My kitten's umbilical cord is black/hard. Is it infected? What to do?

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!

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.

This could be an umbilical hernia, or an infection of the umbilicus (belly button). I'd recommend having this kitten examined by your vet to see if any treatment is needed. If it is a hernia repair might be recommended when the kitten is older.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Tiger is adorable! Can you post a picture of the chord? If it is long I would use a piece of thread to tie it off 1/2 cm from his belly and trim the excess off. The small stump will dry up and fall off. He should be kept warm with a heating pad on low and have the ability to roll off the heating pad if he wants until 3 weeks of age. He should be fed every 2-3 hours until 3 weeks of age. After every feeding he needs to be stimulated to urinate and defecate by gently rubbing his anus and genitals with a soft wet with warm water towel. Kitten formula can cause constipation. If that develops try mixing 2 different brands of formula together and adding extra water. I do recommend early weaning in bottle fed kittens due to the GI issues with formula. So around 3-4 weeks start canned kitten food mixed with the formula. Good luck!

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 :-)

That doesn't look good. It looks like a hernia (possibly a section of intestines or the omentum) that has come out of the body and is now dried out. The other option is a dried umbilical stump. You really should try to get the kitten to a vet for an exam. It is difficult for me to say what you can do if I'm not sure what is going on. If you try some home treatment and that is a piece of intestines hanging out then you could certainly make it worse. I hope this helps. Best of luck.

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!