Know how pregnant this cat is?

Hi all. I'm new to the forum, mostly because I need a cat specific forum. See, I've fostered a cat with kittens before (from two days old) but now I've been asked to foster a pregnant cat. The animal shelter called us yesterday, saying they needed a fosterer. She went through vet check, and we got her today. All settled in with a kittening kennel (whether or not she'll use it is another matter) but she looks SO pregnant! Any idea how far along she is?




Thanks all.
I also need to take care of those exposed cords...

It,s had to say witout actually seeing her up close.

She could be ready to pop any day now.. or she could be awhile yet.. unless you know when she mated, it's a little bit difficult to say.

My first pregnant mom, I was told she was ready to have her kittens in about a week.. she was massive.. well a week turned into 4 weeks... and 9 kittens.

I deal more with kittens than queens though.. so I'm sure someone here can give you a rough estimation?

Good luck with her and the little ones!

IMO she looks about 6-7 weeks pregnant - at least another 2 weeks before delivery. How is she acting? They start looking for places around the last 2 weeks. So to be on the safe side, start confining her to a large kennel/cage or one room and only let her out under supervision in the house. Prepare the nesting box now so she gets comfortable with things.

I don't know how she normally acts, because we just got her yesterday, but she's looking around more, she fit herself in a tight spot under my bed. We let her out to the rest of the house today (she was only confined to my room) but she's going to be in my room most of the time.

Can you see the kittens moving around inside her belly? Ziggy gave birth 12 days after I noticed them moving.....look closely. She didn't show any nesting behaviour what so ever.

She looks quite big but I think at LEAST a week to go!!! Is she really solid?
Don't forget a previous post about 9 kittens, you could be the next one that has to wait another 4 weeks while the mother becomes double the size and have kittens close to double figures!!!
Good luck with them,

Sadie

I can't see the kittens, though IMO it's not very easy to see anything with a darker cat. I could swear I felt a kick or two, but I dunno.

What do I need before she kits?

Ziggy's dark too and you could DEFINATELY see them. She's probably got at least two weeks in that case. You will see them before you feel them. She's short-haired too so it will be obvious when she's layed on her side

How exactly do you "see" them? Is it very obvious? I thought I could see a small ripple or kick when she was lying down just now, but that could easily be her breathing, although it seems fine. It was located far down the abdomen, not in the center. I can also hear them... I think... it just sounds like little kicks to her stomach.

Breathing is kind of all over the body, kicks are in one spot and it's very quick. If she'll let you, just put your hand on her sides and feel for them. Once movement starts, you have *about* two weeks left, and towards the end they really start moving - kicking AND rolling.

The last two days before Patience littered, she looked more lumpy than round, but she's a very small cat and was carrying six kittens. Each lump was a very cramped baby!

The problem is, I'm having trouble recognizing kicks. I can definitely feel something different from her regular breathing pattern. But it could be her heartbeat (why it would be in her abdomen is beyond me). I can feel it best when she's lying down, splayed out.

Also, she meows. A lot. Ever since we got her, she meows. I'm not sure why. She was vet checked on Monday - wouldn't he have noticed any pain? Could she be miscarrying? She has had a bit of stress, a move to the shelter, vet and to us.. is she just a loud cat? But she acts normal, purring, lots of love, she sleeps a lot. It's 6pm and it's the first time she really got up today.

Edit: lol.. found out the problem.. did not like her dry food and was throwing quite a protest about it!

Hate to post three times, but I don't know where to put this... I took a video of what I thought was a kick.. so here goes. First off, look at this patch of fur at 5 seconds:


In this video:
here

Baby kick or.. gas?

Baby kick. What you have to do is recognize her regular breathing pattern and then anything "weird" is the babies kicking or moving

I do that, her breathing is easy, however sometimes I am confused by her heartbeat. Also, is it normal for most of the kittens to be grouped farther back down the abdomen, or does this mean they're closer to birth/more of them? 'Cause I can see three "movements" at a time, two really far down her abdomen, near her haunch... because, you see, the white fur in the bottom left corner of that movie is the fur that goes between her legs

Sounds like the kittens are moving in position to be born. Willing to bet you may have some new babies this weekend to mid next week

What do you need for the birth? I have everything you could need is she decides to ignore her babies (KMR, baby bottle, heating pads etc) but I'm not sure exactly what she'd need when giving birth. Also, is breech birth something you can help with if she has trouble, or is it a vet matter only?

Most breech are born ok with no help - just takes longer. If she's in hard labor for more then an hour with no results, then you need to call your vet as the kitten could be stuck and you might need c-section.

Keep her confined to one room or a large cage with kitten box. I use pillowcases for bedding. One with newspaper in for birth delivery that you can throw away in a day or two.

Then change to a pillowcase with a soft towel inside so the kittens won't get nails caught.


Have dental floss ready to tie cords if she doesn't cut them. And try to be there for the births - so you can count the afterbirths (placenta) to be sure none are retained.

How do you tie the cord with dental floss? I couldn't find specific instructions on it. Her babies are on the move There was lots of wiggling in her stomach this morning.

About 1/4 to 1/2 inch from the belly you just take a piece of floss and wrap it around the cord and tie it TIGHT and put a knot in it. Then with small scissors clip the other side (away from the kitten) from the rest of the placenta.

What you are doing is cutting off the blood supply from the placenta. The cord will dry up in a few days and fall off. Most times you don't need to do any of this cause the mom will chew it free. But just in case

My first rex female hated doing it. Every litter she had I had to cut the cords - she would do the rest in cleaning up the kitten.

I am a new member and I just have to say I have learned so much reading all of the replys. A stray cat has adopted my family and is now pregnant. I have never had a cat as a pet before, only dogs. I still have them and they are not happy about our new addition to the family. She is a wild cat and she stays outside of our house and yard. The dogs will not allow her into the yard. I have moved one of our dogs travel crates outside up against the house for her in hopes that she will find comfort there and give birth there also. She has been sleeping in and on the crate so I hope all will be well for her. I do bring her in the house in my arms and feed her some fish and shrimp to try to show that dogs that she is now a part of the family and they need to accept her. It's going slow. She is not tense at all in my arms in the house. When I bring any of the dogs outside of the fenced yard on a leash to try to introduce them, she does not run at all. She does not have a problem swatting at them. I guess I'm just going on about my new pet, and all I really wanted to say was thank you all. I really feel like I can actually be part of her kittens birth. I'll let everyone know how things are going. Thanks again.