My cat just had her first litter of kittens..but she only gave birth to one.. Is this healthy??

Question

I am a little worried.. I'm not sure if this is normal or not.. She is about a year old. first litter ever. And only one kitten?? She was not very big i don't know how long she was pregnant for, but she only started to show about a week or 2 ago. Then started birth at around 9:30 pm Monday night ( Aug 4 ) Any help on this would be great!! Thank you

Answer 1

To say the least it would have been the "nicer" thing to do if you would have had her fixed and not subjected her to this one experience.  Please ask yourself why you allowed this to happen and when this new kitten is weaned please take "mom" to the vet and have her fixed.

And if you plan to keep the baby, make sure it is fixed as well when the time is right.

Your mother cat was more than likely just a little young to carry a large litter of kittens and your lucky she came through it so well. Please watch her for health problems and take her to a vet if you have any more questions or suspect that she or the kitten are ill.

http://www.petplace.com/cats/pregnancy-i...

Quote:

"The litter size in cats varies from one kitten to more than 10. Litter sizes are often smaller in young and old animals and largest when the mother is around three to four years of age."

Answer 2

No this is not normal. I have worked for a Humane Society for years and have been a cat owner all my life. I have seen over 40 birth and not one gave birth to less then 3 kittens.

I'm not trying to scare you but this just happened to us on our last litter. A kitten got stuck in the birth canal, making it impossible for the others kittens to be born. Please, Please, take your kitty to the vet to have the Vet check her belly to see if they feel any more kittens. This is serious cause it could kill the mother if another kitten is stuck, leaving you with a lonely kitten that will need bottle fed for 5-6 weeks.

Please feel free to email me if you have any other concerns or questions. Best of luck to you, momma kitty and baby so far.  

Answer 3

This is not really an answer, but my cat only had one kitten also.  This morning actually.  It was her first litter and she is not very old either.  I am worried myself.  If you have any info, please share.  Thanks.

Answer 4

Take her to vet for check up and then let her spay, please.

Answer 5

Take your poor cat and her kitten to the vet immediately.....she needs to be checked out....while you're there make an appointment to have her spayed so she can't have any more litters....it is totally irresponsible to let more kittens be born into this world that already doesn't take care of them....My sister is an animal control officer for a middle to high income town on the east coast and in her shelter there are 60 plus cats, waiting of course to be adopted, but who will most likely be euthanized....If you can not afford a regular vet to spay your cat, the ASPCA and your local shelter should have some low cost alternatives to help you....Please spay and neuter all pets....

Answer 6

This is normal

as long as she doesn't seem to be in any pain or anything then she'll be fine. But maybe a check up at the vet would a good idea just in case.

My cat only had 2 kittens, which was a bit of a disappointment as I was only 5 and looking forward to heaps and heaps of kittens. :(

Hope that helps a bit.

Take her to the vet if you get too worried though.

Answer 7

It's not unusual for a cat to give birth to just one kitten I'd leave 'em be. If this is the only kitten, she stands a chance of not only being healthy but fat! That said, check in to make sure the kit if feeding. If it starts to cry loudly or mum won't feed ir, you may want to take them to a vet. Moth

Answer 8

its not the norm but yes it does happen,  I had a cat when i was little that gave birth to only one kitten.  Keep an eye on her and if she shows any signs of stress then get her to the vet.  Otherwise if she shows now signs of stress or having trouble she had just one kitten in this litter. Be thankful that its only one and not 6 that you have to worry about finding homes for.  With the overpopulation of pets and it is kitten season again people and shelters are over run with kittens.

Spay her after the kitten is weaned and you'll have no more kitten worries.

Answer 9

Cats litters can vary from 1 kitten to 15 (but that many kittens is unusual) it may be that some more kittens are coming, sometimes a mother cat will have a kitten (you'll think it's all over) then anything between 1 minuet to 2/3 hours later she'll have another 1.

Don't worry about it ! Don't act panicked or concerned around the new Mum it'll only upset her!  Enjoy your kitten/s it doesn't seem to last long enough.

Answer 10

She's small so it's possible she'll only have 1, or she could still be pregnant. You won't read this in books, but I've noticed small cats have smaller litters. Maybe your cat is still pregnant, does she look it? My cat once gave birth to one (a premature), and 3 days later had another 2. Sadly the premmie died after two days.

If you're still worried, best to take the cat to the vet. The first pregnancy is always difficult.