Expert: Jessica - 1/26/2010

Question
My cat is nearly 8-9 months old & she is pregant.she has bleed since morning & in afternoon given birth to a death baby.she hasn't eaten anything since morning.she  seems very weak & upset.what should I say?Are her other babies alive?

Answer
Hi Cynthy.  You need to get your kitty to a vet right away - today!  It's almost certain that there are other babies, since single-kitten litters are quite rare.  And the fact that she's weak indicates something is wrong.  It could be possible that any remaining kittens are alive but unable to be delivered, but it's also very possible they're all dead.  Dead kittens are very difficult to deliver and will poison the mother as they decay, quickly killing her.  Even if the babies are alive, if she's unable to deliver them, they will kill her, too.  Your kitten needs to see a vet to determine if she needs an emergency cesarean to save her life, or if she needs an injection to induce labor.  At times, one kitten will be born prematurely and the other kittens will be carried to full-term.  In this case, the vet might suggest you take her home and watch her closely.  But this isn't very common, and I'm almost willing to bet that this kitty needs medical attention to save her life.  This is especially true since she's been bleeding all day.

Best of luck!

Jessica