cat delivery problem

Question
Hi,
I have a few stray cats that hang around my house.  One of them has went into labor, probably her 4th or 5th pregnancy.  She just showed up to eat but has what looks like a sack hanging? she has ate and drank water but looks pretty wet (bloody) from behind.  She is a stray and will not let me touch her easily what are your thoughts, I don't think this is normal.

Answer
Hi Debbie,

No this isn't normal. It sounds like she may have a breech birth or a partial birth going on. This is going to present a few problems. The kitten is most likely dead already. If she has any more inside her they might be dead. She might die from this if not taken care of.And whatever kittens she has had will die because Mom is not around. Big trouble here. You need to catch her. Wear leather gloves if you have to. Next you can either take her to the vet or try to assist her with her labor. Here's a copy of an article by Dr. Mike Richards. "There are some things that might help people who find themselves aiding
a cat who is having difficulty delivering kittens.

The first thing is to know where the closest emergency veterinary
clinic is and to have their phone number handy, in case the delivery occurs when
the cats usual veterinarian is not available. If there is no emergency
clinic try to get an idea of what your veterinarian's office recommends for
emergencies. In some areas vets cover for each other on a rotating
basis or make other arrangements for emergency care if there is no emergency
clinic to refer to. It is often best to go to the emergency clinic if it is
apparent that there have been problems during a delivery.

In general, if a kitten is not born within a few minutes of any portion
of the kitten being visible outside the vagina of the female, it is best
to try to gently help deliver the kitten. Using K-Y or similar water
soluble lubricating jelly to coat the vagina and the kitten is helpful. Be
careful to have someone restraining your cat prior to making any effort to
manipulate kittens, as this sometimes causes pain and many cats will
bite in response to the sudden pain. It is necessary to be gentle to the
kitten (don't pull hard on a leg or tail, for instance) if it is still alive.
It is definitely possible to injure a kitten trying to aid in delivering
it. If the kitten is obviously dead then a little more force can be used
but the emphasis switches to being gentle to Mom so that she isn't injured.
Slowly rotating the kitten in a small arc in each direction can
sometimes free up a leg that is blocking passage of the kitten or allow a
kitten's head to be delivered if it is holding up progress. Immediately upon
retrieving the kitten that is causing the immediate problem, or if it
is apparent that the kitten won't be easy to deliver, go to the emergency
veterinarian's. This can save any kittens that are going to come after
the one that was not able to be born on its own, as they may also have
difficulty. I would do this even if you are pretty sure that there are
no more kittens, because it is hard to be certain of that.

There are many things that I used to think I shouldn't tell my clients
to do, or allow them to do. One of these was aid in the delivery of
kittens and puppies. I still worry about my clients being bitten or injured
while attempting to assist in a delivery but I have not had a client cause
major injury to a birthing mother (except for people trying to deliver
calves) yet. So I think that most people have a good sense for when they are
pushing things too hard and will seek professional help when they feel
this way. I understand why many vets are reluctant to advise trying to help
in a delivery but I think that more kittens and puppies die because people
are afraid to help than because people tried to help and caused injuries.
Just be careful if you attempt to help in a delivery and then seek
professional help even if you do succeed in helping a kitten be born who is having
difficulty --- not for this kitten's sake but to increase the chance
for survival for any kittens that are still in the uterus"

The one thing you really need to do is see if you can find where she made her nesting area. If anything happens to her you will need to take care of any kits that are there. I can assist you with their care if need be.

If you are successful with her,(or have taken her to the vet), she will need a quiet area to take care of herself and the little ones. If you have a garage I would put her in there in a large cardboard box with towels and an entrance cut into it. Place this in a back corner with the entrance facing the wall. This should work. Make sure she has food and water there. And a litter box. This will also help when it comes time to start taming the kits.

I hope this helps you. Catching her will be tough. But it needs to be done. Good luck.

Ciao, Karen