Expert: Jessica - 10/26/2011

Question
My cat was in labor last night she had 2 kittens and her labor has stopped  she has more kittens in there they are moving around  I cant afford  a vet. Any ideas to help her she doesn't seem to be in pain at all.

Answer
Hi Helen,

There is nothing you can do from home to help her resume labor. Sometimes cats do have a break in labor and will go back into labor on their own hours later. Actually, a break of a few hours can be considered normal, as long as mom is resting comfortably and shows no distress. Rarely, there may be a break of a day or even two in between the delivery of kittens, but this is not usual. Most often, a long delay between the delivery of all the kittens means that there is a problem. You can try to wait and see if she has the rest of the kittens on her own, but if she develops any discharge, stops eating, starts vomiting, is straining to deliver for more than an hour or appears painful, there is no denying she needs help.

Cats that go more than 6-12 hours between the delivery of all the kittens should ideally be checked by a vet to ensure nothing is obstructing the birth canal. If all is okay, they should have an injection of Pitocin, which helps strengthen contractions. This is not usually very expensive. If you are completely unable to afford a vet visit, I would recommend that you call around and see if any vets will allow you to make payments or if there are grants that help with emergency care that you can apply for. In my state, there are funds for just such occasions. In the worst case, if your kitty starts showing signs of distress and you are unable to get her to a vet, it may be in her best interest to surrender her to a vet or animal shelter so she can get the care she needs. If she can't deliver her babies, she will die.

Best wishes to you, your kitty and the litter!

Jessica