Ask the Veterinarian/Recent Cat Birth

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Expert: - 8/7/2010


Question
My feral cat just gave birth to a kitten four days ago and this morning she began crying and meowing a lot. She was panting a little also. Her eye was scratched yesterday but it doesn't really seem to be bothering her much. I was just wondering if perhaps she may be having delayed complications or something. Thank You.

Answer
Hard to say but she is probably telling you that she is really hungry. She should be eating as much Kitten food as she can. She needs this to produce good milk for her babies.

Don't use Purina Kitten Chow as it has cow's milk in it and will give her terrible diarrhea. Get her some good food- Science Diet kitten growth formula.

Hopefully you can catch her soon and get her spayed so she won't go through this again and again.

You also want to make sure she isn't still carrying a kitten that won't come out in her. Panting can be a sign of pain but also of stress in cats.

If you can touch her then feel just behind her belly area to see if you can feel any large lumps inside of her. If you do, she needs to be caught and taken to the vets. A dead kitten inside of her will eventually sicken and kill her as well.

Hopefully that isn't the case here but you should try and check.

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Jana Connell RVT, CVT

Expertise

PLEASE READ BEFORE SUBMITTING TO ME: I am NOT a vet and do NOT diagnose diseases. That is only for a licensed Veterinarian to do. I will give you suggestions and steer you toward calling your vet for help. You can call the vet's office and talk to the technician there or the vet at times. Don't be afraid to call them! If you have a serious issue with your pet please post it to one of the veterinarians in here- I will tell you the same thing in my answer. IF your pet is injured or in an emergency situation, CALL YOUR VET- Do not wait and post in here. Just call the vet's office and get them in to see the vet right away. Critical treatment time is lost if you seek answers here when you should have your precious pet at the vets!! Don't sit at home waiting for an answer when your pet is critically ill or injured!! I can answer most questions about small animal and wildlife care as well as small animal nutrition. I can also answer questions about all phases of dental care for small animals. I DO NOT answer questions about birds (unless it is wildlife or songbirds) or HAMSTERS/GERBILS/CHINS/GUINEA PIGS/REPTILES/FROGS/RABBITS/PET BIRDS OF ANY KIND so please submit these questions to the appropriate sections. I, as well as other experts in here, do NOT do homework questions- that is for YOU to do! Please respect these rules for all of us. Thanks!

Experience

I have over 35 years experience in the field of veterinary medicine. I specialized in small animals and did wildlife rehab for over 25 years, mostly raptors, squirrels and opossums. I am a Small Animal Nutritional Consultant with 6 certificates from Hills Pet Foods, CNM and Purina. I also specialized in Small Animal Dentistry which is a field I truly love.

Organizations
Audubon,World Wildlife Federation, American Society of Veterinary Dental Technicians.

Education/Credentials
Licensed with California and Oregon, RVT and CVT. Certified Veterinary Dental Technician Have over 500 logged hours of Continuing Education Credits(that means I keep up to date!).

Awards and Honors
Nominated for Expert of the Month for the last 5 years.

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