How to help a giving birth cat at home?

You still don’t know how to help a giving birth cat? In this article we will try to answer this question in detail and analyze all the points, from preparing the nest to labor.

Any cat may need help during birth. The opinion that cats always give birth without problems is wrong. Yes, basically, no pathologies arise during the birth process of a pet, but you need to be prepared for anything. Especially if you are really looking forward to the birth of kittens, for example, for sale.

Setting up a nest

The birth of kittens is always a big stress for your pet. That is why it is very important to prepare the nest for birth in advance and try to accustom the animal to it. As a nest, you can use a spacious box that has a lid on top. So that the cat can easily get inside, it is necessary to cut a hole in the side. Do not place soft blankets on the bottom of the box. The best option is several layers of paper or baby diapers (they will most likely have to be thrown away).

The box should be placed in a warm, quiet and dark place where there are no drafts. Place a trash can, food and water in this room for your pet. And so the question: “How to help a giving birth cat?” Without taking you by surprise, we will tell you a little about the signs of pregnancy and the onset of labor in an animal.

Signs of pregnancy and impending birth

If you know the day of mating, it will be easier to determine the approximate due date. A cat bears kittens for approximately 65-67 days. Her belly begins to enlarge, her appetite increases, her nipples enlarge, becoming bright pink.

In the last days of pregnancy:

Colostrum begins to be released from the animal's chest.
The stomach drops.
Body temperature decreases.
Mucus is discharged from the vagina.

In addition, the cat begins to look for a place suitable for giving birth. You will notice that she hides in the closet, explores the distant corners of the room, etc.

On the day of birth, the animal refuses food, goes to the toilet very often, and then, when attempts appear, it begins to give birth. If your pet is giving birth for the first time, be prepared to provide all possible assistance.

What signs can you use to know that a cat is about to give birth?

If you know the day of mating, it will be easier to determine the approximate due date. A cat bears kittens for approximately 65-67 days.

The first signs of labor appear in a pregnant cat 7-10 days before. We wrote about such signs in our previous article. In order not to repeat ourselves, let's start with the main thing - the beginning of labor.

Cat before giving birth

So, most cats give birth on their own, and they do not require any outside help. But, if you are the owner of a purebred British, charismatic Scottish or cute Maine Coon cat, you, of course, will want to take part in this important process, and in order to support the family’s favorite in such a difficult moment for her, you must know how to help a cat give birth.

Tender care from a beloved owner will only benefit a cat giving birth. She will feel the support of a loved one and calm down a little.

Well, now about the main thing: how a cat’s labor begins, and what state it is in at this crucial moment:

A few days before giving birth, the cat will choose a place in the house where it will be relatively dark and quiet. It is better to place a convenient box in this part of the living space, having previously covered the bottom with soft fabrics. Choose a box with small sides to make it easy for your cat to jump on. When the pet feels the beginning of the birth process, she will climb into the prepared box herself.

Cat before giving birth

Some cats fundamentally do not want to give birth in a box with rags, and are looking for another comfortable place in the house. Make sure your pet doesn't go into the linen closet to give birth. Keep in mind that during the birth of kittens, the placenta and other secretions will come out of the cat’s genitals. Remove the cat from the closet and close the door tightly. Try to “convince” your pet to give birth in a prepared place. Gently lay it on soft cloths and stroke it on the belly or back.
Before giving birth, the cat does not eat anything. There is no need to force her to eat. But be sure to place a bowl of clean drinking water next to the box.
The cat moves around the house only to drink food or water, the rest of the time it lies and sleeps.
Before giving birth, the cat will be restless; she may meow loudly and even scream. This is not at all surprising, because childbirth is a very complex and painful process not only for people, but also for animals.

The birth of the first kitten

A caring owner may be nearby at this moment. Warm words and gentle stroking are enough to calm her down.
While your cat is preparing to give birth, you should prepare to deliver the baby. This is necessary in case they occur with complications.
A small amount of red or yellow mucus may be released.
Reddening of the nipples, the beginning of colostrum secretion, this indicates the established process of lactation.

Day of birth

How to help a cat give birth for the first time? Many people ask this question. On the day of birth, you need to be especially careful, because your pet may need help at any time.

You will definitely notice that your cat's behavior on the day of delivery has changed dramatically.

On the day of birth, a previously calm cat begins to constantly walk around the rooms, try on the nest an infinite number of times and often lick the genitals.
Rectal temperature drops by about 2 degrees.
The cat's breathing quickens, and as the pain increases, she begins to purr and even scream.
The animal's vagina swells and bloody or yellow discharge appears.

This is the first stage of labor and can last from 12 to 24 hours. You may not have to think about how to help your cat give birth to kittens, but it will be useful to support her morally (pat her belly and talk to her). Be close to your pet.

Ovulation after stimulation

Every woman’s body reacts differently to different external influences. Thus, successful ovulation after stimulation occurs the first time in only 20% of women, the second - in 5%, and the third - in 3%. In the intervals between stimulations, 6% of women manage to become pregnant, and another 6% falls on women who have had more than three stimulations, which, by the way, is not particularly recommended. In 60% of women, pregnancy does not occur even after intense stimulation of ovulation.

In the case of a successful pregnancy after ovulation stimulation, the woman needs to be under close medical supervision during the first few months, since at this time the risk of miscarriage is significantly increased. Moreover, in order to avoid fetal hypoxia, the woman will have to periodically undergo blood tests to determine the level of hormones in her blood. A full medical examination should also become part of the routine of the expectant mother - after ovulation is stimulated, the factors that negatively affect the course of pregnancy become much greater than during a natural pregnancy.

Stages of birth in a cat

The first stage of labor is accompanied by contractions mixed with pushing. Under the influence of pushing, the kittens move along the birth canal.

The second stage of labor is the birth of kittens. First, amniotic fluid comes out, then part of the kitten appears. Kittens, like people, are born head first. If the presentation is different, the cat will need your help. It happens that a kitten moves its feet forward; this is not a pathology.

After the birth of a kitten, the cat releases it from the amniotic sac, licks it, and chews the umbilical cord. After the cub begins to breathe and screams, she puts it to her chest. This is a normal birthing process for cats. During the third stage of labor, the state of the cat's uterus becomes calm after the birth of each baby. Following the kitten, an afterbirth appears, which the cat eats. To prevent your cat from vomiting or diarrhea after giving birth, it is best not to let her eat more than two placentas. The quiet period of the uterus lasts about fifteen minutes, after which labor resumes.

If your cat gives birth as described above, you won't be thinking about how to help your cat give birth. The main thing here is to count the number of kittens and afterbirths. If you miss one placenta, it means it has not come out, and this can lead to a serious inflammatory disease.

Remember that after several kittens are born, labor may stop for a period of 12 to 36 hours. This phenomenon is quite normal, don't worry.

Causes of problems

If an animal is overweight, it can cause problems during the birth of offspring.
It is not difficult for a pregnant pet to give birth at home. However, there are situations when a long period has passed since the start of contractions, but the pet does not give birth for a long time. Often, a cat cannot give birth in the following situations:

large size kitten;
malposition;
traumatic injuries;
inflammation;
narrow pelvis;
incomplete dilatation of the cervix;
abnormalities in the development of the vaginal vault;
lack of lubrication;
advanced age;
excessive body weight.

Weak labor

However, often a cat cannot give birth due to the influence of the factors described above. One of the most common factors is considered to be weak labor. It is usually divided into 2 types:

Weak uterine contractions are possible when the pet’s body does not produce enough oxytocin.

Primary light tone of the uterus. It is observed due to a lack of the hormone oxytocin in the body, which is responsible for the frequency of contractions. Sometimes this condition can be caused by a lack of calcium.
Secondary. Cessation of uterine contractions due to severe exhaustion of the female during labor.

When might a cat need your help?

So, the cat gives birth for the first time. You don't know how to help. It is important to understand here that there are signs that directly indicate that the pet needs help. Here they are:

Part of the kitten has already appeared, but it cannot be born because it is stuck.
The emerging kitten is not breathing.
The cat did not release the baby from the amniotic sac.
If the pet cannot bite the umbilical cord.
The afterbirth does not come out for a long time.

We provide assistance to a giving birth cat

How to help a cat give birth faster? If the kitten is stuck in the birth canal, lubricate the animal's vagina with Vaseline or lubricant. This usually helps. If it doesn’t help, then you need to start examining your pet. To do this, lubricate the vulva with betadine solution and put on sterile gloves. Next, you need to insert your finger into the animal’s vagina, without touching the anus, and place your other hand on the stomach, closer to the pelvis. Try to turn the baby along the birth canal. It is important to determine the presentation of the kitten.

If the baby comes out head first, but his head is turned to the side or his chin protrudes forward, you need to do the manipulations described below. So, how to help a giving birth cat in this case?

Carefully insert your finger into the baby's mouth.
We carefully turn the kitten's head so that it can continue to pass through the birth canal without hindrance.
To prevent the kitten from coming back, press on the cat's perineum, at the bottom of the anus. This will cause the pet to begin to strain.

This method also helps if the baby moves forward with its sacrum. But here, during the examination, you need to hook the kitten’s paws one by one and move them along the birth canal.

What to do if the fruit is large?

How to help a cat give birth to a large kitten? Even if he moves head first, his shoulder area can prevent birth. We fix the problem this way:

After lubricating the vagina, insert your finger inside and try to feel the elbow bends of both paws of the kitten one by one.
Grab each paw at the shoulder joint.
Turn the baby from side to side, try to alternately stretch its paws forward.
If the baby is in the lower part of the birth canal, force the pet to push. To do this, you need to stretch the vagina.

Freeing the kitten from the amniotic sac

If the cat has not released the baby from the amniotic sac within one minute after the birth, you need to do the following:

Quickly cut the bubble.
Take the newborn out and wrap him in cloth.
Next, you need to hold the baby’s head and bend his body into an arc so that his knees reach his chest. If you do this several times, the baby will begin to breathe.
If necessary, remove any remaining amniotic fluid from the mouth and nose with a pipette.
Rub the baby with a terry towel. If breathing does not appear, perform artificial respiration.

Stimulation of ovulation using folk remedies

Often, even the most experienced doctors cannot determine the causes of prolonged female infertility, which means that hopes for prescribing an optimal course of treatment are also thrown into the trash. In such cases, desperate women often resort to “grandmother’s” advice, and, as it turns out, for good reason. Some folk remedies for stimulating ovulation have confirmed their effectiveness after a number of successful pregnancies of women practicing certain methods, therefore, we will not ignore them either.

It should be taken into account that herbal medicine cannot under any circumstances be combined with the use of conventional hormonal drugs. Otherwise, a woman’s hormonal levels risk being disrupted, and further drug treatment for infertility will not bring any results. Moreover, before using folk remedies to stimulate ovulation, a woman should carefully study the compatibility of herbs and infusions with her body, and prevent incompatibility of herbal remedies with factors of her own body. For example, if you have polycystic ovary syndrome, the use of sage is strictly prohibited, etc. It is highly recommended that you consult your doctor before planning your own course of treatment.

Returning to sage, it is impossible not to mention that it is considered the most effective folk remedy for stimulating ovulation, since it contains a large amount of estrogen-like substances, and, therefore, works on the same principle as a drug, just in a slower mode. The healing decoction consists of 1 tbsp. l. sage, poured with hot water, after which it needs to brew for about half an hour. This decoction is taken for ten days, starting from the fifth day of the first phase of the menstrual cycle. The course is most effective if repeated over three months.

Rose petals, surprisingly, are used not only as an aphrodisiac extract, but also as a means to stimulate ovulation. They contain a large amount of vitamin E, which, in turn, is necessary for the normal functioning of the ovaries. So, 1 tbsp. petals, poured into a glass of hot water, boiled in a water bath for several minutes, infused for about an hour, filtered, and consumed for several months in a small sip every night.

A common method of stimulating ovulation is also a diet in which it is advised to add foods containing phytoestrogens to the diet. These include carrots, beets, apples, full-fat milk, pineapples, spinach, sesame seeds and dates.

When do you need to urgently contact a veterinarian?

It happens that you know how to help a cat giving birth, but you can’t do it without the help of a veterinarian. There are several signs that your pet needs urgent medical attention.

First of all, keep track of how many days the animal’s pregnancy lasts. If the period has exceeded 70 days, you need to urgently contact a veterinarian.

Pay attention to the animal's body temperature. If your cat has a fever, then this is a reason to call a doctor.

You should be concerned about bright bloody discharge from your pet's vagina, especially if the bleeding continues for more than 10 minutes.

Have you heard an unpleasant, pungent odor from your vagina? Contact your veterinarian immediately.

If a cat has strong contractions that last two hours, and labor has not yet occurred, then you cannot do without the help of a specialist. It happens that two kittens try to pass into the birth canal at the same time.

If the first stage of labor lasts more than a day, or you see that the baby is stuck and you are unable to help it, the cat needs urgent qualified help.

What to do if the baby is stillborn?

Unfortunately, it happens that kittens are born dead. There can be many reasons for the tragedy; often people do not know how to help a cat give birth to a dead kitten, and they turn to a veterinary clinic.

If you see that your cat has given birth to a stillborn kitten, first of all, don't panic. Newborn babies may merely appear dead due to strong contractions, low indoor room temperatures, or mucus blocking the airways.

Clear the kitten's airways with a pipette, dry it, stimulate breathing by holding it slightly upside down by its hind legs, and place it in a box with a warm heating pad. Persistently place such kittens on the cat's chest.

The baby may be stillborn due to the long labor period. Therefore, if you notice that a cat has given birth to several kittens, but one or two fetuses are felt when palpating her abdomen, you need to contact a veterinarian. A cat may have breaks during labor, but it’s still better to be on the safe side. You should be especially alarmed by a break of more than twelve hours.

In some cases, your doctor may recommend a caesarean section for your cat.

Drugs to stimulate ovulation

However, clostilbegit is far from the only drug used to stimulate ovulation. Among the most popular in use, it is also worth highlighting the following tools:

Puregon is a gonadotropic drug that stimulates the pituitary gland to produce several important sex hormones. Puregon is universal in use, as it is suitable for both further natural and in vitro fertilization of the egg.
Menagon is a drug from the same gonadotropic family, producing the same hormones and increasing the concentration of female hormones - estrogens. Menagon is considered the most effective drug for stimulating follicle growth.
Duphaston is a progestin tablet that helps the endometrium attach to an already fertilized egg. Typically used to consolidate the results obtained when using the drugs to stimulate ovulation mentioned above.

We must not forget about the hCG injection, which is given after the completed course of taking gonadotropins, and is the last step towards stimulating ovulation, provided that the preliminary treatment with drugs was successful. As a rule, ovulation occurs within a day after the injection.

Even the cat helps the cat give birth!

Who would have thought that even a cat helps a cat give birth! Vietnamese resident Thuy Duong Panda has a cat named Yello and a cat named Tam Do. When Tam Do gave birth, her partner did not leave her side and provided all possible assistance, supporting and reassuring her.

The couple gave birth to four healthy kittens, and this was Tam Do's first birth. The kittens' father supports his beloved even after giving birth.

Take care of your pets, do not be afraid to help. You will not harm the kittens, but you will help the cat and her cubs cope with difficulties. Moreover, if necessary, you can always call a veterinarian who will tell you what to do in this or that case.

Gamavit for obstetrics

This traditional medicine is recommended to be used to help cats during childbirth for several reasons.:

It helps to avoid uterine rupture due to excessively large offspring;
It prevents diseases such as endometritis and pyometra.
Reduces the risk of birth and postpartum complications.
Allows the animal to quickly return to normal after birth.

The product is used by injection - intravenous, subcutaneous and intramuscular. To speed up the absorption of the medicine into the blood and induce labor, the injection should be given under the shoulder blade. In agreement with the veterinarian, the drug can be given to the cat to drink. For an adult cat, the dosage of the drug for one injection can be from 1 to 1.5 ml.