This will be a long story guys, so please bear with me. Thanks for your patience!
It all began when my cousin moved to Canada in 2001 from Slovakia. She aquired a calico kitten which she tentatively named Orion. (But the whole family ended up calling her "Cica" - meaning kitty in Slovak. Go figure.
) I'm guessing that because she was ready to live independently, she finally wanted her own pet...
However as a student who ended living on her own shortly out of high school she hardly had the funds to support an animal besides the very basic: love, food, water, shelter, and a clean litterbox. The veterinary attention this beautiful animal has ever received was some de-worming tablets.
She moved back to Europe about six months ago, and we ended up taking Cica in, since we were most familiar with her.
I honestly never anticipated getting so attached to her, but she is such a sweet little thing. I'm guessing the attachment is mutual because she already comes to me when I call her by name and likes to sleep underneath my blankets with me.
We were planning to take her to the vet to get shots and stuff - possibly to get her spayed, although she is seven years old by now and I don't know how that is for older cats. We've been very busy for these last six months, however, and haven't gotten around to it yet.
Now for the problem we have.
The whole family is pretty sure Cica is pregnant. Her tummy is HUGE. She is seriously the size of a battleship. She has this skinny, slight build, but I swear she's twice as thick as she used to be. Her nipples are pink and puffy and she eats EXACTLY twice as much as she used to. When she walks she kind of lumbers around half the time, and can't curl up in a ball anymore. She sleeps on her side instead.
That was how we discovered it. We can feel the babies kick and wiggle every once in a while, if we feel her tummy carefully. We don't know when exactly it happened.
To be prepared for the babies I took a look around some websites. I read that while a cat is having contractions, she may secrete a yellowish fluid, mixed with some blood. The website also said that if kittens don't show up within a couple hours, the cat should be taken to the vet. (In case the kittens are squshed together in a traffic jam of sorts.)
This is why I am concerned. A couple days before yesterday, she was sitting in my lap while I was doing homework, and she leaked something yellowish/brownish on my sweatpants. It didn't have a smell. But, no kittens that day.
Last night I was watching TV with my mom in the master bedroom, while Cica laid stretched out next to us. She leaked a whole bunch of times over the sheets before we noticed. We were so sure she was going to give birth. We put her in a box with a blanket but she came coming into my bed, so I finally gave up and put a thick blanket closest to the wall to protect my sheets, where she finally stayed and lied down. I took a look at her and there seemed to be a little bid of blood mixed in, and it looked viscous like mucus. She was very restless, changed positions several times and meowed like she was in pain. (She is otherwise a quiet girl.)
Is this normal? We feel very concerned...she's just so huge and looks like she should be giving birth any day now! But still no babies in sight. I also read that if she secretes something that smells bad, it could suggest a dead kitten inside...but there is no smell. She is still eating well. (Although a couple days ago she lost her appetite and threw up a couple of times. We don't know whether it was a furball or something she ate...)
She doesn't look sick and she seems quite calm and happy. She asks to be let outside, basks in the sun, still eats like a fiend, and she cuddles every chance she cats...all the while purring like a tractor.
We were thinking of taking her to the vet for an emergency visit this week. Do you think it's necessary? Should I be worried is she's not giving birth yet? I don't want to have the mentality of, "Oh, it's an animal, it knows what to do" because it something happened to her I'd probably regret it forever. -.- We were going to take her to a vet very soon anyway, as our house is no longer as hectic as it was a couple of months ago, but I'd like to hear your opinion whether she should see one right *now.*
Thanks for your patience - any help is much apprieciated!
It all began when my cousin moved to Canada in 2001 from Slovakia. She aquired a calico kitten which she tentatively named Orion. (But the whole family ended up calling her "Cica" - meaning kitty in Slovak. Go figure.
However as a student who ended living on her own shortly out of high school she hardly had the funds to support an animal besides the very basic: love, food, water, shelter, and a clean litterbox. The veterinary attention this beautiful animal has ever received was some de-worming tablets.
She moved back to Europe about six months ago, and we ended up taking Cica in, since we were most familiar with her.
I honestly never anticipated getting so attached to her, but she is such a sweet little thing. I'm guessing the attachment is mutual because she already comes to me when I call her by name and likes to sleep underneath my blankets with me.
We were planning to take her to the vet to get shots and stuff - possibly to get her spayed, although she is seven years old by now and I don't know how that is for older cats. We've been very busy for these last six months, however, and haven't gotten around to it yet.
Now for the problem we have.
The whole family is pretty sure Cica is pregnant. Her tummy is HUGE. She is seriously the size of a battleship. She has this skinny, slight build, but I swear she's twice as thick as she used to be. Her nipples are pink and puffy and she eats EXACTLY twice as much as she used to. When she walks she kind of lumbers around half the time, and can't curl up in a ball anymore. She sleeps on her side instead.
That was how we discovered it. We can feel the babies kick and wiggle every once in a while, if we feel her tummy carefully. We don't know when exactly it happened.
To be prepared for the babies I took a look around some websites. I read that while a cat is having contractions, she may secrete a yellowish fluid, mixed with some blood. The website also said that if kittens don't show up within a couple hours, the cat should be taken to the vet. (In case the kittens are squshed together in a traffic jam of sorts.)
This is why I am concerned. A couple days before yesterday, she was sitting in my lap while I was doing homework, and she leaked something yellowish/brownish on my sweatpants. It didn't have a smell. But, no kittens that day.
Last night I was watching TV with my mom in the master bedroom, while Cica laid stretched out next to us. She leaked a whole bunch of times over the sheets before we noticed. We were so sure she was going to give birth. We put her in a box with a blanket but she came coming into my bed, so I finally gave up and put a thick blanket closest to the wall to protect my sheets, where she finally stayed and lied down. I took a look at her and there seemed to be a little bid of blood mixed in, and it looked viscous like mucus. She was very restless, changed positions several times and meowed like she was in pain. (She is otherwise a quiet girl.)
Is this normal? We feel very concerned...she's just so huge and looks like she should be giving birth any day now! But still no babies in sight. I also read that if she secretes something that smells bad, it could suggest a dead kitten inside...but there is no smell. She is still eating well. (Although a couple days ago she lost her appetite and threw up a couple of times. We don't know whether it was a furball or something she ate...)
She doesn't look sick and she seems quite calm and happy. She asks to be let outside, basks in the sun, still eats like a fiend, and she cuddles every chance she cats...all the while purring like a tractor.
We were thinking of taking her to the vet for an emergency visit this week. Do you think it's necessary? Should I be worried is she's not giving birth yet? I don't want to have the mentality of, "Oh, it's an animal, it knows what to do" because it something happened to her I'd probably regret it forever. -.- We were going to take her to a vet very soon anyway, as our house is no longer as hectic as it was a couple of months ago, but I'd like to hear your opinion whether she should see one right *now.*
Thanks for your patience - any help is much apprieciated!
