What to do if my cat doesn't cut her kitten's umbilical cord?

Ensure the mother has cleaned their noses and nothing is obstructing their breathing. If the mother has not broken the cords you can tie off the cord with some cotton or dental floss sterilized with boiling water. Tie two very tight knots at least one inch from the kittens belly and half inch apart and cut between the two knots with sterilized scissors. She may eat the placentas when she is completely done with the [queening](https://www.petcoach.co/article/queening-giving-birth-in-cats) (delivery). If she doesn't, you can dispose of them after a few hours.

Go ahead and gently clean the sac off of the kitten. You may need to tie off the umbilical cord if Mom is not attending to it. (Normally she will chew it off.) you can use a warm hand towel from the dryer to clean the kittens and stimulate them. Mom may not show interest in nursing until she is done delivering. Good luck to all of you and thank you for using Pet Coach.

The sac and cord need to be removed. In theory you could do this at home, but I would recommend having your veterinarian do this. Cord needs to clamped close to the body, then tied to prevent possible hemorrhage from occurring. The use of thread or dental floss could be utilized if you choose not to have a vet do it. The kitten needs to be kept warm and fed every 2-3 hours for the next 7-14 days. A kitten milk replace will be required.

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I would suggest just leaving the cord alone. As long as it doesn't have any discharge, and the kitten is eating, drinking, playing and doing well, the cord will die and fall off on it's own. Do not pull on it and you don't have to cut it. Best of luck with Tinkie!

I can certainly understand being scared about this! I would have the kittens (along with their mother) seen by a vet now for this, as the cord will likely have to be cut away. It the cord is too tight around the legs and tummy, it can cut off the blood supply, which is why it's important to have it removed right away. You can try to cut the cord carefully yourself to remove the kitten, but if you are frightened to do so, it's certainly fine to take them into a vet now to have this done :-)

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I would use a piece of thread to tie off the chord a little above the belly buttons (where is attaches to the kitten) then use scissors to cut the chord off (away from attachment). It will be fine. The stillborn kitten will be fine if you just cut it. For the alive kittens you should tie off a few millimeters above where it attaches to the body. I hope this helps!

Normally when kittens are born the umbilical cord is tied off at the base where it meets the belly and the remainder is snipped off. The remaining piece will usually dry up and fall off on its own (like you are describing). If you suspect an infection and see signs such as oozing debris from the area, pain around the area, redness, pus forming, etc, then it should be looked at by a vet. Otherwise, keeping the area clean, and dipping it in some iodine may help it to heal and ward off infection. If you're having trouble affording veterinary care this site may help you figure out some ways to make it more affordable: http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tips/trouble_affording_veterinary_care.html