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shumbalion
Jun 29, 2010, 01:45 PM
My cat is not even a year old yet, she was born last October, she is a t least 5/6 weeks pregnant, she is always sleeping and eating, she follows me everywhere, and is looking for a place to have her babies. She also has a funny smell about her, I can feel the babies moving. I am concerned becos of her age and also I have neva had a birth before... Any advice please?

Wondergirl
Jun 29, 2010, 01:51 PM
Please get her spayed after she has weaned her kittens.

Stay calm and make a nesting box for her with soft, clean towels or an old clean blanket. (She may reject this nest and find one of her own choosing, but that's okay.) The less you do, the better off she will probably be.

Do you have a vet to call if there are problems? One of our members, hheath, is at work right now, but will be online late this evening. Her cat had kittens 10 weeks ago, so she would be a good one to answer questions too.

shumbalion
Jun 29, 2010, 02:05 PM
Thank you for your reply, I was going to get her spayed after her first litter, Just wanted her to have the experience, just didn't expect it to come this quick... im sure I'm worrying over nuthing, will do my best to make sure everything is ready for her..

Wondergirl
Jun 29, 2010, 02:11 PM
Just wanted her to have the experience
She didn't need the "experience." I volunteer at a cat shelter and know about the misery cats endure when people want them to "experience" birth. You do realize, don't you, how many abandoned and stray cats are caught and euthanized every day? I do hope you have good homes all ready and waiting for the kittens (who will all be neutered, I hope). And you've definitely done your homework about cat pregnancy and birth, right?

Sorry if I sound angry, but I am when I think of irresponsible pet ownership.

shumbalion
Jun 29, 2010, 02:50 PM
How do you know she didn't need the experience? I understand where your coming from, but I am a responsible cat owner, I love my cat and look after her well. I am not an expert but yes have done my 'homework' and the kittens have homes to go to. She is going to see a vet nxt week to make sure all is well.I hope this puts your mind at rest and helps you with your anger? All I really wanted was some friendly advice and reassurance as she's so young...

Wondergirl
Jun 29, 2010, 03:02 PM
How do u know she didnt need the experience? i understand where your coming from, but i am a responsible cat owner, i love my cat and look after her well. I am not an expert but yes have done my 'homework' and the kittens have homes to go to. She is going to see a vet nxt wk to make sure all is well.I hope this puts ur mind at rest and helps you with your anger? All i really wanted was some friendly advice and reassurance as shes so young...
I have no clue what you mean by "she needs the experience." Why? Is she going to benefit from this somehow, maybe get a certificate as a labor and delivery cat to help other cats have kittens, get to be on Oprah? And why did you allow her to get pregnant so young? That doesn't sound very responsible.

Only one creature needed the "experience." If you look deep into your heart and are honest with yourself, YOU are the one who wanted to have cute, fluffy kittens. YOU "needed the experience."

Now, please volunteer at your county animal control center and spend a week helping them euthanize all those abandoned cats and kittens (yes, kittens) that owners wanted to "experience" having babies or who dumped on the side of the road because they got tired of them as pets.

Thanks for reading. Rant over now. I hope hheath sees this thread and gives you suggestions for labor and delivery. She's very smart and experienced. I'll even PM her so she can find it.

hheath541
Jun 29, 2010, 09:38 PM
OK, well, first off, you have a few weeks yet before you have to worry about the birth. Cats are pregnant for 9-10 weeks.

In the mean time, be sure to feed her kitten food. If you're not already doing so, then adding wet food to her diet will help with milk production.

Make sure you have several boxes around for her to choose from. Notice if there are particular places she goes to more often, and put boxes there. For now, just put newspaper in them. She'll shred it to make it more comfortable. It's also a LOT easier to take care of after the birth. You can worry about the mommy and babies having fluffy blankets, after they're born.

If you have fleas in your home, get rid of them NOW! Use every non-chemical means necessary, but get rid of them. Fleas can, and will, kill kittens. My mom adopted a kitten that was, unknowingly, pregnant. She had 6 babies. 4 of them died from anemia caused by fleas.

Do you have any other questions? Something I didn't cover?

Wondergirl
Jun 29, 2010, 11:19 PM
do you have any other questions? something i didn't cover?
Maybe she'd like to see current photos of your sweet kittens and Edith, so she knows what's ahead of her? *whine, whine* Please, please? We'll give you Monday off for the holiday if you post some this week.

hheath541
Jun 30, 2010, 12:23 AM
OK, here's a link to my thread. There's a short description of what the labor was like in the first post. There's probably more info here and there scattered throughout, but I don't expect anyone to go through all of it.

https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/cats/edith-mommy-461542-57.html#post2415495

amelia2010
Jul 2, 2012, 09:04 AM
I'm sorry wondergirl but my 5 year old cat has had 2 litters and is close to having her 3rd I should at this point, point out that her appoinment to be spayed is when the kittens are 8 weeks old, before I had her at the age of 2 she didn't have a litter, and was so anti-social hiding in corners of the room this was also the case in her previous owners care this happened up until I had her for 5 months then she really came out of her shell, when she had her first litter and knew I was there for her and loved her, she really bonded with me and all the kittens she has had have gone to happy loving homes, I have even been back to the homes they went to and they are as happy as can be, I've had cats all my life as long as you love them as much as you would a husband, child or parent they will love you back. And shumbalion, don't worry keep calm, when she walks around he room meowing and her abdomen pulses you know she is about to give birth, stay close to the nest but not too close just so she kows your there if she needs help. Your own mothering instinct will kick in after that. Make sure you have clean towels and luke warm water to hand as well as a vets number just in case she has problems also it would be handy to have either a pippet or siringe handy in case the queen cat refuses a kitten for milk. I had to help mine with the first litter as when she pushed the first kitten out and didn't know what to do I had to pull the sack off the kitten as it would have suffocated, then she realised what to do and licked off the kitten and had the rest of the litter trouble free x hope this helps xx good luck xxx