labor problem???

Question
patches had 1 kitten yesterday at about 3:45. since then her labor stopped. she is acting normal, no bleeding, crying,gets up to eat or drink then goes right back to care for new baby, but this is almost 24 hours now. no contractions, and i can feel babies moving inside her.

Answer
Hi Cindy.

Some cats deliver part of the litter, then go out of labor for up to 24 hours before delivering the remaining kittens. This could be due to a lack of privacy during delivery OR because the kittens were conceived at different matings (the kittens in one litter can be fathered by different dads).

Stops in the delivery process are normal and nothing to be concerned about...yet. If the momma cat starts active labor again and strains for more than 45 minutes without delivering a kitten you should call the vet.

The mother will need about 4 times the amount of food that she ate before delivering to keep healthy and not become drained from the kittens nursing. A high quality dry kitten chow (as much as she wants) is good for her until she stops nursing.

Also keep in mind that momma cat CAN go into heat and get pregnant from 48 hours to 7 days after having her litter!

If you have more questions or problems as the birthing continues, please feel free to write again.

Carol