Is my cat having a miscarriage?

Question
I have a pregnant cat, who we thought was fixed when we got her. This was a surprise and we have not taken her to the vet. However, our calculations in length of her gestation period is about 8 1/2 to 9 wks. She should deliver anytime between now and end of next week. About 2 weeks ago we noticed a small amount of blood with discharge coming from her vagina, I hope this is normal. Last night it looked as though she was delivering a blood clot or maybe it was a kitten...we are unexperienced. However she did not show signs of labor pains. She was playful and even had a bite to eat. It seemed more of an aggravation than labor. We decided (after some research) to look closer and perhaps pull at this area but it was gone, we think maybe she ate it or it busted. There is no kitten to be found anywhere and there was a cord looking thing hanging from her vagina. Again, (after research) we decided to gently pull but we did not want to hurt her and it was not coming out easily so we stopped and let her be. To me it seems the unidentified blood clot looking ball could have been a miscarried kitten and our cat broke the cord with the placenta still inside her along with other kittens. Is this possible? What does this sound like to you?  I hope I am wrong or there is another explanation. We are trying not to take her to the vet since we are tight on money. Of course, we will not have a choice if things get critical. Also, I felt her stomach last night before we went to bed and there was no movement of kittens like there was a couple days ago. Should they be kicking all the time? Is this a sign they did not make it? Please help...Thank you

Answer
Hi April
I think you need to take your cat tot he vet immediately
She may have suffered loss of kittens the presence of blood and the chord suggests an aborted foetus
Kittens do stop moving once birth is imminent so if she has not had any kittens yet take her to the vet who will scan her and either administer Oxytocin or carry out a C section

Ray