labor questions....

Question
QUESTION: Okay, I'm hoping you can help me. I have a cat that seems to be pregnant and in labor, sort of. We were watching her earlier and her water broke, but thats been several hours, and still no kittens. She's released 3 things that look like the sacs that the kittens are developed in, but that's been about 7 hours ago. After that, all the discomfort she seemed to be in disappeared, but there doesn't seem to be any progress either, and shes been sleeping peacefully since. It's like she went into labor, and then just stopped... We can still feel several masses that we think are the kittens inside though. What should I do?
ANSWER: Hi Santos, thank you for your question. Can you tell me more about the sacs that your cat passed? Is it possible she has miscarried her kittens? do you see any sign of kittens in the sacs?? How far along was she in her pregnancy. Cats have a gestation of 9 weeks so if this was early it is possible she just miscarried and is finished now and sleeping. Can you please get back to me so I can give you a  better answer? Thanks, Teresa

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QUESTION: The sacs that came out were reddish, but weren't covered in blood or anything... there was no sign that there were kittens in them at all, but I can still feel at least one kitten still in her stomach. Last night, I could even feel it move. She released the first sac about and hour before the other two.. she ate the first one, but the other two, she didn't sniff or even acknowledge she had released anything after they were out of her. We don't know how far along she was.. or is.. she is a stray that adopted us and so we adopted her. She was pregnant when we found her which was about a week and a half to two weeks ago. We noticed when we found her that her nipples were large and then I felt something inside her. We called the vet and she said that miscarriages aren't very common and to see if we could feel anything blocking.. my aunt felt up in there and said she hit something hard and then the cat started bleeding. I mean, even if she did miscarry, she would have to rid of the bodies still, wouldn't she? Especially if they were big enough to feel... I just don't have the money to take her to the vet.. Everything around here is 50 dollars or more and thats almost all the money I have for the next couple weeks... Please, anything you can do would be appreciated. I'm afraid for this cat.. I've grown attached to her already..
ANSWER: Hi Santos, thank you for the extra information. Sometimes people think they feel a kitten moving when in fact it is just things shifting around in there when you palpate. BUT, if you are pretty sure it was kitten movement then we have to assume she is still pregnant. So, it means that she could have just passed some undeveloped kittens?? and will still go full term with the last one. The best way to judge anything is to watch her behaviour. If she seems calm and resting and eating then she is certainly fine for the time being. Did your aunt do an internal check?? eekss... Don't let anyone put anything up this poor cat ! That is only for large animals (horses, cows) and will cause a lot of damage on a little cat and cause bleeding.If you want to check on her just palpate her abdomen and watch for discharge from her vulva. The colour and amount of discharge is an important indicator of what is going on. If you cannot take her to the vet then I would just leave her for now. Did the sacs look like kidneys? were they solid all the way through or were they like a balloon, like a water sac??  Please write me back again. Teresa

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QUESTION: Right now, she acts fine. She's eating, sleeping and.. being a cat. She even feels the need to wake my girlfriend and I up in the morning like an alarm. Not because she is in pain, but because she's rotten. She purrs constantly.. I thought maybe she could have miscarried those kittens and theres one that didn't die... but I didn't know if that was even possible. The sacs were a little bit solid, but not so solid that you wouldn't be able to smash it between your fingers. It looked as if they had been split open... cause they were pretty flat and there was nothing inside of them, most definitely. It looked like the sacs the kittens come it except a little thicker and smaller in size. Something else I don't understand is that her water broke right before the second two came out. It shot like 16 inches and soaked our bed. Then she pushed those out, cleaned herself and went to sleep for 4 hours... its just confusing.. she released one sac, without a kitten, eats it... releases two more hours later after her water breaks and doesn't eat them... sleeps and acts completely fine from then on... even though we can still feel the bodies inside, she shows no sign of wanting to push them out... My aunt, who has had many cats in the past, swore she could even feel one of the babies moving downward.. but if one of dead babies is obstrucing the birth canal, the alive one isn't going to be able to get out. But she doesn't seem to be in any pain whatsoever. My girlfriend and I are going out.. we've not left her side since we found her... maybe she wants to be alone to do this... this may give her a chance to be completely alone. I'm just afraid that something will happem while we're gone and we won't be able to help her if she's in danger... I hope she's ok..

Answer
Hi Santos, Well once again I would have to say that the best thing to do for her would be to take her for a vet check up and x ray. I do not want to be liable for any problems you encounter because she was not checked by a pro. So, that disclaimer aside, let's move on. It is possible that she could miscarry some kittens and take the other one or two to term. It is "possible", but really unlikely. Usually what happens, and this is more common in dogs, is that some of the fetuses will die inside the animal and then just "dry up" inside the mom and then the other pups(kittens) will be delivered on the due date and will be alive and fine. Sometimes after a cat has kittens it will really seem like there is another kitten inside to most people. I have even seen vets make this mistake when palpating ! The reason that happens is because the uterus, although now empty, is very large and it is contracting down in size after the delivery. This can feel like kitten movement. I would say 100 it is kitten movement if, when your cat is laying down and you have your hand resting gently on her side a kitten rolls into your palm and you can feel the poky leg or shoulder of the kitten come across your hand. If you are palpating it is possible to make a mistake. So, if she has a kitten inside of her and she is fine then I would say to leave her be. If you are worried about a dead kitten in the way of a live birth that is no more worrisome than if a live kitten is in the way of a live birth. It is not whether the kitten is alive or not that determines whether you cat will be able to deliver. It is whether or not she is contracting and able to deliver it. So, a dead kitten would be no more in the way than a live kitten. I would leave her for today, since it is Easter anyway. And then keep a REALLY close eye on her !! If she has any discharge, or feels hot (fever) or stops eating you will need to get vet care right away. If you see her straining and trying to push something out and nothing seems to be progressing or she seems to be really distressed then I would get her checked also. I realize you don't have any money, but it would be kinder to have her put to sleep then to leave her suffering through an unsuccessful labor or to die from a uterine infection because of a retained dead kitten or afterbirth. So, as soon as she seems in distress please take her to a vet.
Teresa