Helping a pregnant cat give birth
As you may have seen farther down the blog, a month or so ago I was able to bring a feral garden cat to my home and continue socialization work with her. It turns out she was already pregnant and the other night she gave birth around midnight. In the days before, she had begun nesting in the boxes I provided - she shredded up newspaper in the boxes, was much more affectionate with us and was more vocal.
The day she gave birth she allowed her 4 month old kitten to nurse from her again - nursing can often trigger labor. Sure enough, soon after, panting and purring began and then the first amnion (birth sac) appeared. We had clean towels, paper towels, newspaper and sterile gloves on hand to assist. Cats are perfectly capable of delivering kittens on their own without any intervention from humans, but being around as a trusted assistant can be rewarding for the human and helpful for the mother.
When the first kitten was born, I helped Mama clear its face of the amniotic sac to make sure the kitten’s breathing was unrestricted. Soon after she delivered that kitten’s placenta, which she promptly ate (in nature mothers eat the placenta in order to remove any smell of kittens and the birth process so that predators do not detect her young), severing the umbilical cord. The kitten almost immediately began nursing. Within half an hour, another kitten was born, and on and on until by 6am we had 7 kittens! The deliveries went off perfectly, and Mama really is the perfect mom. Her kittens are all robust and healthy (often at least one kitten in a litter is stillborn or will die soon after birth), and she keeps them immaculately clean. We look forward to watching the kittens grow up! Once Mama is done nursing, she will be spayed so that she can live out her life without having to go through this ordeal again.
Throughout her nursing period, and during her pregnancy, Mama is eating wet and dry kitten food to get extra protein and nutrients. We are also making sure that her room (our bedroom with the door shut - she does NOT want any additional cats near her babies right now) is sterile at all times, and that the bedding in her nest is changed daily. Her 4 month old daughter comes to visit and is allowed around her new siblings. :)