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My newborn kittens' feet are swollen and pink. Is it gangrene?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

My cat gave birth to 3 kittens were on March 4 (now a week old). Only 3 days later I found out that 2 of the babies still had the umbical cord wrapped tightly around their foot, causing one kitten to lose half a foot, and the other losing one whole foot. I cut off the cord but both kittens' foot were already dead. I didn't do anything to them after but now I found out that their foot had swollen and turned pink. Should I get them amputated? I fear the gangrene might have spread

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1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on March 11th, 2018

Yes, I would definitely take them both into the vet immediately. This is very serious, it would be very painful to them, and they need veterinary treatment now for this problem. Please take them into an ER vet clinic; if there isn't one in your area, there will be a vet on call for emergencies. The information to reach that vet is found on a clinic's answering machine or website.

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