If you see and instinctively realize that your cat is giving birth , you do not need to worry much. Give everything to the maternal and natural instinct, but stay close to her, to support and show your love and care at such a crucial moment. Also be prepared to take action if something goes wrong.
How to help a cat give birth for the first time at home?
When more than 60 days have passed since the beginning of pregnancy , birth can begin on any day. Therefore, if possible, do not leave it alone for long, put in a favorite corner a large box and cover the bottom with clean towels or rags. The first nest for kittens should be warm and cozy.
It is not superfluous to put in the box paper that the cat can tear and bite during fights. Also, keep a blanket ready at the ready, clean scissors, blood clamps, antiseptic and threads.
The first signs that a cat gives birth:
- her body temperature drops by 1 degree (normal temperature 38.6 ° C);
- behavior becomes restless;
- the abdomen moves wavy - it's contractions;
- from the nipples of milk.
Place the mother in the prepared box, close all the doors and windows in the house so that she does not run away and give birth on the street. Be with her, encourage her kindly, you can lightly stroke her head in the intervals between contractions. But if she does not like that you are touching her, you do not need to do this.
Contractions, like that of a woman, will increase, the cat will purr and pant. If you noted that labor activity is delayed and after two hours of labor, no kitten ever appeared, bring the cat to the veterinarian. It happens that two kittens get stuck in the birth canal, can not be born by themselves and do not miss the others.
If everything is fine, the kittens are born one after another with some interval. In the process of getting out of the birth canals, a pouch with a liquid bursts into which the kitten is enclosed. Mother immediately instinctively begins to lick the baby, until he begins to breathe fully and does not shout like a human child.
If the cat itself does not eat the umbilical cord, you need to tie it with clean threads 4 cm from the belly of the kitten and carefully cut the cord with scissors.
Born kittens almost immediately sucked to the cat. After the birth of each kitten, the mother leaves the placenta and she eats it. If at least one placenta does not come out, it can be a serious problem, as it will cause the development of infection. In case of the slightest doubt, call a veterinarian.
If everything went well, the kittens were born, licked and clean began to eat and the cat feels good, leave it at that - the maternal instinct will tell the young mother how to behave with the offspring.