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Pregnant cat birthed undeveloped kitten. When to call emergency vet?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Female

We took in a neighborhood cat about a month ago after we noticed she was showing signs of being pregnant. Today she spontaneously birthed an undeveloped kitten about an hour ago. She has some blood tinged discharge but isn't showing any other signs of labor. (distress, contractions, etc.) I'm wondering if we should take her to an emergency vet now or when we should?

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Andrea M. Brodie, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on September 24th, 2018

She may be aborting her litter or just have expelled the one undeveloped kitten with the others intact. I would wait to see whether she is going to have more kittens and you may also want to take her temperature. If the temperature is high (above 103F) I would take her to the ER. If not and if she is not lethargic or hemorrhaging (losing lots of blood) there is time to take her to a vet tomorrow for an exam.

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