Lots of questions, haha

Okay, here's my list of questions I would love answers to about my pregnant cat! thanks

#1: Can I tell by her behavior if it will be only a few days before she has her kittens?

#2: What is the best type of nest I can make for her?

#3: Is making a nest in a cardboard box in my closet(very good sized) with no doors, but curtains, okay?

#4: What are the best brands of food to feed her right now? She's currently getting Friskies, the feline favorites kind. Is it okay to keep her on that?

#5: Should I weigh the kittens at birth? If so, on what? I don't think a normal human scale would be able to weigh their tiny weight would it?

#6: Is it okay to give her a bath right now to get rid of fleas,etc. and dirt so she won't get the kittens sick when she has them, or would that be too stressful? She's never had a bath before.

#7: What are the usual times for cats to give birth?

#8: What are signs you find your cats do the day before they give birth?

#9: Was that too many questions?

Thanks so much, and my cats name is Gracie.

I hope I can help you out a little! But I guarantee others will be along soon to help you too.

#1: Can I tell by her behavior if it will be only a few days before she has her kittens?
I have just had three foster cats give birth since the end of April. The most recent one that gave birth acted the same as always, up until delivery. The other two, the day before they gave birth, became extremely clingy. They wouldn't let me leave them AT ALL.

#2: What is the best type of nest I can make for her?
I had large dog crates, which is big enough for a bed and food/water, etc. Inside the crate I had a cardboard box with towels for the kitty to lay in. I started locking them in at night around 1-2 weeks before they delivered, so that they'd be used to their "nest".

#3: Is making a nest in a cardboard box in my closet(very good sized) with no doors, but curtains, okay?
If there are no other animals, or small children, that may get in there and harm them... and as long as she's willing to have them there, then it should be fine. All three of my girls would have picked unusual places though if I hadn't have put them in a dog crate.

#4: What are the best brands of food to feed her right now? She's currently getting Friskies, the feline favorites kind. Is it okay to keep her on that?
I like Chicken Soup for the Kitten Lovers Soul, but don't know much about other brands. She should definitely be eating a high quality KITTEN food. And as much as she wants.

#5: Should I weigh the kittens at birth? If so, on what? I don't think a normal human scale would be able to weigh their tiny weight would it?
Definitely. A regular kitchen (food) scale would work... just something that measures grams at least. I bought a postage scale off of ebay that goes up to 75 pounds.

#6: Is it okay to give her a bath right now to get rid of fleas,etc. and dirt so she won't get the kittens sick when she has them, or would that be too stressful? She's never had a bath before.
A bath should be ok. But if she has fleas, you'll need something more. You do not want the babies to get fleas, it could kill them very quickly. If it is a really bad flea problem, you'll need to treat the areas of your house that she's gone as well. For the cat herself, talk to your vet about Capstar and Frontline. My vet gave me both for my foster mommas while they were pregnant and said both are safe. The Capstar is a little pill you give that kills fleas instantly... they will literally just start falling off of the cat. Then put the Frontline on after that and you shouldn't have any more problems.

#7: What are the usual times for cats to give birth?
It greatly varies! My first two girls started around 10:30 p.m. and ended around 3 a.m. The third girl started around 4:30 a.m. and ended around 8 a.m. I know there are members on here who's cats have delivered in the middle of the day.

#8: What are signs you find your cats do the day before they give birth?
Aside from the clingyness, all three had lots of red/pink discharge (they had some for up to a week before, but this was different), and they lost their mucus plugs around 12 hours before labor started. With the first cat I was able to start taking her temperature a week before, and after it dropped down below 100 degrees, she had them within 48 hours. But neither of the other cats would let me take their temperatures.

#9: Was that too many questions?
Not at all! I hope I've been at least a little helpful to you. Please feel free to ask as many questions as you have!

I can try to anser some

#1: Can I tell by her behavior if it will be only a few days before she has her kittens?

They usually sleep a lot, more than usual. Mine looked for a place to nest. I found them in all sorts of weird places.

#2: What is the best type of nest I can make for her?

#3: Is making a nest in a cardboard box in my closet(very good sized) with no doors, but curtains, okay?

Yes, that is fine. She may not have them there though. I always set up a box or large laundry basket in a closet or in a quiet area in the bedroom but they usually had them somewhere else. My one cat had hers under the bed. She chewed a hole through the netting on the bottom of the box spring and had them in there. That was fun getting them out. My cat Uno had them right on the bed between me and my BF at 1am in the morning.

I just moved them to a nesting box after and they seemed happy to keep them there but at times she did try to move them again.



#4: What are the best brands of food to feed her right now? She's currently getting Friskies, the feline favorites kind. Is it okay to keep her on that?

I would get a high quality kitten food for her.

#5: Should I weigh the kittens at birth? If so, on what? I don't think a normal human scale would be able to weigh their tiny weight would it?

I am not really sure. I never weighted the kittens.

#6: Is it okay to give her a bath right now to get rid of fleas,etc. and dirt so she won't get the kittens sick when she has them, or would that be too stressful? She's never had a bath before.

I would get Frontline or Advantage flea control. I would not try giving her a bath right now. It could stress her out and cause early labor.


#7: What are the usual times for cats to give birth?

Mine always had them in the late evening or in the middle of the night.

#8: What are signs you find your cats do the day before they give birth?

Sleep and snoop for a place to nest.

#9: Was that too many questions?

No such thing as too many questions.

I am sure more people will come along with more answers and welcome to TCS

Edit: See I told ya

A nice size cardboard box with one size cut down for the mom to get in and out is fine. Put a towel inside a pillowcase for the bedding. I have 2 pillowcases - one is filled with some newspaper (for absorbing the blood) and is used when she IS in labor - after the kittens are all born, then switch to the towel/pillowcase for softness.

She should be eating kitten chow - for the extra calories she will be buring, so start changing her over to a quality kitten chow.

Most times they will get restless, keep looking for a place to have the kittens, so when she's really close - you'll have to confine her to the room with the kittening box.

I like to have a very large cage to keep them in - my queens were confined to the cage about 2 weeks before due with everything set up. They were allowed out of the cage only for a few hours under supervision - that way I knew exactly where they would have the kittens.

If she has fleas now - GIVE her a bath BEFORE the kittens are born. Fleas will kill tiny kittens as they can make them anemic very quickly. Get another person to help you give her a bath - but get rid of the fleas on her and in the house before those kittens are born!

#1: Can I tell by her behavior if it will be only a few days before she has her kittens?
I dont remember being able to tell from her behavior, because the last two weeks of her pregnancy, she just ate and slept. Though she didnt eat a couple hours before she gave birth. I just found that normal though, I had no idea it was gonna be that day. Though my mom was convinced that it would be. It was day 63.
#2: What is the best type of nest I can make for her?
A cardboard b ox with a hole in the side of it and bedding of some sort on the bottom. Then a rug or something on the top to hold the box closed. So you can open it during delivery to see better.
#3: Is making a nest in a cardboard box in my closet(very good sized) with no doors, but curtains, okay?
Should be, just make sure that if shes in your closet that the door to your room is shut.. So you konw that she wil have to of had them somewhere in that area.

#4: What are the best brands of food to feed her right now? She's currently getting Friskies, the feline favorites kind. Is it okay to keep her on that?
I also like Chicken Lovers for the Kitten lovers soul kitten food.
#5: Should I weigh the kittens at birth? If so, on what? I don't think a normal human scale would be able to weigh their tiny weight would it?
You can get a food scale at wal-mart or soemthing. I never did, becauses I kept forgetting, and al my kittens are fine without it. But you can get one if you want to.
#6: Is it okay to give her a bath right now to get rid of fleas,etc. and dirt so she won't get the kittens sick when she has them, or would that be too stressful? She's never had a bath before.
Give her a bath, and get some stuff from the vet to treat her for fleas. This is very important to do this now. Before she has the babies.

#7: What are the usual times for cats to give birth?
Late night/early morning
Kalli gave birth to the first one at 11:02 PM and the last one at 1:45 the next day. She was in hard labor an hour before the first one. And she was in labor for two days, with small contractions on and off.

#8: What are signs you find your cats do the day before they give birth?
Just the contractions, and the mucus.
#9: Was that too many questions?
Nope!

Thank you all SO much! All of you were incredibly helpful! Okay, I'll start her on a kitten food, I'll probably try getting the chicken soup for the kitten lovers soul at our local feed store. I'm giving all our cats baths today with flea and tick shampoo(they all don't mind baths), and I will see if Gracie is okay with it. If she gets upset I will just not do it, and get frontline Also, we do have 3 dogs, 2 doberman/german shepherd/labrador mixes and a beagle, but they all love cats and don't come in my room(well the beagle does, but he sleeps in a crate )..So I think a nest in my closet will be okay! I will shut her in my room at night starting July 1st. Thanks again everybody!