Not a bird, but still an animal emergency - All help appreciated!

[Dragon Slayer Trinket]

I woke up this morning to take care of the animals, and a family member found a kitten on the ground outside. It was wet and cold, and barely breathing, but we put the kitten on a heat pad inside to warm up, and it's meowed twice. Her mother Cricket is now in a crate with the kitten and is keeping it warm and licking and doing all the things that good mother cats do.
However, something went wrong during the birth. This is Cricket's first ever kitten, and I don't know who she mated with or if she has more in her. I knew she was pregnant, but she was unnaturally small, so this kitten may very well be the only one. The kitten's umbilical cord is still attached (and boy is it long!), but at the end of the cord is a red thing. Honestly, it looks like tongue. I have no clue what it is, only that it's not supposed to be there. I've had three other litters of kittens before, so I know the basics, but I've never seen anything like this before. Should I be concerned? What is the tongue thing?
I'd post pictures, but now that Cricket has stopped ignoring Tiny Black Thing, I'd like to leave them be.

 

[casportpony]

Does the mother cat have more kittens outside?

 

[Dragon Slayer Trinket]

No, this is her only one.

Does the mother cat have more kittens outside?

 

[WIchickMama]

No, this is her only one.

are you sure (no peronal attack here, just a question) as I believe it is very unusual for a cat to only have 1 kitten. Is it possible there are more hidden somewhere and maybe she had dropped this one while moving or it was found by another animal and dragged out of hiding?

 

[Dragon Slayer Trinket]

are you sure (no peronal attack here, just a question) as I believe it is very unusual for a cat to only have 1 kitten. Is it possible there are more hidden somewhere and maybe she had dropped this one while moving or it was found by another animal and dragged out of hiding?

I get it, I get it. I seriously doubt it based on her stomach size, but if she did have others there's no way for me to know, unless I want to go on a treasure hunt.

 

[WIchickMama]

do you have a picture of what you are concerned about on the umbilical cord?

 

[Dragon Slayer Trinket]

do you have a picture of what you are concerned about on the umbilical cord?

"I'd post pictures, but now that Cricket has stopped ignoring Tiny Black Thing, I'd like to leave them be."

No, I don't. It looks like a tongue.

 

[cassie]

Clip it off about an inch from the body. I have had cats have only one kitten. Here is another story you might find interesting. When I was about six, my mother and I were staying with my aunt because our house had burned down. I went out to the barn with my cousin and I heard a baby kitten mewing. I looked in a manger and there it was with its mother on the hay. I told my cousin that Stubby had a new baby. She replied that that wasn't possible because Stubby had a litter the week before and that they had all died. Previous litter or not, Stubby had this one. We ended up taking it home when it was old enough.

 

[Dragon Slayer Trinket]

Clip it off about an inch from the body. I have had cats have only one kitten. Here is another story you might find interesting. When I was about six, my mother and I were staying with my aunt because our house had burned down. I went out to the barn with my cousin and I heard a baby kitten mewing. I looked in a manger and there it was with its mother on the hay. I told my cousin that Stubby had a new baby. She replied that that wasn't possible because Stubby had a litter the week before and that they had all died. Previous litter or not, Stubby had this one. We ended up taking it home when it was old enough.

Wow. Cats are strange animals.