retained kitten

Question
QUESTION: my cat had kittens last night at 12pm she had 5 kittens by 5 am. i feel another kitten n her belly and its kicking she has not had a labor pain for 6 hours she is still having labor behavior but no pushing she has eatin and drink some water.what should i do.
ANSWER: Hi Michael, thanks for the question. I am not sure what time it is where you are compared to myself but I would give your cat 8-9 hours after the birth of her last kitten before you start worrying. Are you sure the last kitten is kicking? The uterus is lumpy and contracting after delivery and that can be mistaken for movement. But, if it feels like a leg kicking then that is a kitten! Some cats can take up to 12 hours between kittens but that is usually when they are only having two in the litter. Since your cat has had 5 she should not have too much of a delay for the last one. Because she had 5 I am wondering if she is finished. That is quite a good sized litter! Usually when a mom is finished her ordeal she will eat a small amount and then nestle down with her kittens and be feeding them and cleaning them. They do not appear restless or in distress. What kind of "labor behavior" is she exhibiting?
Teresa

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: well her display of pains are heavy breathing just like she started last night she is now past 12 hours when i felt her tummy this morning about 8am about 4 hours after the last one was born there was thumping in her belly that has now stoped i think that may have been her uteres.she is moving around the house when the kittens go to sleep for some escape time. the kittens are nuring very well. i think she is ok i was just really worryed that she had 5 cause she is only 9 months old and the kittens came out about 5 inchs long and my nerves were realy on edge all night  i went and grabed her and seen that she was ready to have her kittens and the first kitten was breached.but every thing has settled down. thank you

Answer
Hi Michael, Yes, 5 kittens is a lot for your cat to take care of. She is only a kitten herself. You will want to make sure she gets spayed before it happens again. Keep her inside until you get a chance to do that as cats can come back into heat as soon as they deliver so she could get bred anytime ! You will want to give her a high quality kitten food to eat so that she can keep her strength up. If she stops eating for any reason you will know that she has a problem and will need to see a vet asap. Otherwise, if she is eating and seems settled she is probably fine. She may have been heavy breathing because she is too hot where the babies are?
Teresa