Expert: Ali - 3/11/2010

Question
my female cat had her kittens today, and they all appear healthy, but one kitten's placenta is still attached. She is letting all of them nurse, but I'm concerned about it getting infected. What is the safest thing for the kitten?

Answer
Ashley,

If mom hasn't yet cut the kitten's umbilical cord and either eaten the placenta (perfectly normal and this increases the amount of bonding hormone (oxytocin) in mom's system allowing her to bond more strongly with her kittens) you can go ahead and cut the cord. Here are the steps that you'll need to follow in order to cut baby's umbilical cord safely:

1) Wash your hands thoroughly with hot soapy water, then sterilize them with hand sanitizer such as Purell to avoid inadvertantly passing any bacteria that might be on your skin to the kitten through the umbilical stump.

2) Soak two pieces of sewing thread in rubbing alcohol for a few seconds to kill any bacteria that might be on the thread.

3) Tie one piece of thread snugly (not too tight, you don't want to cut the cord accidentally because it can cause some bleeding and even a little blood loss could be bad news for a newborn kitten) roughly an inch and a half away from the kitten's belly, tie the other piece of thread snugly around the umbilical cord 3-4 inches away from the placenta.

4) Snip between the threads with sterile scissors. You can use sterile gauze and rubbing alcohol to sterilize the scissors.

5) Dip the kitten's end of the umbilical cord into a bit of iodine in order to prevent infection. The umbilical stump will dry out and fall off normally just as it will for the other kittens in the litter.

** Try to keep the kitten as close as possible to his/her mom since it's very early in their relationship and she may not be fully bonded to her babies yet. When you tie off the kitten's end of the umbilical cord be sure that you cut the ends of the thread so that the mom doesn't end up swallowing them accidentally as this could pose serious problems for her digestive tract. I would also recommend that you offer mom the kitten's placenta, if she eats it great, if not you can simply dispose of it in your trash.

The kittens should remain with mom for at least 10-12 weeks in order for mom to teach them basic manners when they interact with other cats and humans. Mom will also teach her babies how to stalk prey, hunt, use the litter box, eat solid foods, use scratch pads or posts, etc. Many cat behavior experts are now realizing that the earlier a kitten is taken from his/her littermates and his/her mom the more likely s/he is to have potentially serious behavioral issues so if at all possible keep this little family together until the babies are 12 weeks old and ready to go to permanent, loving forever homes. If you're interested I can pass along information about weaning, proper nutrition for mom while she's nursing and other tips and tricks that you might be interested in. I can also provide you with information about normal weight gain/growth rates for the kittens and how to be sure that the kittens are as healthy as possible.

Another important thing to consider is the fact that there are so many more unwanted cats and kittens than there are good adoptive homes, spaces in rescue organizations, etc so you may want to seriously consider having mom spayed after she's weaned her kittens (roughly 8-9 weeks of age without human interference). Mom can become pregnant as little as 24 hours after giving birth so I'd strongly suggest that you keep her indoors and away from the boys partly because it's hazardous to mom's health to be pregnant again so soon and partly because it's best not to contribute to pet overpopulation any more than is absolutely necessary - too many healthy, adoptable cats and kittens are euthanized in shelters, by rescue organizations and private veterinarians every day. I realize that the economy is tough at this point in time and spaying a cat costs a fair amount, however if financial difficulties are an issue I may be able to help you by referring you to organizations that might be willing to spay your queen for a reduced price or even for free depending on the resources available in your area. I keep an evergrowing binder of resources for pet parents who are having some financial difficulty with the cost of spay/neuter surgery or other medical care for their feline companions and all that I ask in order for me to pass that information along is that you provide me with the general area you're writing from as this will save us both time - you won't have to sift through countless pages of resources that don't apply to you and I won't have to type pages of information you can't use which frees up time for both of us. If you have any further cat related questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me again, I'll be more than happy to help you out to the best of my ability.