Cat Giving Birth at Home: (VIDEO) Safe Cutting of Newborn Kitten’s Umbilical Cord

How to (cut) get rid of kittens’ umbilical cord?

Taking care of “puspins” or cats at home always comes with responsibilities. Not only as pet owners provide shelter and food but as their humans, we should be looking after their overall health since in most cases cats need assistance and they depend on us.

One issue of rescuing cats off the streets is pregnancy which eventually would lead to delivering the kittens. Most mommy cats would have their innate ability and instincts to know what to do when it comes to delivering her kittens. But what if the mommy cat is still a kitten like Chiffon who is clueless of what is going on. 

In this particular case Chiffon’s delivery is pretty much premature. Chiffon is still considered as a kitten (technically full maturity happens at around 18 months)at only 8 months old is now facing the consequences of unwanted pregnancy in cats. In my estimation she should be giving birth at least 3 weeks to a month from now with her belly not yet fully developed. 

Chiffon barely 2 months old with her favorite nanny- Panda bear

Basic things to prepare when assisting a cat giving birth at home

• clean towel, rugs or cloths for cleaning
• bowl of warm water 
• antiseptic (alcohol)
• sanitized sharp scissors
• tissues or cotton balls for cleaning the kitten’s body and face
• newspaper
•  litter box- a clean box to place the mommy cat and kittens
• delivery box- a box where mommy cat will deliver her kittens

Basic procedures in cleaning newborn kittens and cutting the kitten’s umbilical cord

NOTE: It is important that you DO NOT CUT the umbilical cord while the placenta is still inside the mommy cat’s womb. This will endanger the health of the mother and can cause death. Make sure that the placenta for each kitten is completely out of the mother’s womb.

 

Shown in this video is Chiffon after she gave birth and is clueless on what to do next and how to get rid of kittens’ umbilical cord. I am working as fast and as gentle as I could to minimize newborn kittens handling time. As much as possible new born kittens should not be handled to prevent stress except when needed during the first few weeks after birth.

 

STEP 1: Prepare the cutting instrument such as sharp scissors by thoroughly washing it with soap and then use rubbing alcohol to sanitize it.

STEP 2: Wipe off blood, liquid and debris off the kitten with damped (use warm water) cotton or soft tissue paper. Make sure that you are holding the kitten gently in your hand.

STEP 3: Position the kitten properly then stretch the nearby attached portion of the umbilical cord (at the belly button) then allow at least 1 to 1.5 inch (leave a portion of the cord still attached to the kitten) allowance on the area where you will cut off the cord. Don’t worry about the small length of umbilical cord attached to the kitten since this will naturally fall off within 3 days.

STEP 4: Position the scissors in a 60 degrees angle then cut the kitten’s umbilical cord.

STEP 5: Clean the kitten thoroughly with soft cloth or rug moistened with warm water paying attention to the nose, mouth and behind areas keeping crevices free from blood and placenta matter. Traces of placenta and blood can get caught up in the kitten’s body that could only cause infection.

STEP 6: Dry the kitten with soft clean towel then place it on the litter box lined with towel or a soft piece of cloth.

STEP 7: Dispose the detached (cut) kitten’s umbilical cord together with the placenta properly then clean the entire area.

The steps and procedures in cutting the kitten’s umbilical cord and cleaning the kittens are based on my personal experience of being able to assist in several cat deliveries at home. I also had an experience when another mommy cat (Chiffon’s mom when she was being delivered) was not able to push her kittens out of her womb and I have to intervene but this is another story…

 

Chiffon now nursing her litter for the first time

Luckily Chiffon was able to endure her delivery ordeals with healthy 4 kittens in spite of her young age and premature newborns. At the moment the kittens are sleeping soundly while mommy Chiffon is already done cleaning herself and now munching on her favorite cat food.

(UPDATE: Chiffon's kittens died a few days later. The kittens were delivered prematurely and were not able to suck milk from their mother. BUT today, March 18, 2016 at around 5 am Chiffon just gave birth to 2 kittens (probably there  will be more). I thought she will be needing some assistance from me that's why I prepared myself just in case. But thanked God this second delivery went well.)

An Introduction: Many of you would not know it, that I’ve been rescuing and caring unwanted dogs and cats for over a decade now. This is not a thing that I choose to do but some twist of fate led the poor furbabies to me and this is now my passion and advocacy.

We could not ignore the fact that many domesticated animals in the Philippines end up abandoned on streets by humans. This is a sad reality that genuine animal lovers face on a daily basis just because of irresponsible pet owners.

 

This post is a simple way of sharing my experience as a cat rescuer and from then on I will be postings more related issues about pets and animals. 

DISCLAIMER: Video, photos and content should not be copied, pasted, altered, rewritten without authorization from the blog owner.