Help on pregnant cat.

[shootingstar]

Hi,

Im new to this forum.

My partner and i a week ago brought a year and half old long haired female tabby cat called Meeka, we were told she was fully injected and had been spayed. Today we went to get her checked up by the vet as her tummy seemed quite large and very firm and we found out she was pregnant the vet has told us shes due in a week and half.

Does anyone have an advice on what to look out for whens shes about to give birth and tips on how we can best support her during her labour.

[alexgirl73]

hi and welcome! Wow, you have found yourself in a situation havent you. I've not had a pregnant cat before but many members have experience in this area and I'm sure someone will be along soon who can give you advice. Good luck.

[dandysmom]

What a surprise! I too have never had a pregnant female, but many members have and hopefully someone will pop on soon with advice. Did your vet give you any information about what to expect/do?

[cybeeb]

We found a cat about 3-4 years ago. She was very tiny and only weighed 4.2 lbs. Imagine our surprise when she gained weight very quickly and we found out she was due in three weeks with 3-4 kittens. We put her in a room all to herself and bought a kitty cube (just a softsided cube shaped toy for cats). We set her up with food and water (we fed kitten food as it is more nutritious than regular food and better for a pregnant queen). Jitterbug had her kittens in the middle of the day (in her birthing cube) and we kept her in there till the kittens were about 6 weeks old. Then they had the run of the house with everybody else. In our special circumstances Jitterbug had a recent injury and we were keeping her from jumping up on any furniture as her depth perception was off.
One sign that it is time for the kittens to be born is that the mom's temp will go up.
Once she has the kittens (birthing could take hours), she will eat the placenta of every kitten. Let her do this as it is very nutritious for the babies. She will clean them up and nurse them and do all the work! If you notice she is breathing hard ( in labor) and nothing is happening, then you will want to give the vet a call.
Good luck,
If you have any other questions please ask.

[sarahd]

Hi
If you can possibly confine her to one place in the last week of her pregnancy ie a room or dog crate (cage) all the better. Especially during the night or when you have to go out and leave her alone. It will make her feel more secure and stop her wandering around looking for somewhere to have her babies.
If you can get some vetbed to put in where she will have her babies. You can buy that from most pet stores. It is very good as it soaks away any wet ie blood and fluids from the sacs and helps to keep the babies from losing their temperatures which happens very easily when they are first born.
It is usually easy to see if a female cat is in labour as they will become restless, dig their bedding and scratch up newspaper. She may become clingy and want you by her side all the time. They also sometimes look like they are making the motions of trying to be sick but that is the contractions.
Birthing can last any amount of time but the vets usually say if the queen is constantly straining and pushing for more than an hour an nothing happens it is usually advisable to seek medical attention for the cat.
If you can find a store that stocks Royal Canin dried food. Royal Canin baby cat is an excellent source of vitamins and nutrition for a pregnant and nursing cat. Failing that Royal canin kitten should do just as well. Try to encourage eating dried food as the more dried food they eat the more they drink and that helps the milk production.
You will probably find that mum will do all the hard work and you won't need to do a thing except sit there and be amazed at these tiny little creatures coming into the world. Trust me it is an amazing sight and so lovely to see.

Good luck and keep us updated with how things go.

Welcome to catsey btw :)

Sarah
x

[Grete]

Gosh what a handful to end up with unexpectedly! Good on you tho for not giving up on her :)

I have no advice to add as I've never had a pregnant cat but those here that are experienced, are wonderful :)

I wish you and your kitty all the luck with the birth :)

[smudgley]

You bought a cat that was 7 weeks pregnant & didn't know?

Excellent advice from Sarah, can't really add anything to what she has told you, just keep her quiet & away from any other animals & most important thing of us is a premium quality diet. I agree RC BC is the best you can get for her!

[momof10]

I had a cat that had kittens. She had a mucous plug that appeared first. Then she started to get restless and pant alot. I stayed with her the whole time. I had a box that i had her in. It took quite awhile for the first kitten to show then after that they came pretty fast. She had 4. Make sure to watch after she is done. Fruffy still acted funny after she was done having kittens and we thought she had one stuck in her. So we had to load her and the kittens(on sunday of course) to the vet for an emergency visit. It turned out she had afterbirth stuck in her. They gave meds and a shot and she was fine. Dont take chances tho she coulda died from it by getting infection.
It is pretty obvious when they go into labor. Just be ready. I had mine in the living room and she screamed on the first kitten,which brought all the other cats in ready to fight. I had to get her into the bathroom asap. Hope I helped some. Feel free to ask me anything you might need to know.

[tilly]

I can't add anymore except good luck and I hope ti all goes well.

Sally

[Steph]

And welcome from me. I`ve never had children so cannot advise but best wishes anyway.

PS-I`m not `Shooting Star`-although I was for ages on other sites until I changed my computer and had to re-register. The chances of anyone being here as well as sites I visit,apart from the person who kindly gave me the link are very small but thought it best to mention it to avoid any confusion

[borderdawn]

Can I ask how the Vet can be so precise with his dates? I mean a week and a half, how would he know?

[Megsy]

Gosh, what a surprise for you. If this happened to me I would think it was meant to be. Good luck.

[Saracatz]

How is Meeka doing??
Just a change to comment earlier, the cats temperature actually drops a little, it does not go up.
My advice would be similar to others, my siamese had 3 kittens in Oct 07 and are now 14 weeks old, one gone to its new home another is waiting to go on 22nd Feb and 3rd is staying with us.
Now I do have to say my girl Rosie had a fab birth, I was fully prepared.
She had her nest sorted, a babys carry cot in the wardrobe with a heat pad and soft sheets and a warm blanket, she slept in there for days before babies arrived.
I had vet phone no handy plus:
a few soft small towels, kitchen roll, antibacterial hand wash (99p from tesco the sort you dont wash off), scales, camera, notepad and pen.
My girlie went very very quiet just before birthing, then she made a couple of strange noises and I noticed the first kitten sac was showing, she was a little shocked with the first but she broke the sac herself and started washing the baby then she bit through the cord and ate the placenta, another 2 babies followed, 2nd baby I had to break the cord as she was too busy, all you do is squeeze the cord in 2 places and tear apart, it was easy to do, then mum took over the rest, then you can sit back and just watch. It would be handy to have a kittening book to read before kittens arrive. Good luck lt me know if I can help with anything else.

[shootingstar]

Hi,

Thanks for all your advice, At 5.03pm this afternoon meeka had 2 kittens a tabby and all black, she done a great job.

Her last kitten was born at 5.27pm and its been 3 hours and she still hasnt had the rest as i can see and feel movement, she laying down contently nursing her two kittens and catching up on her sleep, how long until she delivers the rest. Whats the longest anyone has heard and had between kittens being born.

Thanks

[Fran]

Hi it's not unusual for them to rest several hours between kittens. If she is content and not having contractions I wouldn't be worried at this point. Keep a close eye on her but as long as she isn't having contractions and straining, I wouldn't be worried. Do let us know how she gets on :)

[shootingstar]

Hi Everyone,

I am happy to announce that after waiting for coming up to 4 hours, Meeka gave birth to another 2 kittens. Making it a total of 4... so far. I don't think she will have anymore, but she could suprise us.

The 3rd Kitty to join the group was born at 9:08pm and was a black little boy and then at 9:18pm we was joined by another black kitten that we also believe to be a boy.

Meeka is done yet another great job and has really made the births an easy one. She never managed to eat the 4th placenta, but to be honest I can't blame her... maybe some HP would have helped. lol.

We will be posting pictures soon and keep you updated.

:)

[Mags]

Glad to read the kittens have been safely delivered.....well done to Meeka..:)

[dandysmom]

Congratulations to Meeka and her new babies! Glad it went so well for all!

[Tanya]

ahhhh Congratulations!!

I look forward to seeing pictures! ;)

[angieh]

Well done Meeka - another one here looking forward to the pictures! Valentine's babies :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Kay]

Congratulations to Meeka and of course you. Some Valentines names are in order I think.

[babycakes]

I have only just seen this well done Meeka, Hope the kittens are all doing well X

[sarahd]

So glad to hear Meeka and the kittens are doing well and that they arrived safely

Sarah
x

[ellenlouise]

What a nice happy endng! perfection!