weeks.

If a cat is still pregnant after she has had her last litter, she may not go into labor or even begin to show signs of labor. She may also remain pregnant for weeks after she has given birth.

source https://catshint.com/how-to-tell-when-a-cat-is-done-giving-birth/