My cat's labor is prolonged. When to worry about remaining kittens?

Cats are typically pretty predictable when it comes to delivering their babies, but when they decide to act outside the norm they become extremely unpredictable. Your average short haired house-cat will have a kitten every 10-60 minutes after the first one is delivered. However there are some cases where cats are known to intentionally stop giving birth (usually we aren't able to determine why with certainty), and will resume anywhere from a couple hours to upwards of 24-36 hours later. This tends to happens most often in animals that were interrupted physically during the birthing process. In cases where there is truly difficulty with delivery or failure to deliver all the young, veterinary intervention will be required. This is especially true if you feel Lily is not caring for the others babies, is acting unusual or sickly, or if she is actively straining but not producing any offspring. Hope this makes sense.

If she is not straining to push at this time, then yes give her more time to birth the rest of the kittens at her own pace. This process, known as[ queening](https://www.petcoach.co/article/queening-giving-birth-in-cats/), can take up to 48 hrs to complete. Please try not to worry or [stress](https://www.petcoach.co/article/5-surprising-ways-stress-can-impact-your-pet) her during her labor process as this can stall and prolong her labor. If no kitten is delivered after 30 minutes of active straining/pushing, then you should have her examined by your veterinarian or at the nearest veterinary ER.

Hi and thank you for using petcoach. I would recommend a vet visit for Josephine to assess for other kittens. A cat should have all kittens within 6-8 hours, and while possible, it is rare for there to only be one kitten in a litter. The veterinarian may recommend ultrasound or radiographs (x-rays) to assess for other kittens. http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=1738 Best of luck to Josephine and her kitten(s).

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Birdie!! Cats can get very easily stressed when in labor and can delay the birth of subsequent kittens up to 24 hours. If she is actively contracting for greater than 2 hours without the birth of a kitten she needs to go to an emergency hospital. I would confine her to a quiet place with the kitten. Only one person should check on her every 1-2 hours. Keep the room dim and do not allow a lot of stress. I hope this helps and I wish Birdie the best!

Labor and delivery can take many hours depending on the mother and size of the litter. Contactions longer than 1hour without delivery of a kitten, restlessness and discomfort longer than 2hours or breaks between kittens of more than 4hours are all indications of the need for furhter action. Often getting them out of bed for gentle exercise/toileting/drink can help to kickstart labor again

Cats can deliver kittens with longer breaks between than dogs. I recommend keeping her separated in a quiet area and letting nature take its course. It is very unusual for cats to have trouble with labor. If she has not passed another kitten in 4-5 hours I would call your local vet for direction. At anytime if she is not eating.,drinking, or acting properly I would take her to the vet

Hello. It has been a few hours since you posted, so perhaps Quinn has already had the rest of her kittens. If not, & she remains comfortable, there are no obvious signs of contractions & she is happily nursing her kittens, there is not much you can or need to do. It is possible that what you felt was actually the uterus contracting down, a common mistake. If she goes 24 hours without delivering any more kittens & you still think you are feeling something, please have her examined by your veterinarian. She may require an injection to stimulate contractions, or she may need a C-section, but I think she may actually be done. See your vet if you have any concerns. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.