Surprise at the vets

[lizziejayne66]

i took my cat to the vets 2 days ago as she seemed off, and was been sick and loose, i got quite a shock when i was told she is expecting! so she had a scan, and was told there was 4 healthy kiitens in there! he thinks she is about 6 weeks along. so now im panicing over when/where itwill happen and what to expect. itis her first litter.

[Elaine]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

How old is your cat? Any particular reason as to why she hasnt been spayed before now?

[Elaine]

Just read your profile, it couldnt have been that much of a surprise since you are a breeder and your cats are entire.

[lizziejayne66]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

How old is your cat? Any particular reason as to why she hasnt been spayed before now?
accidental mating by the way, she was/will be spayed asap my daughter let the male out! he is booked in for neuter next week
thanks

[Kay]

Accidental mating or not there are babies on the way. If the vet thinks she is 6 weeks gone then she has just over three weeks to go although they can go over. As you say you don't now what to expect they I can only presume you are not a breeder.

You need to get her a box sorted out and place it in a quiet room, I always have my kittens born in my bedroom, she needs to be introduced to this room and the box so she can get used to it. It is no use just producing a box and expecting her to accept it. My girls are confined to the birthing room for the last two weeks of the pregnancy, unless they are getting really stressed by this. You will need plenty of bedding as it will need chnging often both during the birthing process and in the wees following. Rough face clothes, not expensive soft ones, the rougher the better will also be needed to dry off any kittens and stimulate any that need stimulating. You should get some powdered milk in just in case mum can't or won't feed the babies along with an oral syringe and some teats from your vets. I also have a heat pad and weighing scales.

Let her eat as much HIGH QUALITY food as she wants , for this purpose biscuits are much better to feed as they can be left down. I use Royal Canin Kitten food. The kitten foods have more protein and are therefore more beneficial. Make sure she has a plentiful supply of fresh clean water. Both these will help milk production.

As she nears her due date she will start to nest, hopefully in the box provided. When she starts this you really do need to keep her confined or else she will chose her own birthing place and this will probably not be easily accessible to you. Do not let your daughter open the door. She may produce milk a few days before but this is not always the case. Several of mine don't produce milk until the kittens are born. You will see her sides rippling and this is the babies get in to position she will wash herself and may even pull the fur from around her nips. The nearer it gets the more excessive she will wash herself especially down below when she is doing this keep checking her for a discharge. As long as the discharge is not green and foul smelling everything is normal, if it is green and foul smelling it could be a sign of a dead kitten in there. This washing helps to stimulate the birthing process. When she starts having contractions she will pant, growl and tense her body. You have had kids so you know what that is like. Eventually she will pass a water bag and then the kittens will arrive. The kittens lie in two horns one on each side. When the kittens have all be born from the first horn there may be quite a delay between the next kitten this is just because it needs to move down into position. The time line between all these stages varies from cat to cat.

If you need someone to talk to please pm me and I will give you my phone number. If I can help I will.

[lizziejayne66]

thanks
i have bought some royal canin biscuits. some days she is off her food, although see seems to crave ham cheese and fresh fish at times she is begging all the time, other times she walks away from all food
she has no milk yet, and not showing any nesting signs
i have a few cat beds fleecy lined and a nice fleece blanket.
thanks again, it was an accident, im no breeder. i dnt know what to expect.

[lizziejayne66]

still waiting, huge belly eating like a horse no milk yet, i can feel the babies moving she s on day 60 according to the vet

[Kay]

still waiting, huge belly eating like a horse no milk yet, i can feel the babies moving she s on day 60 according to the vet

Without an exact mating date the vet cannot pinpoint what day of pregnancy she is at. Not even a scan is that accurate. Considering how your vet has acted throughout this I would consider changing him. I certainly wouldn't trust him.

Fingers crossed for the test results and hopefully they come througfh before the babies are born :roll:.

[smudgley]

Without an exact mating date the vet cannot pinpoint what day of pregnancy she is at. Not even a scan is that accurate. Considering how your vet has acted throughout this I would consider changing him. I certainly wouldn't trust him.

Fingers crossed for the test results and hopefully they come througfh before the babies are born :roll:.

Why do you say that Kay?

[Kay]

He has kept Jayne waiting with regards to the blood test so now it is touch and go whether the results will be back before the kittens are born. He has also told Jayne there was no problem with different blood groups, kittens and feeding from mum.

Very irresponsible as far as I am concerned

[lizziejayne66]

i do hope the vet remembers to ring me he didnt last time
she likes to lay on the cold kitchen floor how odd
she is begging for anything now she eating so much the vet told me she will get milk 1 hour before she goes into labour

[Kay]

i do hope the vet remembers to ring me he didnt last time
she likes to lay on the cold kitchen floor how odd
she is begging for anything now she eating so much the vet told me she will get milk 1 hour before she goes into labour

I think he should go back to Vet school :shock:. There is no cast iron time when they get their milk. Every girl is different and each girl can differ in different pregnancies. Some of mine have had milk a week before and some not until the last kittens is born.

I would definitely change vets :roll:

[lizziejayne66]

there are several vets at the practice i just always seem to get him he s quite a young vet

[Kay]

When you book an appointment ask for it to be with one of the others. There is one vet at our practice I would rather not see as they are too rough with their handling so I just make sure my appointments are with one of the others.

[lizziejayne66]

i think it may be him who rings me back with the results
i have no idea who is doing blackies castration. he says he cannot do felix yet he is 20 weeks

[Kay]

The usual age is 6 months although some vets will do it younger.

[lizziejayne66]

i l get blackie done first felix is not showing any interest in females he just wants to play

[Kay]

Yes get Blackie done this week as you say and then Felix next month as that playing can soon turn into something more serious.

[lizziejayne66]

last thing i want is felix trying to mate her

[calismum]

my vet would do a healthy male at 20 weeks if he is in a multi cat household - you could always ask!

Hope these babies appear soon.

[lizziejayne66]

still no kittens she spent the night wedged deep in my wardrobe. didnt get much sleep due to my 2 male cats going crazy all night long its blackie howling all the time and chasing felix he s very vocal even now.

[lizziejayne66]

amber has had 5 kittens during the night but i dnt think she has any milk! her nipples are bone dry! ifeel helpless she had them i the litter tray then walked off! i had to burst the sack and cut the cord and rub them as one was blue and clean there mouths as 2 had gunge in their mouths they have survived the night
i have some cimicat fromthe vet but theres no scoop inside the milk! ive had a go at feeding them butmum kept meiwing at me when i took one off her
i dnt think she has a clue what to do she has been sittig on them and keeps walking off
ihave themi a furry bed next to a heater, there all underher now quiet but i dnt know if themilk is there
ive been upwith her all night im exhausted the vet told me not to clean her up yet she s covered in stale blood. mum seems ok but bewildered
what do i do now? i need some sleep butif her milk doest come soon that means im feeding them every 2 hours for the next 9 weeks! i have no help
what ca i do?

[lizziejayne66]

oh ad i forgot to add she s had 5! 3 tortie girls 1 is curly ad 2red straight boys she is washing them

[smudgley]

oh dear. :(
Hopefully her milk will come in soon.

[lizziejayne66]

they seem to be suckling but i cannot see any milk. shouldnt her milk be in by now?

[lizziejayne66]

still no milk so ive been feedingthem round clock so far so good

[Shelley123]

Congratulations on your new Kittens. I am sorry to hear of the problems you are having and have no suggestions , i'm not experienced enough.It's very strange Mum isn't producing Milk.

[lizziejayne66]

i had a good feel at her nipples and seemed dry maybe it will come later
im so tired they keep sqealing and are so demanding very hungry i cant lose them

they have put on a little weight i weighed them last night and the 3 heaviest have gained 10g in 1day the other 2 only 3g

[yola]

LizzieJane, I have sent a message to someone who used to be a regular contributor here who is also a breeder. I know she has dealt with many kitten births so hopefully she'll be along soon with some advice.

[Shelley123]

Are you still letting the Kittens nurse from Mum ?
Just thinking that maybe this will stimulate the milk?

[kado]

I would use a kitten replacement milk for mum. It might stimulate the milk production. I found with Maisey's litter they find a nipple and stick to it and not all her nipples had milk but she produced the milk straight away. I agree with Shelly that letting them feed from mum might stimulate her to produce milk. If they have been fed by you they might not want too feed of mum. I am not saying dont feed her though. Hopefully person who yola who emailed will come along soon. If you have anymore problems you need to phone your vet up straight away. What did they weigh at birth

[lizziejayne66]

thanks

no icannot i only found out last night when itook male to be neurterd that they have misdmatched blood groups he is a she is b
after48 hours im hoping its safe to give them back to her but if no milk i cant

one of the kittens has diarrhea what do i do now? not feedit?

[kado]

Pleas phone the vets up now and tell them about one of the kittens. I am sure with them being newborn you can not starve them but the vet is your first call. What sort of milk are you using as well

[Shelley123]

If you do give them back to Mum, keep a close eye on her to make sure everythings alright.

[pinklizzy]

What do the faeces actually look like? Normal neonatal faeces are very soft and often a very yellowy/brown colour.
At this age, they need to be fed every 2-2 1/2 hours, they can become hypoglycaemic very quickly if they're not fed very regularly.
They are very susceptible to infection so please make sure you take precautions to sterilise all equipment you are using to feed them and make sure they are warm enough. You shouldn't feed a cold kitten, warm them up first.
FAB cats do a really good fact sheet about hand rearing if you google it.
HTH

[smudgley]

So am I right in thinking these kittens have not been with Mom at all yet? If so that is why she isn't produing any milk.

[pinklizzy]

So am I right in thinking these kittens have not been with Mom at all yet? If so that is why she isn't produing any milk.

I may be wrong but I think the OP is worried re the different blood types of the parents and the problems with feeding kiitens and colostrum. I'm assuming they are the Selkirk rex's?

[smudgley]

I may be wrong but I think the OP is worried re the different blood types of the parents and the problems with feeding kiitens and colostrum. I'm assuming they are the Selkirk rex's?

Yes that's right, I know she was talking about not putting them with their mother for 24/48 hours, (I still don't understand why, but maybe I should read about it) anyway, I thought I'd point out that this will be the reason for no milk. OP was asking why the cat has no milk, but she has no babies to produce milk for as far as she's concerned.
Poor cat. :(

[pinklizzy]

Sorry Smudgley,I misunderstood you. I totally agree that she will not produce milk without her babies, she needs the stimulation from their suckling.

[lizziejayne66]

on vets advice i had to keep them from mum as i found out mum is type b and dad is a yes selkirk rex
vet said after 48 hrs its safe
theynow with mum and seem to be ok and sucking i think maybe her milk has come in
vet will check them over later
the curly one seems to be doing the best at the moment

[kado]

That's brilliant news. Let us know on how mum and kittens get on

[smudgley]

Glad things are looking better

[Elaine]

All very fishy, on another forum you say the cat went missing for two weeks and came back 7 weeks pregnant? You also say you were told the cat was speyed when you got her?