My cat just had a contraction. How soon will the kittens be here?

Question

My cat just had a contraction (Yes we are getting her fixed soon after she has her kittens) Usually, when cats have a contraction, how long is it until the kittens are born? Thank you so much for all your help! :-)

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE PICTUES OF THE KITTENS WHEN THEY ARE BORN E-MAIL ME AND WHEN THEY ARE I WILL E-MAIL THEM TO YOU.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE PICTUES OF THE KITTENS WHEN THEY ARE BORN E-MAIL ME AND WHEN THEY ARE I WILL E-MAIL THE PICTURES TO YOU.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE PICTUES OF THE KITTENS WHEN THEY ARE BORN E-MAIL ME AND WHEN THEY ARE I WILL E-MAIL THE PICTURES TO YOU.

THE KITTENS ARE BORN! THEY WERE BORN ON VALENTINES DAY AND THERE ARE FOUR. IF U WOULD LIKE TO SEE SOME PICS OF THEM E-MAIL ME AT [e-mail] THEY ARE ALL SOOOOOO CUTE!

Answer 1

Labor And Birth:
Twenty-four to forty-eight hours before the onset of labor your cat will seem more anxious and restless. It will often poke its head about looking for a place to nest and have the litter. But be advised that in some cases nesting behavior can occur as early as three days before delivery. At this point confine her to the room you want her to birth in. This should be a darkened room with an impervious floor in a quiet area of the house. Place food and water in the room.

Cats that are about to go into labor will usually lick their abdomen and vagina persistently. There is often a discharge that precedes birthing but the mother will lick it away as rapidly as it appears. Her cervix will be dilating but no outward signs accompany this. She will loose all interest in food and become serious and attentive to only her licking. If you are perceptive you may notice an increase in her breathing rate. It is quite common for the mother to sit with her mouth open and yowl loudly or pace the room. As her labor progresses and uterine contractions begin pregnant cats will lay on their sides and intermittently squat and press downward to expel the kittens. Do not interrupt or disturb the mother during these periods – just watch from a door left ajar.

The first kitten should arrive within an hour after the onset of labor. Sometimes labor lasts only a few minutes before the kitten arrives. Other kittens should arrive with an interval of ten minutes to an hour between them. Each kitten arrives wrapped in a jelly-like membrane filled with clear fluid – the amniotic sac. Good mothers immediately begin licking the kitten forcefully, which shreds this sac allowing the kitten to breathe. This licking stimulates the kittens circulation and respiration. In the exceptionally rare case where the mother does not free the kitten’s mouth from the obstructing membrane the owner should do it for her and follow this with a vigorous rubbing of the kitten in a soft towel to dry it and stimulate respiration. The mother will also chew off the umbilical cord at this time. If she forgets to do this to one or more of the kittens, tie off the cord with a length of dental floss and snip the cord about an inch long. It is important to let the mother do these things herself if she will because through licking and mothering the kitten she bonds with it and recognizes it as her infant.

The mother cat will probably begin nursing the kitten before the next littermate arrives. If she doesn’t place the kitten on one of her nipples. The nursing will stimulate her uterus to contract further so you may seen a bloody or greenish discharge at her vagina. She may eat a few of the afterbirths. There is no problem with this.

It usually takes two to six hours for the entire litter to be delivered. If labor persists beyond seven hours it is wise to take the mother and the kittens to a veterinary center. While she is delivering keep her area quiet, calm and dimly lit. Don’t become involved in the birthing unless you are certain that you are needed. Once the last kitten has been delivered you can quietly clean up the mess she has left behind. Place a fresh bowel of water and some cat food beside her – mother cats don’t like to leave their kittens for the first day or two. She should spend about seventy percent of her time nursing the kittens. Remember to keep a comfortable temperature in the room – kittens can not regulate their body temperatures during their first six days.

In a normal delivery, strong uterine contractions are accompanied by abdominal contractions and expulsion of the kittens. The first thing you will see is a small, greenish sac visible in the vagina, which will be followed by the kitten. The placenta is still attached to the kitten at this time. It will slowly drag out following each birth.

Although delivery of each kitten can take up to two hours the average time is thirty to sixty minutes. A kitten should not spend more than fifteen minutes in the birth canal. While in the birth canal, pressure on the umbilical cord deprives the kitten of oxygen. If you should see a kitten in this predicament grasp it gently through a soft clothe and pull it with a motion that is backwards and downwards. Grasp the kitten by its hips or shoulders and not by its legs. It is normal for kittens to arrive either head first or tail first.

After birth, The mother may discharge a bloody fluid for up to 10 days. Cats usually lick the discharge up as fast as it is produced. Only become concerned if the discharge becomes pus-like or has a strong odor.

Things To Keep On Hand When Your Cat Is Expecting:
Keep plenty of clean towels on hand when your cat is expecting. Go to WalMart and purchase a bottle of tame iodine solution (Betadine) for antiseptic, some Q-tips and a pair of blunt scissors. Buy a package of dental floss in case you need to tie off the kitten’s umbilical cords. A baby nose suction bulb works well to clean mucus from the mouth and nose of infant kittens. If it is cold, buy a heavy duty-heating pad.

Serious Problems:
You should contact your veterinarian if events do not unfold as I have generally listed them. Also contact your veterinarian if:
1) The pregnancy lasts more than 66 days
2) The mother’s temperature has been below a hundred for more than one day
3) The mother goes off food or becomes depressed, weak or lethargic
4) A kitten becomes lodged in the birth canal for more than ten minutes and you can not dislodge it
5) The mother continues to have contractions for more than four hours and no kitten appears
6) More than five hours elapse when you are certain another kitten is still present in the mother
7) The vaginal discharge has a strong odor or appears infected
8) You counted less placentas than you have kittens
9) Kittens will not nurse or appear weak
10) A mammary gland (breast) is hot, hard or painful
11) Kittens mew continuously, do not sleep and are agitated
12) Kittens are not receiving enough milk to keep their stomachs plump and distended
13) The Mother’s temperature is over 102.5 and two days have passed since birthing

Of course if you are concerned about your cat during any stage take Miss kitty to the vet ASAP. Good luck with the cat and the kittens - Congrats on the new additions!

Answer 2

You'll have to watch for frequency and duration of contractions. Having just one does not mean the kittens will be along anytime soon... it could be days away still. Cats (as well as other animals) can have early contractions that are not associated with active labor.
Once the contractions are regular and within a few minutes of each other, the kittens should arrive very soon. If you cat has regular contractions for more than an hour without starting to deliver, call your vet.

Answer 3

Usually within the hour. My experience has been that they will give birth every 15-30 min afterwards, depending on mother and size of kittens. If she has strained for more than 1 hr, I would strongly suggest a Vet visit for a kitten maybe stuck in the birth canal. This could lead to death of that kitten as well as others, including the mother. Good luck and don't gross out when she eats the afterbirth!! Kittens are a wonderful thing.

Answer 4

Thank you for choosing to get her fixed, that can be done once the kittens are weaned, about 6 weeks from now.

Her contractions can last from a few hours for a prior mom to little over 24 hour for a first time mom. She may pant with her contractions. Make sure she's in a roomy box. with a towel on the bottom, have more on hand in case you need to intervene. The extra towels are also useful in giving her a clean place to lay. Once she has the first, they should come out every 15 minutes or so. A cat should give birth within 45 minutes of hard pushing. If a kitten is not delivered within that time, chances are there is some complication - a kitten is too big to deliver, the mother is too exhausted to push, contractions are not strong enough. In these cases, labor-inducing drugs or a c-section will be necessary to save the mother's and the kittens' lives. A lot of people choose to take momma and babies to the vet after the last baby is born to make sure there's none stuck especially if she's still contracting and there's been nothing for a hour. A dead kitten can cause an infection threatening the mom's life. Other then the vet trip, leave mom to take care of her new family.

Here's some extra info for you. Feeding the momma kitten food is a good idea while she's nursing. Between 3-4 weeks you can start to offer moistened kitten food using water, not milk. Their weaning at this age from mom. At 5-6 weeks old start giving dry food they should be almost or fully weaned from mom. Now they're coming up on 6-7 weeks, new homes are just around the corner, unless you plan on keeping and later fixing all of them. Put ads in the paper, check with your local pet store (some will take them), also ask family and friends to ask others to provide good homes. It's alright to charge a small fee for the kittens too. Some owners take the babies in for worming, it's usually not too expensive depending on your vet. At 8 weeks their now ready to go.

Make sure young children are kept away, unfortunetly, I know this from experience, my youngest at 2 found where the 2 day old litter was and grabbed the tortise shell colored one (rest were yellow tabbies) and dropped her before anyone noticed she'd snuck in the room. The kitten was lifeless, I did manage to bring her back (what do you do with 4 crying faces), but not before the baby had a stroke. The vet gave her 10% chance of living and sent me home, I don't give up. I bottle fed her ever 3 hours and rubbed her belly for other stuff, I took her to drs appts, food shopping, Wal Mart, everywhere. She thrived, then at 10 weeks set back, another stroke. Her left side was completely paraylized, had a hearing impairment and was nearly blind between the two strokes. Vet was shocked she'd survived that long and again told me to take her home, but added give her lots of TLC. His way of saying you've done great keep up you great job (he told me this later). She made it to 6 months, was spayed and surprised the vet once again with her progress, she was sorta walking by now (lots of therapy). We figured out how to call her, she heard in echo, so we called her from opposite of where we wanted her to go. Her vision never improved however and 11 months after she was born, she passed away from complications to her strokes.

Here's a couple of sites to view. The first is adorable, they provide pictures of their cat giviing birth, etc., I don't like the reason given by the person for breeding her cat however, nor do I condone it.

Answer 5

Well, all cats are going to "meow" now and then, usually when they want something from us. But, it's very likely that--yes, she is starting to go into labor, and maybe she hasn't picked out a place to deliver these kids yet. You might help her out by providing a blanket (or something she likes) in one or two different places that she prefers to lie. Don't be surprised if she doesn't use whatever you set up. Mommy cats will have their babies wherever they feel the most comfortable. Mine felt she needed to deliver a litter behind the TV. And, if you go and move them, don't be surprised if she doesn't just take them right back to where she had them--mine did. Good luck.

Answer 6

cats are a lot trickier than dogs at this...keep an eye on her...from a distance if you can...be available if she comes to you (as my kitty did with a kitten half out breach, lol) make sure where she is is quiet, not alot of going and coming or other animals. she can stop the labour if she feels disturbed...then complications can arise. my vet says more problem births arise from overanxious "grandparent" (us humans) than from what might normally would have occured. if she has begun pushing and you see no kitten in one hour call your vet and see what they say.

Answer 7

It varies on cat's most are born between 10-45 minutes apart. Just stay with her in case she has trouble. Congrats!!

Answer 8

My cat usually had them within a hour.I have no clue if its the same for other cats though.Just keep an eye out and good luck.

Answer 9

Within the hour. Make sure she has water nearby, and a soft blanket/something else. Good Luck!

Answer 10

Not too long now, but if she is actually pushing for more than an hour, something is wrong, dont stand over her but just keep an eye on her.