Expert: Marcia Owen - 7/28/2009

Question
Hi
My cat is three and a half years old female, she has delivered yesterday. Her first kitten born easily, alive, looks fine, her vet then gave her a small dose of oxytocine with calcium to shorten the duration of labour, an hour later she gave birth to the second one who was born still birth, as the presenting part was the legs and the head stuck for few seconds.
Then the vet gave her another shot of oxytocin, but she showed no more contractions, the vet examined her, and he said that he can feel a solid mass by abdominal examination and he thinks this is a mummified fetus, and its better to leave it alone and just give the cat a course of oral antibiotics.
My cat then behaved aggressively, refused the baby for a while, but then feeding it again.
Last year when she was pregnant, she gave birth to 3 still birth babies and one mummified baby, but they were all out.
My question is: is it okay to leave the fetus inside? Isn’t it like a foreign body and may cause infection? Was the vet wrong by inducing labour (she had past 60 days of pregnancy)?
Now almost 10 hours after labour, she is feeding the baby but i feel that she is depressed>
What should I do regarding the inside one? Do you advice surgery? But what about the baby which needs to be fed?
Please help,, I appreciate your kindness


Answer
Hi Fayza

What your vet needs to remember is that you know your cat best and know if she is not right.  

What your vet may have been feeling is the uterus still swollen from the kittens, though of course it could also have been another kitten.  Many breeders have got caught out thinking there is another kitten when in fact it is the uterus which still has to contract down after the birth.  I would have expected a mummified baby to have been passed when she had the last shot of oxytocin.

However if your cat seems depressed it might be a good idea to take her back to the vet for him to have another feel.  I think if she is depressed and he can still feel something then I think it would be best to have it taken away as it may be too big to pass without further oxytocin which he could opt to give.  

Don;t worry about the baby if she does have to have the operation as you can hand feed it while she is at the vet but you would need to put the kitten back with her as soon as she comes home.  It sounds as though she has bonded with it if she is feeing it so you shouldn't have any problems.

I do hope your girl feels better soon.  Let me know how you go on.

Marcia.