Pregnant Persian on day 70

Question
I have a 6 yr old pregnant persian and I am quite sure she is on day 70.  I have taken her to 2 different vets and they cannot detect any signs of distress or illness in mother or kittens.  One vet said (palpation) she probably only has 2 kittens, perhaps 3.  She had some clear discharge a couple of days ago, not copious, but since then she has been dry.  She nested a little but mostly has been sleeping or clingy, not wanting to be left alone. She had been drinking a lot of water, but not as much the last day or so.  She has been eating ok. We thought about having an ultrasound yesterday, but we decided to wait because we are not planning on a c-section unless absolutely necessary. There is no way to know if that would save the kittens, and I do not want to risk the health of the mother, since she has a moderate heart murmur. If the kittens were healthy and alive, I would expect she would have delivered them by now.  If they are dead, then I would expect her to be showing signs of illness, but maybe it is too soon.  I see no point doing a c-section to save kittens that are not viable anyway or have defects, that perhaps being the reason they are still in utero.  Also, this cat only had one other litter of 3, and only one of those is still alive, the other two dying from congenital defects at ages 8 months and 2 yrs.  I did not breed her on purpose, it was accidental.  If I have a c-section to remove the kittens, I will have her spayed. I do not plan to breed her ever again.  At this point, I was told by both vets I could wait till day 72 to ultrasound, and then we can decide what to do based upon that, since the mother is showing no signs of illness.  WHAT IS THE DANGER TO THE KITTENS REMAINING IN UTERO FOR SO LONG?  IS THERE ANY REASON TO BELIEVE THEY WOULD HAVE A BETTER CHANCE OF SURVIVAL (IF STILL ALIVE) IF I HAD A C-SECTION AT THIS POINT RATHER THAN WAITING?  IS THE REASON THEY ARE STILL IN UTERO PROBABLY BECAUSE THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH THEM?
Thanks, Susan


Answer
Susan,

I am assuming your arithmetic is correct and, indeed, she is at day 70.  Also, what did the X-rays reveal?

An ultrasound can be done whenever.  I have never heard of waiting until day 72. By now, the kittens, if viable, should be having heartbeats that would be detected by an ultrasound.  We have had ultrasounds done around 65-67 days, just to make sure the kittens were still percolating along.  I really hate second guessing your vets, but, normally, the longer they are in utero after day 69, the more difficult everything becomes.

If you have the ultrasound done now, and the kittens are alive, they need to come out.  If there is no sign of vitality, they still need to come out, and NOW!

Your female may have uterine inertia or may not producing any oxytocin.  For some reason she is not going into labor. Often, this may also indicate something is screwed up in there and the kittens cannot get into proper positions fro birth.  A dead kitten blocking the works would certainly be such a cause.

If indeed, she is at day 70, I fail to see what can possibly be gained by waiting 2 more days!

Please let me know what happens.

Concerned regards... Norm.